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The Clarion-Ledger – Jackson Daily News, Sunday, June 3, 1979 by Bernard Fernandez
In the closest balloting since a Chicago newspaper miscalled the Truman-Dewey election, Wingfield pitcher Steve Renfrow and Magnolia Academy coach Rick Clarke have taken the top spots on The Clarion-Ledger & Jackson Daily News All-City baseball team.
A panel of local baseball experts- sports writers, college coaches, umpires and professional scouts- took part in the voting.
Renfrow, a senior left-hander who posted a 13-0 record for the State Class AA champion Falcons, edged teammate Ed Bradley, St. Andrews pitcher Chris Burgess and Magnolia Academy pitcher Ricky Chisolm for Player of the Year honors while Clarke, who guided the Raiders to the State Class AA crown, nipped Wingfield’s Willis Steenhuis and St. Andrews’s Mike Barkett.
Renfrow was a rags-to-riches performer who pitched only six innings for the Wingfield varsity team in 1978. This year, however, he emerged as the ace for a team that went 26-4 and won its first state title.
Renfrow’s main assets were a sweeping curve and sharp control, although he set a Wingfield record by striking out 123 batters in 86 2/3 innings.
“I’m really not a power pitcher,” said Renfrow. “I use my breaking stuff to set up hitters for the fastball.”
Renfrow finished the season with a microscopic 0.97 earned run average, allowing just 31 hits and 30 bases on balls. He also batted .327 with 23 runs batted in, playing right field when not on the mound.
Clarke guide Magnolia to a 31-3 record– making the Raiders only the third high school team in Mississippi ever to win 30 or more games in a single season — and boosting his three year mark at the school to 77-19.
“We would like to think we have as fine a baseball program as there is in the area,” says Clarke, noting that Magnolia had never played more than 12 games in a season until he took over in 1977.
“I appreciate the Coach of the Year award and congratulate Coach Steenhuis and Coach Barkett on their great seasons and championships,” he added.
Bradley was 9-2 as a pitcher, but he was named to the first team on the strength of his offensive prowess. He wound up batting .468 and set school records, smashing 10 home runs and driving in 38 runs.
A six-year starter for St. Andrews, Burgess set records that may last forever. He concluded his career with the Saints as the all-time winningest pitcher in Mississippi prep history with a 50-3 mark. He won all 12 of his 1979 decisions, extending an unbeaten streak to 29 straight dating back to his sophomore year.
Just as fearsome at the plate, Burgess hit .512 with a 52 RBIs.
Another double threat was Chisolm, who was 13-1 as Magnolia’s premiere pitcher while batting .430 and driving in 45 runs. He won 32 games in his three year career as a Raider.
Steenhuis, a longtime coach in the Jackson Public school system completing his second year at Wingfield, led the Falcons to their first state baseball title after directing now-defunct Jackson Central to three state crowns in the 1960s.
Barkett‘s Saints made it three Class B championships in a row, an unprecedented feat, by going 28-2 this season. From 1977 through 1979, St. Andrew’s was 46-0 against Class B competition.
Take a look at the players on the All-City Team in 1979. Wow!
First Team:
Steve Renfrow, Wingfield, Senior, Pitcher, 13-0; Chris Burgess, St. Andrews, Senior, Pitcher, 12-0; Ricky Chisolm, Magnolia Academy, Senior, Pitcher, 13-1; Michael Smith, Murrah, Senior, Pitcher, 6-3; Timmy Pettit, Jim Hill, Junior, Catcher, .397; Alex Luna, St. Joseph, Senior, First Baseman, .411; Dan Van Cleave, Jackson Prep, Junior, Second Baseman, .365; Brad Armstrong, McCluer Academy, Senior, Third Baseman, .414; Stan Prewitt, Magnolia Academy, Senior, Shortstop, .400; Ed Bradley, Wingfield, Outfielder, .468; Bernard Braddy, Murrah, Senior, Outfielder, .367, Stuart Burgess, St. Andrews, Sophomore, Outfielder, .360.
Second Team:
Phillip Peeples, Jim Hill, Kerry Page, Manhattan Academy, Tim McMillian, Magnolia Academy, Kevin Dennis, Manhattan Academy, Nick Myers, Magnolia Academy, Richie Hines, Jim Hill, John Andrews, Wingfield, Justin Williams, Wingfield, Chris Maloney, St. Joseph, Kelly Catchot, Wingfield, Tim Dukes, McCluer Academy, Rob Harrell, Magnolia Academy.
Honorable Mention:
Jeffrey Travis, Wingfield, Mike Huff, Wingfield, Bobby Wall, St. Andrews, Doug Varney, St. Andrews, Doyle Cole, Jim Hill, Will Kinnebrew, Jim Hill, Jimmy Anderson, Jim Hill, Johnny Boswell, Jim Hill, Mike McNair, Manhattan Academy, Mike Gillespie, Manhattan Academy, Edwin Hilliard, Lanier, Keith Claxton, Lanier, Richard Anderson, Lanier, Don Henke, Callaway, Tony Lasseter, Forest Hill, Jon Burkett, Jackson Prep, Charles Nail, McCluer Academy.
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 