Monday, April 21, 2008

BHS Baseball Team



-revised photo-

One of Baldwyn's great baseball teams from the early '50s. Who can name any or all?
_______________________

From Joe Cunningham: Coach Haynes was before Coach Jobe, as all of you know. He is in U of Memphis Hall of Fame and was renowned for scoring a touchdown the first time he touched the ball for Memphis State. He died of Alzheimer's.

Points from his obituary: C. PAUL HAYNES, 85, of Germantown, died Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at Bright Glade Convalescent Center. Mr. Haynes was a graduate of Jeff Davis High School and Holmes Junior College, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for football, basketball and track. He was the head coach at Louise, MS, Ethel, MS, and Baldwyn, MS. He was also head coach at Germantown High School, principal of Germantown Elementary School and driver education instructor. He was a long time member and deacon of Germantown Baptist Church.

Photo courtesy of Larry Johnson - click to enlarge

22 comments:

  1. Wow, a tough one. 3rd row left:
    James Lominick
    ??
    Jim Agnew?
    Larry Johnson
    Mert Phillips
    Coach Haynes
    2nd row left:
    Billy Frost
    ?Jimmy Baxter?
    Jack Christian
    Martin Howard
    Bobby Aldridge?
    ??
    1st row left:
    ??
    Bobby Tom Outlaw
    Phil Gordon
    Luther Ray McMillan
    ??

    Joe C.

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  2. Could that be Bobby Hamblin on right side of 2nd row?

    Joe C.

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  3. Very good, Joe! You got more identified than I did. I couldn't recall Mert's first name and Bobby Tom's at all.

    This is the only photo we have of Jack Christian that I know of.

    Thanks.

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  4. Is that Stanley Hendricks on the extreme right of the second row, in front of Mert?

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  5. Carl, the 2nd from left top row looks like you. Is it?

    TMG

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  6. Marketing of Grit newspaper is nowhere near all it is cracked up to be.

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  7. TMG, that's not me. I played baseball for one school year and I don't think we ever got our photo taken.

    I know all those faces but one or two, but cannot come up with a name for the ones I recognize.

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  8. Top row second from left might be Jimmy Pettigrew, who married Billy Ray Dobbs's sister Pat.

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  9. Could be Jimmy Pettigrew.... Larry do you know the ones we are haveing trouble with?

    BG

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  10. Also, in the top photo that dear sweet Ms Frances Walker looks like she has a milk moustache...

    BG

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  11. This is John O's List and Commentary.
    Front Row L to R
    ______? Williams
    Bobby Tom Outlaw
    Phil Gordon
    Louis Ray McMillan
    Jackie Sandlin
    Second Row
    Billy Frost
    Jimmy Baxter
    Jack Christian
    Martin Howard
    Bobby Aldridge
    Bobby Hamblin
    Top Row
    James Lominick
    Jimmy Pettigrew
    Jim Agnew
    Larry Johnson
    Mert Phillips
    Coach Haynes
    Jackie Sandlin was a knuckle-ball, curve-ball, left handed, relief pitcher from Saltillo,MS. He was the team closer. He also doubled as Mr. Baker's assistant in Government class. Jackie passed away at a very young age. If not for medical problems, I believe he and Jimmy Baxter would still be playing or managing in the Big League's. JOC
    (I showed John O. the picture before he looked at the other guesses and this is the way he remembered them.) Let us know if any are incorrect. glo

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  12. This picture brings back some great memories. It was the spring 1953 season, when James, Martin, Larry, and I were just freshmen playing with the older guys. Some of the things I remember: Jack Christian could throw a baseball almost a hundred yards on the fly; Bobby Aldridge hit a home run that hit the schoolhouse on a couple of bounces; Bobby Tom was a slick-fielding shortstop who could make amazing plays from deep in the hole; Jim Agnew and I were neighbors and played catch in the park at Bethany; Jimmy Baxter had a pretty good curve ball; James Lominick had a great hitter's eye but was so slow he turned a lot of doubles into singles; Jimmy Pettigrew was a good catcher but liked to block the plate with his shoulder (which led to a dislocated shoulder the next year--and me replacing him behind the plate); Larry Johnson threw a tantalizing slow curve. Funny, I don't remember anything at all about our won-loss record--must not have been very good.

