Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 30, 1990                   TAG: 9005300564
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Bob Teitlebaum
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CANNADAY QUITS AS BASSETT'S COACH

Cannaday, 56, a Roanoke native, has no plans for a new job, but will instead move back to the Roanoke Valley. Cannaday and his wife, Gretchin, are making the change so that they can care for his ailing mother.

Cannaday had a 32-29 record at Bassett, but this past fall was his most successful team as the Bengals went 10-1 and won the Piedmont District Championship.

Cannaday is a former star at old Jefferson High and at Virginia Tech. He was a finalist for the Franklin County job, which was filled two weeks ago by Melvin Martin. He also had discussions with Roanoke Catholic concerning that school's football vacancy. Those negotiations broke off 10 days ago.

Cannaday didn't get into high school coaching until 11 years ago. At the age of 46, he gave up a career in architecture to become an assistant at Greensville County in Emporia.

"I had thought about doing it for two or three years. I had been in architecture from 1959 to 1979, but the profession had changed. I wasn't as happy as I was when I first got into it," he said several years ago.

After one year in which Greensville went 0-10, Cannaday was named head coach. Greensville then went 8-2 and won the Southside District title. The next year, the Eagles beat Southhampton, ending the state's longest winning streak at 58 games.