Mack Rooks was a standout all round athlete for the Marianna Bulldogs in the mid 1940’s. He later saw a dream come true when he returned to serve as Head Football Coach at Marianna in the 1960’s. The Bulldog family was saddened this past week when news came that Rooks had passed away in Tallahassee. He was 78.
Rooks began his playing days at Marianna in 1943 as a freshman. During his junior and senior seasons the Bulldogs went 12-6-1. Rooks made the All Northwest Conference Team both years. One of his best games was against Chipley in 1946 where he ran for 4 TDs and passed for another. Rooks was also a fine basketball and baseball player at Marianna. After graduation he signed a scholarship to play football at Troy Teacher’s College (now Troy University). There he played football for 4 years and basketball for 3 years.
After graduating from Troy and then serving a two year stint in the military, Rooks went into coaching. He joined his former Bulldog coach, Grey Wilson, who was now coaching at Defuniak Springs (Walton County). Rooks became Head Coach in 1954 and served in that capacity for six years compiling a record of 27-20-3. In 1960 he returned to Marianna to serve as Head Football Coach and in his first season the Bulldogs went 8-2-1. They captured the Conference Championship and Rooks was named Coach of the Year. Rooks coached for five years at Marianna and only had one losing season. He finished his Bulldog coaching days with a record of 31-16-3.
In 1965 Rooks departed Marianna to be one of the original six employees hired to start Tallahassee Community College. He eventually rose to the position of Dean of Student Services and served in that capacity until retiring in 1988. In retirement he loved to spend time with his family, friends and neighbors. He was an avid Florida State Seminole fan and traveled frequently to road games for many years.
A memorial service was held last Friday in Tallahassee and several former teammates and numerous former players that he coached were in attendance.
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