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  13. I don't remember records either but thought those were very good HS teams. Kossuth had the best athlete that I remember, Lawrence Meeks, who played 1B and pitched, and could easily lay balls over the right field fence. Later he was a running back at Southern MS. They also had Jake Mills who became a business wizard in Tupelo and is now deceased. Jake pitched and his brother Joe was catcher.

    Joe C.

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  14. Thanks to all. I have been perusing names since the picture first showed up, and didn't come up with the names that I knew so well fifty years ago.
    Hmmmm. Must be getting old.
    RB

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  15. We attended Germantown Baptist Church quite a bit when living in Memphis. Coach Haynes was fondly referred to as "coach" all the time. I saw and talked to him on a few occasions, but never made the connection to his being the head coach at BHS previously.
    Funny how I missed that. I regret it, but at least I saw what a person of integrity he was.

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  16. Yes, I remember the Mills boys: I moved to Booneville after my sophomore year and my junior year played on the Blue Devils basketball team that upset Kossuth in the district finals. I was a much better baseball than basketball player, but I could play pretty good defense and got assigned to guard Joe Mills in the championship game. It was tough, but I did a fairly good job. My principal contribution to our victory, however, was that I had the ball in my hands with 5 seconds to go and us one point down, and I had the good sense to pass the ball to George Oakley, who hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer. Ironically, the next week we lost to Belzoni in the North Half, and our coach Cecil Graham (brother to Country Graham of Ole Miss) was fired. But things worked out well for him since he went on to coach at Kossuth the next year and they won the state championship. That Kossuth team had a dominating Jerry Keaton-type center, named Coleman, as I recall.

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  17. I talked to "Hugh Baby" Coleman, from Kossuth, last year at his shoe store just off Hwy 78 at Blue Springs exit near Tupelo. He tried to sell me some $800 boots while talking about Jap Reynolds and many others and told me that he owned some acreage in the area and hoped to make a tidy profit on it when things worked out.

    Anyhow, I'm sure he did, since the new Toyota plant is being built on part of it. A great basketball career and then a windfall in his senior years - it ain't fair.

    My memory is failing me but didn't Kossuth lose to Mantachie, with the Dill twins, in the finals of the State tourney that was held in Baldwyn?

    Joe C.

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  18. Joe, we're both right, maybe. As you'll recall, those were the days when the four divisional champions (A, AA, B, BB ??)played in the Grand Slam for the overall state championship. Mantachie did win the Grand Slam when the Dill twins played; maybe Kossuth just won the A (?) championship that year and lost in the Grand Slam? In those days the B and BB teams (smaller schools) usually had better basketball teams than the A/AA teams. Since the smaller schools didn't play football, they started basketball early. The Jerry Keaton Wheeler team, as I recall, played more than 40 games that year. Thanks for reminding me about Hugh Baby's name.

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  19. Bobby, I can't quite bring it all up either. There were so many good teams: 1955 Wheeler, Walnut with Kermit Davis, some Baldwyn teams, Kossuth, Mantachie, some Booneville teams and more I can't name. NE Mississippi dominated that era.

    Joe C.

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  20. Yes, Lawrence Meeks was a great all-round athlete. Another was ---- Eubanks from Tupelo. But I think the best baseball player I ever played against was a left-handed pitcher from Saltillo (somebody help me remember his name) who could throw the ball, I'm sure, in the 90 mph range. Lefty Bryant of Cedar Hill could also throw a pretty good hummer.

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  21. Bobby, would that be Jimmy Nash Stanford who had a pro contract and spent some time in Class D but didn't like the life I guess?

    Joe C.

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  22. Yes, Jimmy Nash Stanford. Thanks for reminding me. I never knew he played any pro ball, but I'm not surprised.

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