Friends Recall 'Good Guy' Who Was Selfless And Passionate About The Sport

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

(Photo above by Tom Cuffe)

The unexpected death of Walter Pinion last week has made a bleak 2020 even darker for his family and the many lives he touched. 

Pinion, a successful coach, respected meet announcer and consummate professional as a photographer, died Oct. 12 in a tragic accident at his home in Marietta, Ga. 

He is remembered for being a kind and generous person who uplifted those around him and made contributions that reverberated throughout the sport in Georgia and beyond. 

"Everyone that I call to say that he has passed, their comment is 'Oh, no. He was such a good guy,'" said former USATF Georgia president and close friend, Inez Finch. "He was a guy who would help you in any way."

Pinion, who grew up in Newark, N.J. and attended both Penn and the Wharton School before embarking on a 26-year career with IBM, was introduced to the Atlanta area's youth track scene in 1993 when his daughter, De'Khara, joined the Northside Red Runners. 

Within a short while, Pinion went from merely being a parent to a coach of middle-distance athletes. He was one of the few African-American distance coaches working with predominantly white and upper class kids. 

David Watkins was one of those young runners, but his home wasn't well off. 

Pinion mentored Watkins, meeting the teen for 5:30 a.m. runs at the Chattahoochee River Park. Pinion paid for his travel and entry fees to meets and did it without saying a word.

"I was a poor kid," Watkins said. "I learned much later on that this had happened. I just showed up and did the practice, did the races, qualified for the next round, ran in the next meet. Everything was always taken care of. I'm not sure who chipped in, but he was always the orchestrator of that."

With Pinion's help, Watkins went on to run at Kennesaw State University. He completed his degree at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis and then became an intern with USATF. He worked with Team USA at handful of global events and eventually became a trusted operational assistant to USATF President Vin Lananna. Watkins serves in the U.S. Army and is stationed at Fort Belvoir in Northern Virginia. 

"I looked at Walter as a father figure," Watkins said. "What impressed me, really, was just his energy. He always smiled. He was a fantastic communicator and highly motivating. He wanted to be there, helping me and other athletes. I don't know what path I would have ended up on without Walter. College was not something I was eyeing."

Pinion carried the Olympic flame in the 1996 Atlanta Games torch relay inside the stadium and also organized some of the Northside Red Runners youth athletes who participated in the Opening Ceremonies. 

Thereafer, Pinion's involvement in the Atlanta track community continued to grow. 

In addition to coaching and helping to lead the Red Runners, he entered Master's races. 

As a meet announcer, Pinion was known for showering praise on athletes and spurring spectators to action, repeatedly using the line: "The louder you cheer, the faster they run."

Pinion was problem solver who took on the small tasks necessary to put on a successful meet. 

"When we would set up a cross country meet, I might say 'Walter, I don't know how we can set up announcing,'" Finch said. "And Walter would say 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' He would get the generator and the speakers. Before you knew it, it was all set up. And you thought 'Wow, how did he do that?' But that's how Walter was." 

Pinion developed a fondness for the steeplechase and helped Finch write the grant that secured funding for a new water pit, and the barriers, at Westlake High School. 

When digital photography took off in the early 2000s, Pinion took an interest in capturing images at meets, weddings, graduations, golf tournaments, and anything else. He started Pinion Photography in 2004, just months after retiring from IBM. 

With his camera, he was ever-present at events in Georgia and also photographed many of the Mobile Challenge of Champions track and cross country meets in Alabama.He was also a regular presence at the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation's outdoor high school champions and the Great American XC Festival. 

“Walter was a kind soul that you knew you would feel comfortable around,” said Arthur L. Mack, a veteran freelance writer based in Mobile who has covered many Mobile Challenges meets for DyeStat and local papers. “I first met him at the Challenge of Champions Track & Field meet many years back, when he was doing photography.

“One of the things he was passionate about was helping Steve Schoenewald (meet director) with announcing the meet’s Open Division competition. What really struck me, aside from his professionalism when it came to photography, was the passion he had when he was announcing the running events. He would encourage the crowd to cheer, no matter how fast the athletes were running. To him, track & field was not just a sport. It was an event to be celebrated. Almost every athlete who he encouraged through his announcing ran faster and felt as if he or she was a champion."

Mack got to know Pinion personally in the evenings after the meets, at Dreamland Bar-B-Que. 

"When you sat with Walter, it was like hanging out with family," Mack said. "The man was simply down to earth. We could talk about almost anything under the sun — that’s how cool he was.

“And now, he’s no longer with us. It’s a terrible loss, indeed. I’m going to miss him.”

Pinion is survived by his wife, Logii, his daughter, De'Khara, son-in-law Kehinde Moore, and a grandson, Khari Moore.

"I've been telling everybody he was one of my best friends," NSAF spokesman Steve Underwood said. "But I'll bet there's 50 or 100 people who would say Walter was one of their best friends, because he was a best friend to everybody. That's how he treated everybody."