(#49) "Echols called Clarke 'a real baseball man' and credited him with building the confidence in his team."(Clay Harden, Jackson Daily News, March, 1977). That's a nice compliment from a great coach who a few weeks later threatened to whip my &!@ in front of my own dugout on my own home field, because one … Continue reading Lamont
Category: Stories 41-50
All He Does is Win
(#48) The great Jeff Long was the quick-footed, sure handed shortstop, leadoff hitter, clutch performer, team captain, and leader during the 1988 and 1989 seasons at Hinds. He was gritty, savvy, and ballsy. The Clinton High School grad received the Outstanding Performance Award for Defense during the 1988 season when the Eagles won the South … Continue reading All He Does is Win
50th Anniversary: “The Boys of ’73” – When the Great Hinds Baseball Tradition Got Its Start
(#47) In the spring of 1973, Hinds reinstated the baseball team for the first time since 1958. Danny Neely was the coach. Powell Taylor drove the bus and coached first base. The players had to construct a make-shift baseball field (located in the same position as today's Joe G. Moss Field). Note the photo of … Continue reading 50th Anniversary: “The Boys of ’73” – When the Great Hinds Baseball Tradition Got Its Start
No Picnic at Perk
(#46) Mississippi Gulf Coast always had a serious home field advantage in Perkinston. In 1993, in a 3-3 tie, with nobody on base and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldog's lead-off hitter hit a line drive down the left field line. Before it could roll into the corner for at … Continue reading No Picnic at Perk
Greatest Moments in Baseball
(#45) This is one of the greatest moments in sports. Right after the Delta State Statesmen won the Division II National Baseball Championship on May 3, 2004 at Patterson Field in Montgomery, Alabama, DSU head coach Mike Kinnison climbs over the third base dugout and into the stands to present the trophy to his mentor … Continue reading Greatest Moments in Baseball
The Dynamic Duo
(#44) The 1989 Hinds Eagles had a roster full of productive players, most having the best seasons of their lives. But when looking closely at the numbers, the combined efforts of two really jump off the page, one hitting in the three hole and the other batting clean-up. Terre Woods (T), was a catcher/infielder from … Continue reading The Dynamic Duo
Josh’s Greatest Game I Never Saw
(#43) It was the 2nd round of the 2008 Mississippi high school baseball playoffs. Clinton hosting Northwest Rankin in a best of three series. The Arrows had never beaten NWR. My son Josh would be the starting pitcher in game 1. The head coach of the Cougars was one of the best baseball players I … Continue reading Josh’s Greatest Game I Never Saw
Top Performances
Call the Coach! (#42) This page recognizes outstanding individual performances through the years. This is a on-going page updated on a regular basis. Chad Bradford pitched 192 2/3 innings between 2007 and 2009 with the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays and earned $10,499,999.00. That's $54,404.14...... per inning. (before taxes). Steve Bourgeois pitched for … Continue reading Top Performances
Snuffy’s Ruthian Bomb
(#41) It's a urban legend in West Jackson. If you saw it, you didn't believe it and if you didn't see it, you can’t believe it. But it happened at the annual Magnolia Academy Baseball Classic in March of 1981. In a night game against Brandon and Manhattan, the Rebel's Raymond "Snuffy" Everett hit an … Continue reading Snuffy’s Ruthian Bomb
Sacred Ground at 555 Magnolia Road
(#50) If you went to Magnolia Academy and ever want to visit your old school, you're gonna have to rent a house. The subdivision is called Keystone Estates. What the tenants don't know is that those houses are built on sacred ground with a lot of blood and guts and memories inside those gates, under … Continue reading Sacred Ground at 555 Magnolia Road
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 