In the spring of 1980, the minimum wage was $3.10 an hour. Gasoline’s average price was $1.22 a gallon. Milk cost $1.50 a gallon. Bread’s price tag was 50 cents a loaf. The average cost of a new car was $7,575.
Most Americans were debating on who shot J.R. Ewing, the billionaire villain on television’s No. 1 hit series, the prime time soap opera “Dallas.” Other favorite TV shows included “Happy Days,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “M*A*S*H” and “Little House on the Prairie.”
Top-rated movies ranged from “The Blues Brothers,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Caddyshack” to “Prom Night,” “Raging Bull,” “Urban Cowboy” and “The Elephant Man.”
Best-selling music recordings included Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Willie Nelson‘s “On the Road Again,” The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.”
But here, all attention was focused on a rarity – a White Hall High School state championship sports squad. Sam Smith and assistant Rick McLaughlin coached the baseball team to an unexpected state crown.
On Friday, April 23, the team will gather here again for its first reunion, marking the 30th anniversary of its title run. Smith and McLaughlin plan to attend along with 14 of the club’s 15 players.
Smith and McLaughlin have advanced to administrative roles in their education careers. Smith is a deputy superintendent here and McLaughlin is an assistant chief of the Hot Springs Lakeside School District.
Smith said the team is to be introduced publicly in conjunction with a 5A-Southeast doubleheader pitting White Hall against Mills. Following the games, the title team will convene to the high school cafeteria for a private dinner.
District officials here thought the public might enjoy an opportunity to meet and greet the championship squad while rooting for the current team, which is coached by Skip Carr, an outfielder and pitcher on the 1980 club.
Other ’80 players scheduled to attend include Rick Carr, Mike Glover, Mike Holland and Larry Shadle of White Hall, Alan Garner of Pine Bluff, Keith Hobbs of Redfield, Joe Cook of Rison, Randy Johnson of Greenbrier, Tim Johnson of Bentonville, Bill Lindsey of Maumelle, Keith McHann of Searcy, and Andy Johnson of Epping, N.H. Allen Turhett of Hughesville, Md., has indicated he probably won’t be able to make the trip.
More details will be published as they become available.
In the spring of 1980, the minimum wage was $3.10 an hour. Gasoline’s average price was $1.22 a gallon. Milk cost $1.50 a gallon. Bread’s price tag was 50 cents a loaf. The average cost of a new car was $7,575.
Most Americans were debating on who shot J.R. Ewing, the billionaire villain on television’s No. 1 hit series, the prime time soap opera “Dallas.” Other favorite TV shows included “Happy Days,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “M*A*S*H” and “Little House on the Prairie.”
Top-rated movies ranged from “The Blues Brothers,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Caddyshack” to “Prom Night,” “Raging Bull,” “Urban Cowboy” and “The Elephant Man.”
Best-selling music recordings included Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Willie Nelson‘s “On the Road Again,” The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.”
But here, all attention was focused on a rarity – a White Hall High School state championship sports squad. Sam Smith and assistant Rick McLaughlin coached the baseball team to an unexpected state crown.
On Friday, April 23, the team will gather here again for its first reunion, marking the 30th anniversary of its title run. Smith and McLaughlin plan to attend along with 14 of the club’s 15 players.
Smith and McLaughlin have advanced to administrative roles in their education careers. Smith is a deputy superintendent here and McLaughlin is an assistant chief of the Hot Springs Lakeside School District.
Smith said the team is to be introduced publicly in conjunction with a 5A-Southeast doubleheader pitting White Hall against Mills. Following the games, the title team will convene to the high school cafeteria for a private dinner.
District officials here thought the public might enjoy an opportunity to meet and greet the championship squad while rooting for the current team, which is coached by Skip Carr, an outfielder and pitcher on the 1980 club.
Other ’80 players scheduled to attend include Rick Carr, Mike Glover, Mike Holland and Larry Shadle of White Hall, Alan Garner of Pine Bluff, Keith Hobbs of Redfield, Joe Cook of Rison, Randy Johnson of Greenbrier, Tim Johnson of Bentonville, Bill Lindsey of Maumelle, Keith McHann of Searcy, and Andy Johnson of Epping, N.H. Allen Turhett of Hughesville, Md., has indicated he probably won’t be able to make the trip.
More details will be published as they become available.
