The John Marshall High School gymnasium and athletic field are getting new names to honor two coaches who were instrumental in the North Side school’s sports history and in mentoring youths.

At a Richmond School Board meeting Monday night, the board approved the high school administration’s request to rename the gymnasium after the late basketball Coach Frank Threatts Jr. and the football field after former Coach Louis “Lou” Anderson.

The coaches’ sons, Frank Threatts III, a teacher at Armstrong, and Glenn Anderson, athletic and activities director at Armstrong High School, were happy and honored to have their dads recognized in such a way.

They said their fathers were loving, but no-nonsense coaches, and men of strong faith who believed in structure, order and discipline for their student-athletes in order to become well-rounded leaders in the future.

“My dad’s players wore the same color sneakers when they played, wore a suit to the game and were to neatly cut their hair,” Frank Threatts III said of his late father in a Free Press interview. “There was no discussion with the coach about his decisions.”

Glenn Anderson said his father, now in his 80s and in assisted living, “gives all the credit for this honor to the athletic directors and administrators he worked for and the coaching staffs and players who played for him over the years.”

“This is a wonderful honor,” both sons said.

The two coaches styles are attributed to their similar academic and coaching experience before getting to John Marshall. Both graduated from Maggie L. Walker High School and attended Kittrell Junior College before going to Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C. Both also were student-athletes under legendary Richmond Public Schools coaches in the 1960s and 1970s—Fred “Cannonball” Cooper and Arthur Lee “Stretch” Gardner at Maggie L. Walker High School.

Coach Anderson grew up in Richmond’s West End and graduated from Maggie L. Walker in 1955. He lettered in football and basketball at Claflin University.

After earning a bachelor’s in social studies in 1961, Coach Anderson began his teaching and coaching career at Luther H. Foster High School in Nottoway County, where he taught government and was an assistant football and basketball coach.

Coach Anderson moved to Maggie L. Walker High School, where he replaced the legendary football Coach Fred “Cannonball” Cooper. As a new coach, Coach Anderson led the Mighty Green Dragons to a 10-0 season record in 1975.

In 1979, Coach Anderson was elevated to head coach at the renamed Marshall-Walker High School complex, and over the next 10 years led the football team to six district and two regional championships.

In 1987, his last year with Richmond Public Schools, he coached at Armstrong High School before going to Virginia State University, where he coached for 11 seasons until his retirement in 2001.

He was enshrined in the VSU Hall of Fame in 1999, the CIAA McLendon Hall of Fame in 2013, as well as the RPS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

Coach Threatts, who died in January 2015, graduated from Maggie L. Walker High School in 1954 and posted a career coaching record of 559-343 from 1962 to 2010.

His coaching career began in 1962 at St. Emma Military Academy in Powhatan, but he later left the rural Catholic boys school for John Marshall High School, where he taught history and also became the school’s first African-American coach in 1970-71.

He had three separate successful stints coaching the John Marshall Justices. He was 105-91 between 1970 and 1979, 240-109 from 1986 to 2000 and 100-35 from 2005 to 2010.

He coached at Virginia State University from 2000 to 2002.

Coach Threatts was known as a man of integrity who put the educational interests of students front and center. He was a motivator on and off the court. His coaching record at John Marshall alone was 345-221, with his teams winning state Group AAA titles in 1982 and 1983.

His John Marshall squads reached the state semifinals four times. In 1993, his team lost in the final to Hampton’s Bethel High School, which was led by Allen Iverson.

Coach Threatts was a devoted member of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Glen Allen and a role model for many young people.

He was inducted in the RPS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.