WINSTON-SALEM— Herman Bryson, long-time coach and athletic director at R.J. Reynolds High School, died Friday at the age of 90 after a battle with COPD, according to a story in the Winston-Salem Journal.

     Bryson was the head football coach at R.J. Reynolds from 1965-72 and served as the athletic director there from 1964-85. He also coached golf.

     As head football coach, Bryson’s teams posted an impressive record pf 58-18-4. Bryson’s teams won back-to-back-to-back Central 4-A conference championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968 and tied for the league championship in 1969 and 1970.

     He also served as head coach of the North Carolina squad in the 1968 Shrine Bowl and of the West All-Stars in the North Carolina Coaches Association all-star game in 1969.

     Bryson grew up in the Children’s Home in Winston-Salem and was a 1950 graduate from Appalachian State Teachers College, now Appalachian State University. He played football at Appalachian from 1946-50 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1977.