Wenonah High School paid tribute to one of its all-time football greats – Sam Shade – by hanging his high school and NFL jerseys during a 3:30 p.m. ceremony on Thursday, September 26, 2024.
The event was held in the school gymnasium. In addition to the Wenonah Dragons football team, marching band, and cheer squad, in attendance were Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan, Birmingham Board of Education District 7 Representative Walter Wilson, and Wenonah Principal Dr. Willie Goldsmith, Jr., as well as friends and family of the honoree.
Shade, the current head coach at Miles College, graduated Wenonah in 1991. He went on to play football at The University of Alabama under the leadership of Gene Stallings and was on the 1992 National Championship team.
In 1995, Shade was a 4th Round pick in the NFL draft. He played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety for the Cincinnati Bengals and then for Washington.
In addition to his current role at Miles College, Shade’s football resume includes other coaching jobs. He was the special teams and defensive coordinator at Samford University, cornerbacks coach at Georgia State and assistant special teams coach for the Cleveland Browns. Shade accepted the head coach position at Pinson Valley High School in 2020 and led that team to a State Championship in his first year.
