Marty Gordon and Heather Bell
The Radford community is remembering a sports legend this week after the passing of former Radford High School football coach Norman Lineburg Thursday, July 17, 2025.
The 89-year-old passed away this past week after a long health battle.
In a joint family statement, his family said Lineburg’s life was “defined by the shaping of young lives, on and off the field, deeply rooted in a belief in hustle, humility, and getting back up after being knocked down.”
“Coach didn’t just win games—he built character,” the Lineburg family said. “He taught grit, enthusiasm, and the beauty of being on a team. His passion came alive in raucous locker room celebrations after big wins that forever bonded generations of Bobcats. He loved his players, the young men and women he coached, the City of Radford, his network of coaching colleagues, and the sacred calling of public school coaching. He never stopped coaching, never stopped giving, and never stopped loving.”
According to his obituary, Lineburg grew up in Winchester and graduated from John Handley High School in 1954. He was later inducted into the school’s Hunter Maddox Hall of Fame. He attended Shepherd College, where he played four years of football and served as team captain of the 1958 Shepherd College Rams. He later earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia in 1962.
Lineburg began his teaching and coaching career in 1959 at Andrew Lewis High School in Salem. His first head football coaching position was at William Byrd High School in 1960, where he met the love of his life, Joann Young. They married on July 30, 1965, and shared 59 years of marriage. Coach later taught at Fieldale-Collinsville High School in Henry County, Virginia, serving as head football and track coach from 1964-1969.
In 1970, Coach Norman Lineburg became the head football and track coach at Radford High School, where he led the Bobcats for 38 years, from 1970 to 2007. He became one of the winningest coaches in Virginia High School League history and was inducted into the VHSL Hall of Fame in 1997. Under his leadership, the Bobcats won two football state championships and four state championships in track.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years Joann Young Lineburg.
Radford Mayor David Horton said Bobcat Nation lost one of the most significant figures in the Radford community.
“Lineburg has influenced generations of Bobcats and has helped the City of Radford beyond measure,” he said. “Personally, I have benefitted from his wisdom over the past 40 years, including during my time serving the City of Radford. Every time I encountered Coach Lineburg, I came away from the interaction with a better perspective.”
Vice Mayor Seth Gillespie played football under Lineburg and said Lineburg helped shape his life.
“His successes on the field are well known and legendary, but what he meant to this community and the ones whose lives he touched can’t be quantified,” Gillespie said in a social media post. “Coach Lineburg played a big part in my life. He told me some hard truths that I really didn’t want to hear at a time I needed it the most. At the time I may not have appreciated it or understood it but as time went on it meant the world to me and helped shape the person I wanted to be.”
“Coach embodied everything that makes Radford and Bobcat Nation what it is,” he continued. “We all will mourn his loss, but his life was well lived. His legacy will live on through his family, people, and players that were lucky enough to know him. They don’t make many men like him anymore, he will be missed.”
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions to the Norman G. Lineburg Scholarship, established in 2007 and awarded annually to a senior student-athlete at Radford High School who exemplifies sportsmanship and character. Coach Lineburg personally presented the award each year, and the family is committed to ensuring the scholarship continues in perpetuity.
Contributions may be sent to: Radford High School Foundation Inc, P.O. Box 2823, Radford, Va. 24143 and please memo for the Norman Lineburg Memorial Fund.
The family will receive friends 4 – 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, in the Dedmon Center at Radford University. A celebration of Coach’s life will follow at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2. Everyone is encouraged to wear their Bobcat Black and Gold.
