I invited two legendary Delta State University baseball coaches, Boo Ferriss and Mike Kinnison to be the featured speakers at our “Step Up to the Plate“ pre-season banquet when I coached almost a full season at Pearl High School in the spring of 2006.
It was held at what was then the Farm Bureau Grill behind right field at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi.
In the weeks before the banquet, I had searched the internet and finally found a vintage Boo Ferriss baseball card and my plan was for him to autograph it that night and then we would auction it off to the highest bidder to raise some funds for the team.
Before we got started I asked Pearl Superintendent Dr. Stanley Miller to kick off the auction by jumping up and making a bid of $500. He was quite a showman and could really pull this off.
When I asked for someone to open the bidding for the card, Dr. Miller jumped up and shouted “$500!”
I replied, “Sold!”
A five second auction.
Dr. Miller was surprised his opening bid was accepted and acted as if he was going to charge the podium. He played the part well. Everybody roared. It was great!
Coach Ferriss looked stunned that we could get $500 for the card so quickly. But I had no intention of really bidding it off… just trying to get a laugh.
And setting up Dr. Miller was the fun part.
The auction prank was really funny and Coach got a kick out of it.
The speakers were great and everybody had a good time. And in the end, I had an autographed card from a Mississippi baseball legend. It certainly is not worth $500.
It is priceless!
Stan Miller, who never paid for the card, and his posse of administrators, board members and hater parents (some of who were administrators and board members), suspended me from coaching my team a couple months later, soon after we defeated Tim Dowdy‘s Ridgeland Titans for the district championship at their home field.
Insubordination was the charge. Imagine that.
The Pirates went two and out in their first post season appearance in several years. I believe we might have done better if I got to participate. We all lost.
But my real punishment was having to teach 10th grade World History for the rest of the school year or at least act like I was. 😁
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 