The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for May 21, 2018

Sparta Academy's Jerry Peacock.

10 YEARS AGO

MAY 15, 2008

Sparta Academy senior Myles Wiggins received the coveted Jerry Peacock Memorial Award last Thursday night during the school’s annual athletic awards banquet in Evergreen. The award is given annually to the school’s top senior athlete in memory of Jerry Peacock, a 1977 Sparta Academy graduate and standout athlete whose life was cut short in a tragic drowning accident shortly after his high school graduation. Wiggins, the son of Sam and Allison Wiggins of Evergreen, was a standout athlete during his career at Sparta, excelling in a number of sports, including football, basketball, baseball and golf.

Sparta Academy senior Peyton Thompson received the coveted D.T. Stuart Football Sportsmanship Award last Thursday night during the school’s annual athletic awards banquet in Evergreen. The award is given annually to the football player at the school who displays the best sportsmanship on and off the playing field throughout the season. Thompson was also named as a Football Captain Award winner and was tapped as the winner of the football team’s Best Defensive Back Award.

Sparta Academy senior Susan Ann Cook received the coveted Wayne Peacock Memorial Award last Thursday night during the school’s athletic awards banquet in Evergreen. The award is presented annually to the school’s top girls basketball player in memory of longtime Sparta girls basketball booster, Wayne Peacock. Cook also received a Senior Recognition Award, a Girls Basketball Captain Award and a Varsity Cheerleader Captain Award.

Hillcrest High School will wrap up spring football practice tomorrow (Friday) night when the Jags will travel to Roanoke to play a spring football game against Handley High School. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Wright Field in Roanoke.

(Rising seniors on Hillcrest’s team that spring included Devin Carlis, Dexter Chapman, Ellis Gill, Destin Gross, Eother Holder, Antonio Jordan, Ramel McClean, Quenton Nettles, Alexander Nevlous, Vincent Randleson, Malcolm Rudolph, Price Salter, Shannon Salter, Derek Smith, Malik Steen, Terrence Thomas, Justin Watson and Earnest Williams. Maurice Belser was head coach.)

35 YEARS AGO

MAY 19, 1983

Sparta pays tribute to its athletes: Tribute was paid to all the athletes of Sparta Academy at the annual All-Sports Banquet, sponsored by the Sparta Quarterback Club in the school gymnatorium on May 5.

Joey Johnson was winner of the coveted D.T. Stuart Jr. Sportsmanship Trophy. Russ Raines was winner of the equally desired Jerry W. Peacock Memorial Trophy.

Winners of the various awards in the respective sports follows:

Football: best blocker, Mike Wilson; best defensive player, Wes Brown; best academic average, Britt McNeil; hustler, Wes Brown; sportsmanship award, Joey Johnson; and captain, Russ Raines and Wes Brown.

Baseball: leading hitter, Al Etheridge; captain, Russ Raines; academic average, Mike Wilson; best defensive player, Joey Johnson; sportsmanship award, Ed Carrier; and hustler, Joe McInvale.

Basketball: hustler, Russ Raines; defensive player, Russ Brown; rebounder, Chris Blatz; best field goal percentage, Chris Blatz; best free throw percentage, Chris Blatz; academic average, Britt McNeil; sportsmanship award, Vince Watts; and captain, Chris Blatz.

Girls basketball: captain, Cheri Johnson; sportsmanship award, Cheri Johnson; defensive award, Cheri Johnson; best field goal percentage, Tammy Booker; academic average, Jan Coker; hustler, Raye Ann Gall; best rebounder, Tina Bybee; and best free throw percentage, Leah Carrier.

60 YEARS AGO

MAY 15, 1958

The Evergreen Little League began official play Tuesday night with games between the Chicks and Orioles and the Yankees and the Dodgers.

In the American League, the Chicks dropped the Orioles by a score of 9-1. Glass was the winning pitcher for the Chicks and Engle was credited with the loss for the Orioles.

The Chicks were credited with two hits, both collected by second sacker Kelly. Kelly tagged a single in the third inning and a double in the fourth. The Orioles failed to touch Glass for a single hit.

Losing pitcher Engle fanned 10 men and walked 10. Glass struck out six men and walked four.

In the National League, the Dodgers continued their winning ways from previous seasons by dropping the Yankees by a score of 13-7.

Briggs was credited with the win for the Dodgers and Cloud was the losing pitcher for the Yanks.

Lambert led the Dodger hitters at the plate with two doubles for three trips. He was followed by Tolbert and Jackson with singles and Briggs who connected with a three-bagger. The losing Yanks were led at the plate by Scott Cook who tagged two doubles and Salter, Warren and Hayes who singled.

Aggies defeat Monroeville, 13-0: The score was very much like one from a football game but the game was definitely baseball when Friday the Aggie nine downed Monroeville, 13-0.

(Players on Evergreen High School’s team that year included Robert Ellington and Ken Tucker.)

85 YEARS AGO

MAY 18, 1933

Locals Take Game From Greenville 4-3: Evergreen’s Fighting Irish baseball team defeated Greenville on the Butler capital’s home field Sunday, by a score of 4 to 3, in a contest which was not decided until Archie Barfield, Evergreen first sacker, made a final putout in the ninth inning.

Greenville scored first, in the first inning, with the aid of some weird fielding and umpiring, garnering one run off Loyce Hyde; Evergreen tied the score in their half of the third, and put the game away safely in the fifth, when three runs cluttered across the pan, Joe Hagood exploding a clean base hit to right field after three mates had taken life on the sacks, to supply the big punch in the winning splurge.

The locals lost a run in the first inning when Hagood apparently scored from third base on a close play in which the Greenville catcher failed to tag him. Umpire Bryant, however, waved the runner out, despite Pierce’s efforts to tag Joe after the latter had slid into the pot and after the catcher’s initial attempt to tag him coming in, had failed.

Greenville kept pecking away at Hyde, and scored one run each in the sixth and seventh innings, to creep within one run of the locals. With one away in the ninth, Greenville put two men on the base paths, but Hyde “bowed his neck,” bore down like a trooper and retired the next two hitters, closing the game in a blaze of cunning curve ball pitching.

Al Hansen, husky Evergreen shortstop, was the victim of two collisions on the base paths, Greenville runners running into him on two occasions just as he was set to make a play on batted balls down his groove.

110 YEARS AGO

MAY 20, 1908

Sunday Ball Players Arrested: Mobile, May 17 – Deputy Sheriff Nugent this afternoon arrested 18 ball players and Umpire Pfenninger on charges of playing ball on Sunday. Bond was immediately provided and the game proceeded without interruption. The arrests of the Montgomery and Mobile players came between the first and second innings and no one in the immense crowd knew of the occurrence until after the game.

The trial has been set for June 12, next, when the same teams are scheduled to play here again.

The arrest today is the second for alleged violation of the Sunday baseball law this month, and the local association announced tonight that another game will be played next Sunday when Atlanta and Mobile are scheduled to clash.