Roy Massey: Parkview High School

Massey was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2014.

One of the state’s most-celebrated assistant coaches, Roy “Chief” Massey was as much a part of Parkview High School baseball as legendary coach Hugh Buchanan and former Major League Baseball player Jeff Francoeur.

He passed away on Feb. 17, 2022.

Massey was the head coach earlier in his career at Dunwoody and Towers. His coaching career spanned 53 years, including more than 40 at Parkview where he mentored countless youngsters. He arrived at Parkview in 1978 and taught industrial arts until retiring in 1994. He continued to substitute until 1999 and also coached other sports such as football and wrestling.

Fondly known as “Chief,” Massey shared with Gwinnett Daily Post sports editor Will Hammock in 2009 how he got his nickname.

“We were on a job one day and they started wanting to decide how to build a deck and I said, ‘Look, there ain’t but one chief here. And that’s me. You two Indians get to work,’ ” the Orrville, Ala. native said. “And they started calling me Chief. That’s how it started.”

Massey retired from coaching in 2016, but he still worked around the baseball facility, cutting grass and doing routine maintenance.

Parkview named its indoor hitting facility in 2017 after Massey. His jersey is one of three retired – along with Buchanan and Francouer – and hangs on the school baseball field’s outfield wall.

“I’ve known Chief for over 35 years,” former Mill Creek coach Doug Jones told the Gwinnett Daily Post. “I had the pleasure to play for him (at Parkview), coach with him (at Parkview) and compete against him (with Brookwood and Mill Creek).

“He’s been a great mentor and one of my dearest friends. He taught me so many life skills that helped mold me as a man. Hard work, discipline, doing it right the first time, an absolute distaste for losing, but most importantly, love. He’s a man’s man, a legend and one of the greatest ambassadors this game has ever known.”

Some information in this article was used from the Gwinnett Daily Post.