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| Wayne Frazier of Evergreen, Ala. |
This week marks 55 years since Donnie Jones became the first
person ever selected for inclusion in the Evergreen High School Baseball Hall
of Fame. Jones, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Jones, was a senior during the
1963 season, and he was selected for the honor based on a vote by his
teammates.
The best that I can remember, this is the only reference to
Evergreen High School’s Baseball Hall of Fame that I’ve seen, and I’m not sure
how many years it existed or how many players were named to this hall of fame.
Henry Allmon was the school’s head baseball coach 1963, and this hall of fame
may have ceased to be when he left that position.
Speaking of halls of fame, I think it would be cool to have
a Conecuh County Sports Hall of Fame, and I think you could fill it up pretty
quick with well-known sports figures from the county’s past. Maybe one day when
the Conecuh County Cultural Center gets on its feet, the administrators of that
institution might consider starting a full-fledged local sports hall of fame
like those that already exist in other counties in the state.
As far as who would be suitable for inclusion in a Conecuh
County Sports Hall of Fame, it’s easy to come up with a lengthy list. If you
started with coaches, I think you would have to include the likes of Wendell
Hart, Richard Brown, Tommy Dukes, Mike Bledsoe, Russ Brown, Charles Branum,
Hugh Wilson, H.L. Watson, M.C. Thomasson, Oran Frazier and Mike Cheatham. I’m
probably leaving a few out, but you get my drift.
From the world of football, I can think of an even longer
list of local names. Suitable candidates would have to include Wayne Frazier,
Deatrich Wise, Bob Meeks, Drew Davis, Justin Nared, Ted Watson, Chris Dukes,
Homer Faulkner, Ronnie McKenzie, Buddy Monroe, Michael Pate, John Greel Ralls,
Jeff Moorer, Lee Goodwin, Doug Williams, Marvin Williams, Jimmy Hart, Buck
Quarles, Hollis Tranum, Dewayne McQueen, Jeff Brock, John Law Robinson, Gillis
Morgan, Tony Rogers, Dickey Bozeman, Shirley Frazier, Homer Chavers, Billy
Melton, Sam Cope and Donald Lee.
When it comes to basketball, I’d start out with Tommy Dukes,
Chris Hines, David Thomas, Ronnie Jackson, Wavie Ausbey, Randy White, Ronald
Fantroy, Michael Campbell, Nicky Jones, Erica Palmer, Andrea Ward, Kelvin
Davis, Adrian Woods, Wayne Pope and Bill Dukes.
From the world of baseball, I’d include Ottis Johnson, Edsel
Johnson, Skin Hyde, Warren Bolton, Jerry Peacock, Lee Wild, Sid Lambert, Hugh
Ellington and Steven Gall.
A few others that I would nominate would be Sparta
super-booster Byron Warren Jr., World Turkey Calling champion Eddie Salter,
outdoorsman Ken Tucker, Olympic boxer Clint Jackson, track star Mathew Likely,
Evergreen native Keith Pugh, public address announcer Willie Crutchfield, tennis
player Philip Harold Jr. and golfers Jason West, Bill Ivey and Johnny Brown.
Many of the people mentioned above were great all-around
athletes and would likely qualify for inclusion in multiple sports. I think
Tommy Dukes is a good example of this. Not only did he lead Hillcrest to a
state basketball title as a head coach, but he was also one of the greatest
high school basketball players to ever come out of Conecuh County. In addition
to this, he was also a dominate football player, earning all-state honors as a
defensive lineman during his playing days at Repton High School.
Those are about all of the names I can come up with off the
top of my head, and I’m sure there are many, many other outstanding athletes
deserving of inclusion in a local sports hall of fame. I’d like to hear from
you if you can think of a name that needs to be added to the list. Please
e-mail me at courantnewsdesk@gmail.com if you’ve got a name you’d like to throw
in the hat and provide the reasons why you think they should be included in a
local sports hall of fame.
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