AKRON, Ohio — A historic career, unlike any other in Ohio high school football, is coming to a close.
Jim France is retiring as coach at Manchester.
The state’s all-time winningest coach with a 401-129-4 record is slated to make it official Tuesday at the school district’s next board meeting. France, 76, who also is the principal at the high school, is listed as resigning from his supplemental contract on the board’s agenda.
A message was left for him Saturday.
France took over the Manchester football program in 1971 and guided it to 47 winning seasons, including a surge last fall that included a six-game winning streak before losing, 32-7, to eventual state champion Kirtland in an OHSAA Division V regional championship.
Manchester finished last season with a 9-4 record, which resulted in France winning the state's coach of the year award in Division V. Standout Ethan Wright, who is headed to the University of Cincinnati, shared the offensive player of the year award for the state.
"He's just a great player," France said in November after the Kirtland loss. "He did that without a whole lot of blocking. He did that all on his own."
Manchester lost much of its offensive and defensive lines to graduation entering last season. The Panthers still made their fourth straight playoff appearance and 25th since 1989. France got them to the state finals in 1997 and the state semifinals in 2013.
France became the state’s all-time winningest coach in 2017 with Manchester’s 58-42 win against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Week 10 of that season.
"I'm just glad it's over with," France said that night. "I wanted to win the game to be (Principals Athletic Conference) champs alone. We've never talked about the record with the kids. ... As the seconds ran off, I thought that I can't believe it. We were going to win this game. It was in doubt."
He passed Ironton's Bob Lutz, who had 381 wins through 2011. Steubenville's Reno Saccoccia sits third on the list with 387 wins through last season.
A native of Springfield and University of Akron graduate, France's head coaching career began in 1970 at Coventry. He took over at Manchester the following year and never had a losing season.
That feat will last forever.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section.
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Manchester’s Jim France, Ohio’s all-time winningest high school football coach, is expected to retire - cleveland.com
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