Paul R. Mackey

Paul R. “Bus” Mackey, class of 1935, was a charter member of the Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments on the Wasps football team. He was inducted alongside his brother, Clarence Mackey, class of 1931.

Mackey was an all-around athlete, lettering each year in football, basketball, and baseball for a total of 12 letters. He received the Emory & Henry Bowyer Award for the best all-around athlete of the class of 1935.

Mackey captained both the football and baseball teams his senior year. During that football season, his outstanding grit as a guard earned him All-Conference, All-State, and second-team Little All-American honors. He was the college’s first Little-All America football player, and according to legendary E&H coach “Pedie” Jackson, Mackey was the best guard he had ever coached.

In addition to his work on the field, Mackey was also involved around campus as president of the Blue Key Honor Fraternity and Phi Pi Alpha social fraternity. Mackey stayed connected to the college throughout his life, serving at one time as the president of Emory & Henry’s Alumni Association.

After graduating from college, Mackey went on to earn a master of education degree from Ohio State University. His career in public education spanned 20 years of teaching and coaching and 20 years in school administration in districts including Bristol, Johnson City, Norton, Galion, Alexandria City Schools, and Loudoun County, where he served as director of construction until his retirement in 1975.

In his retirement, Mackey returned to Emory, Virginia. His return to the area was celebrated with “Bus” Mackey Appreciation Day in Bristol, Tennessee, an event organized by his former student-athletes from Tennessee High in cooperation with Emory & Henry College.

Paul Mackey, a native of Galion, Ohio, died on August 8, 1995 in Bristol, Virginia.