His name is Peter Boston.
“It’s Boston, like the baked beans,” he says, with a smile, and most people call him “Coach.”
He’s a man who needs no introduction in these parts.
Boston is a local legend who has coached generations of Yazoo children, including many who went on to to become professional athletes.
He never meets a stranger, has a contagious smile and a wonderful sense of humor.
Stories of his kindness and care come from all walks of life around the community.
He’s a humble man who rarely talks about himself. But others have plenty of good things to say about him.
“I have been so fortunate that I had the opportunity to play for him and coach with him,” said Wardell Leach, a student who Boston called one of his favorites. “He has been a big inspiration to me and so many more.”
“He made me a better athlete and certainly made me a better person,” added Henry Barbour, who Boston coached in track.
Boston, 88, was born in Laurel into a large country family. He had four brothers and five sisters.
He spent his childhood days wandering the backwoods of his community. Rarely would he be found indoors.
“We would go out into the woods and be anything we wanted to be,” he said. “I loved the outdoors.”
Boston also loved sports.
“As long as I can remember, I had a broom handle hitting a tennis ball or a grit box filled with paper that I could use as a football,” he said.
Athletics seemed to be a Boston family tradition. His brother Ralph earned Olympic medals and set records in long jumping.
Boston also set records in his own track career.
He graduated from Oak Park High School in Laurel before heading off to Alcorn State University.
“My college coach had told me that Yazoo City had some pretty good basketball players up here,” Boston said, with his dog Tex by his side. “I had passed through Yazoo City on my way to Greenwood to play football. But that is about all I knew.”
Boston arrived in Yazoo City in 1956 at the Yazoo City Training School. Through his career in Yazoo schools, he coached football, basketball and track.
Boston said he enjoyed coaching all sports, but he had a soft spot for track.
“You tend to develop a closer relationship with the fellows in track,” he said. “You get a chance to do more one-on-one teaching and guiding.”
Barbour fondly remembers his time with Boston while he was a member of the track team and football team at Yazoo City High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“I was a baseball player who somehow decided to run track,” Barbour said. “I think it really was because of Coach Boston. Once I started track with him, I never went back to baseball.”
Barbour said the lessons he learned from Boston have remained with him over three decades.
“Coach Boston was an inspiration to everybody at that school,” Barbour said. “He had a way about him. He was gentle but tough.”
Boston made Barbour run hard in track, but Barbour wanted to work even harder to please his coach.
“My friend and I would drop our clothes off at Coach Boston’s house every morning before school,” he said. “We would run to school, and he would bring us our stuff later. He was the kind of guy who you wanted to give that extra effort for because he pushed you.”
Barbour said Yazoo City High School was fortunate to have a coach as talented as Boston.
“In football, he was an excellent play caller,” Barbour said. “He could see what was happening on the field.”
Boston may have been tough, but he had a different side to him.
“My most favorite memory of him was during a track meet, he gave me an assignment,” Barbour said. “He sent me to call his brother and set up a fishing trip. He was serious about his fishing.”
Leach, who Boston called “the skinniest boy I’ve ever laid my eyes on,” had a determination to work hard for Boston on the football field. Even though Leach was more on the small side, Boston said he was one of the best athletes.
“He came to us my junior year in high school, and he completely changed our football program around,” Leach said. “He was such an inspiration. They even named the track and field in his honor.”
Some of Boston’s students went on to make names for themselves, including Willie Brown, Elex Price and Gentle Ben Williams.
Willie Brown would later become a Hall of Fame legend with the Oakland Raiders.
“You may not believe it, but Willie Brown was a knock-kneed, clumsy kid in tenth grade,” Boston said, with a smile. “”But he always had speed.”
Elex Price would make a name for himself with the New Orleans Saints.
“You talk about country,” Boston said, reflecting on Price. “He was a country boy from Wolf Lake. But he was a big boy.”
Boston retired in 1987. But he said it was the bonds he developed with the students that kept him in the game.
“I enjoyed the camaraderie with the fellows,” he said. “It was like a family. I can’t recall any obstacles over the years.”
These days Boston spends his time with his wife Dorothy.
“And I sit around here with Tex,” he said, petting his dog. “I like to fish too.”
Things may have slowed down for Boston, but the impression he left on his students continues to grow with time.
“He inspired my generation,” Barbour said. “It’s been over 30 years, but I still remember his instruction and lessons.”
And that generation remains grateful for the lessons learned from Coach Boston.
“I just wanted to reach out to the kids and get them to do the best they could,” he said. “Be all you can be.”
