Monroe County's 1974 baseball team was arguably the school's greatest

Monroe County High School enjoys the greatest high school baseball tradition in the county, and much of that fine tradition is due to Coach Ronnie Dees and the school’s 1974 baseball team. 

Coach Ronnie Dees spent 19 years at MCHS, from 1958 to 1968 and from 1971 to 1980. During those years, his teams went 217-51, a winning percentage of .810. His teams also won 13 area championships during that time. Under Dees in the 1970’s, MCHS went 97-19 in baseball, a winning percentage of .836. 

Out of all of his teams, Dees’ 1974 team at MCHS stood out from all the rest. MCHS’s 1974 baseball team is the only team in the county’s history to have won a state championship. You can also make the argument that MCHS’s 1974 team was the most dominating baseball team to have ever taken the field in this county. 

Just how dominating was the 1974 team at MCHS? They finished the season with 16-1 record and made short work of many of their regular season opponents. 

MCHS collected its biggest win that season on April 3, 1974, when the Tigers beat Jackson 39-1 in Jackson. Other regular season wins included a 13-0 win over Jackson on March 28, an 11-1 win over Evergreen on April 5, a 14-1 win over T.R. Miller on April 12, an 11-0 win over W.S. Neal on April 19, a 12-2 win over Atmore on April 29. The closest win of the season came on April 16, when the Tigers beat Grove Hill 4-3 in 16 innings. 

MCHS opened its 1974 playoff run on Friday, May 3, when the Tigers beat Robertsdale High School, 15-5, in the opening round of the playoffs in Robertsdale. In the second round, MCHS beat Troy High School, 6-0, on Sat., May 4, in Monroeville. 

In the state semi-finals, MCHS beat Bibb County, 10-7 and 4-0, in Monroeville. Bibb County of Centreville entered the state playoffs as the 3A Area 5 champions. 

MCHS won the Class 3A state title that year by beating Sheffield High School in the state finals in a best-two-out-of-three series on May 17 and May 18, 1974. MCHS won the first game 3-2 on Friday, May 17. On May 18, MCHS lost its only game of the season, falling to Sheffield 4-0 in the second game of the series. In the game to decide the state champion, MCHS beat Sheffield, 5-0, on May 18. 

At the school’s annual basketball-baseball awards banquet on May 27, 1974 sophomore pitcher Terry Coleman took home the baseball team’s Most Valuable Player award. Coleman finished the season with 10 pitching wins, including two wins against Sheffield in the state finals. Coleman, a left-hander, also won two straight games in the regional playoffs to help the Tigers advance to the finals. 

Johnny Bartlett, a junior third baseman, was named the team’s best hitter, finishing the season with a .473 batting average. Buddy Black, a senior first baseman and pitcher, was named team captain. Tim Pullen, a second baseman, was named the team’s best fielder. 

Seniors on the 1974 team were Buddy Black, pitcher and first baseman; Tim Pullen, second base; Reid Nettles, catcher; Al Carr, shortstop; and Jim Brown, outfielder. 

Other players on the team were, Johnny Bartlett, third baseman; Scott Higginbotham, outfielder; Terry Coleman, pitcher, outfielder, first baseman; Ronald Brown, infielder and outfielder; Tom Dunning, infielder; James Smith, outfielder; David Askew, outfielder; Chris Black, pitcher, Pat Higginbotham, infielder and outfielder; Tony Wearren, catcher and infielder; and Joe Davis. 

In 1974, MCHS had no on-campus baseball field and played all of their home games at Monroeville’s Babe Ruth Park. Today, MCHS plays its home baseball games on campus in what is arguably the county’s finest baseball venue. 

As it should be, the field now bears the name of the school’s greatest baseball coach. In April 2005, a group of former players and students, led by Pete Black of Monroeville, participated in a ceremony to officially name the park Ronnie Dees Field.