Rain delayed the completion of the 1980 high school baseball state tournament, but a severe thunderstorm wasn’t enough to prevent the champion Bulldogs from gathering for a reunion here Friday evening to mark the 30th anniversary of their achievement.
Players and coaches were to have been publicly saluted between games of a White Hall-Mills doubleheader, but heavy rains, lightning and winds forced officials to stop the event after just two innings of the 4 p.m. opener. Undaunted, the 1980 collection regrouped for a banquet in the school cafeteria.
Coach Sam Smith and his assistant, Rick McLaughlin, emceed the meet. Players attending were Rick Carr, Skip Carr, Joe Cook, Alan Garner, Mike Glover, Keith Hobbs, Mike Holland, Andy Johnson, Tim Johnson, Randy Johnson, Billy Lindsey, Larry Shadle and LeRoy Tinkler. Unable to attend were players Keith McHan and Alan Truhett.
Everyone agreed that the past three decades have “gone by quicker than a pop-up fly.”
“Thirty years is a long time,” said Cook, the winning pitcher, “but that title game is something I think about all the time.
“Besides my children being born, it was probably the happiest day of my life.”
Hobbs said the team had a unique chemistry.
“We weren’t the most talented, but we worked hard and had fun and a lot of luck,” he reflected.
White Hall was the smallest school in the tournament. The Class AAA Bulldogs were pitted against Class AAAA and AAAAA opponents, including some of the state’s largest schools.
“I learned that a small school can play against and beat a bigger school,” Holland said of the Bulldogs’ experience.
Skip Carr, White Hall’s current baseball coach, said the Bulldogs’ championship march burned the importance of “teamwork, loyalty and dedication” into his character. “What I remember most about these guys is that they hated to lose,” he said of his former teammates.
Rick Carr said he’s never forgotten how the ’80 Bulldogs “stuck together” despite a lackluster early-season effort and dedicated themselves to steady improvement. “Winning the championship was great, and it was great that it taught me that in life, you shouldn’t ever quit,” he said.
“The championship showed me that where you’re going and where you wind up is so much more important than where you’ve been. No matter what, it’s not over until it’s over.”
McLaughlin said the ’80 Dogs were “a great group that put it all together in the last half of the season.”
“Hard work pays off, and if you get a few breaks, even better things can happen,” he believes. “My No. 1 memory of the team and our championship season is how well everybody played and how things fell into place.”
McLaughlin said he still “looks up to” the elder Smith and admires his work habits and organizational skills.
A statement by Shadle, however, may have been the finest tribute to the team.
“We could have been a lot better,” Shadle proclaimed.
That’s ultimate confidence.
Rain delayed the completion of the 1980 high school baseball state tournament, but a severe thunderstorm wasn’t enough to prevent the champion Bulldogs from gathering for a reunion here Friday evening to mark the 30th anniversary of their achievement.
Players and coaches were to have been publicly saluted between games of a White Hall-Mills doubleheader, but heavy rains, lightning and winds forced officials to stop the event after just two innings of the 4 p.m. opener. Undaunted, the 1980 collection regrouped for a banquet in the school cafeteria.
Coach Sam Smith and his assistant, Rick McLaughlin, emceed the meet. Players attending were Rick Carr, Skip Carr, Joe Cook, Alan Garner, Mike Glover, Keith Hobbs, Mike Holland, Andy Johnson, Tim Johnson, Randy Johnson, Billy Lindsey, Larry Shadle and LeRoy Tinkler. Unable to attend were players Keith McHan and Alan Truhett.
Everyone agreed that the past three decades have “gone by quicker than a pop-up fly.”
“Thirty years is a long time,” said Cook, the winning pitcher, “but that title game is something I think about all the time.
“Besides my children being born, it was probably the happiest day of my life.”
Hobbs said the team had a unique chemistry.
“We weren’t the most talented, but we worked hard and had fun and a lot of luck,” he reflected.
White Hall was the smallest school in the tournament. The Class AAA Bulldogs were pitted against Class AAAA and AAAAA opponents, including some of the state’s largest schools.
“I learned that a small school can play against and beat a bigger school,” Holland said of the Bulldogs’ experience.
Skip Carr, White Hall’s current baseball coach, said the Bulldogs’ championship march burned the importance of “teamwork, loyalty and dedication” into his character. “What I remember most about these guys is that they hated to lose,” he said of his former teammates.
Rick Carr said he’s never forgotten how the ’80 Bulldogs “stuck together” despite a lackluster early-season effort and dedicated themselves to steady improvement. “Winning the championship was great, and it was great that it taught me that in life, you shouldn’t ever quit,” he said.
“The championship showed me that where you’re going and where you wind up is so much more important than where you’ve been. No matter what, it’s not over until it’s over.”
McLaughlin said the ’80 Dogs were “a great group that put it all together in the last half of the season.”
“Hard work pays off, and if you get a few breaks, even better things can happen,” he believes. “My No. 1 memory of the team and our championship season is how well everybody played and how things fell into place.”
McLaughlin said he still “looks up to” the elder Smith and admires his work habits and organizational skills.
A statement by Shadle, however, may have been the finest tribute to the team.
“We could have been a lot better,” Shadle proclaimed.
That’s ultimate confidence.
