Melton Self grew up in Alabama but certainly made his life—an impactful one—in Tennessee. But it almost didn’t happen. In fact, Self twice almost stayed in his home state, but thoughts of the Alabama coal mines got the better of him and changed his mind.
Self was born in Dora, Alabama, and starred as a prep running back at Dora High School alongside Ben Fendley. Football coach Dave Aaron offered both scholarships. Fendley readily accepted to come north to Tennessee and Austin Peay. But Self still had a year of high school eligibility remaining at Dora. While in high school he spent a summer working the coal mines alongside his father. That summer assured Self coal-mining was not for him. When he discovered in 1947 the scholarship offer was still at hand in from Austin Peay, Self seized the opportunity.
During the 1947 Christmas holidays—after his first season at Austin Peay—Self returned home for the break. For the second time in less than a year, he did some Self reflecting, not sure whether he was school material, whether it was the best for him and his family to remain at Austin Peay. It didn’t take long for Self, with the help of his father, to come to the same conclusion he came to when he initially chose to come to Austin Peay—the coal mining life was not for him.
After converting from running back, Self started at left guard while Julius Sneed was the starting right guard, playing on each side of Hendricks Fox, the center. Certainly, it was not his size (5-9, 170 pounds) that made him so effective…No, it was his quickness and that center of the line was such a strength, it allowed Fendley to rush for 1,856 yards during his career.
Self was a four-season starter at left guard. Austin Peay went 24-12-2 in his four football seasons, including back-to-back eight-win campaigns in 1948-49, including Austin Peay’s first football championship (Volunteer State Athletic Conference). Self was an All-VSAC offensive lineman selection as a senior.
Self graduated from APSU in 1951, and then attended Peabody College where he received a Master’s Degree in Education in 1954. Before entering the teaching and coaching profession, Self served in the Air Force for two years where he received a commission of second lieutenant. His love of sports called him back to Tennessee where he taught and coached for 30 years in the Dickson County system. His wife, Mary Anne, who he met when he was a junior and she an Austin Peay freshman business student, was from Dickson.
Unquestionably, his first love was football. He helped lead the 1958 Dickson County football team to a perfect record and to three bowl games. But he also coached basketball. Although he had never seen a girls basketball game previously, he took over a losing girls program and took them to the state tournament for three straight years in the early 1960s. Whether it was working with football, basketball, baseball or as a coach, teacher or administrator, Self was committed to his students and their welfare.
As a result, to honor Self for his longtime dedication to Dickson County and its students, the Dickson County Board of Education in 2004—10 years before his death at age 86—dedicated the then-Dickson County High School Gymnasium…the Melton Self Gym.
