Coach William Saunders was an accomplished football, basketball, and baseball coach at Mississippi State, Merigold, Tupelo, Columbus Lee, and the Gulf Coast Military Academy. A native of Greenville, William graduated from Greenville High and played football, basketball, and baseball at Mississippi State earning a football letter in 1922. It is said that Coach Saunders also played college football at Auburn and Georgia Tech in an era where players transferred to various football squads during their college careers. He began his 20-year coaching career in 1924 at Merigold High where he led the football program to a record of 5-4-1 from 1924 through 1926. William then arrived at Tupelo High where he led the Golden Wave for one season in 1927 to a record of 0-2 before being selected to serve as head coach at Mississippi State. He would lead the Bulldogs football, basketball, and baseball teams from 1928 through 1930. His football squads compiled a mark of 6-11-1 over two seasons while his Bulldogs hoops teams had a record of 12-13. His baseball teams finished 3-20. Coach Saunders departed Mississippi State for Lee High in Columbus in 1930. He would lead the Generals football team for the next 13 seasons with highly successful squads in the 1930s. His best teams were in 1935 when the Generals finished 11-0 and in 1936 when his gridiron team was 10-1-1. William would guide Lee to a record of 68 wins, 55 losses, and 9 times during his coaching tenure. World War II interrupted his coaching career, but he returned in 1947 to lead the Gulf Coast Military Academy in 1947 to an 0-4 record. Overall, Coach Saunders’ high school teams compiled a record of 73 wins, 65 losses, and 10 ties. In addition to his coaching duties, Coach Saunders served as an athletic director during his entire career from 1928 until 1949. William passed away on August 14, 1977.