| Remember when takes a look back at the local stories from the files of The Messenger that took place 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 years ago.
30 Years Ago
June 20 — A host of area youths were winners in the annual Goodyear Wingfoot Jr. Golf Tournament. Among the top players in girls’ competition were Terri Lamb, Mary Kate Erwin, Shelby Morgan, Sherri Lamb and Angie Baker. Boys’ top finishers included Mat Sturgis, Mickey Barker, Carl Talbott, Mark Maness, Hunt Boyd and Rick Childers.
June 24 — Vondal Davidson homered and Michael Priest had three singles to help Obion edge Reelfoot 14-13 in Obion County Little League play. Winning pitcher Allen Brown aided his own cause with a pair of hits, while Donnie Walton contributed to the victorious cause with a double. Despite the loss, Lance Gray smacked a grand slam for Reelfoot, while both Gene Walden and Shane Glisson had doubles for the Reelfoot team
20 Years Ago
June 21 — Union City head football coach Randy Barnes orchastrated the game plan for a shutout as defensive coordinator for the Tennessee squad in a 14-0 blanking of Kentucky in the 10th annual all-star game between top graduating seniors from the two states in Knoxville. Vanderbilt-bound Marcus Lewis had five tackles and played the entire game in the secondary for the Tennessee team that forced four turnovers and allowed just 170 yards. Henry County head coach James Counce — who starred as a player at South Fulton — was part of Barnes’ defensive staff, coaching the backfield.
June 25 — Regular season champion Dental Center made it a clean sweep of the Union City Coach-Pitch titles by winning the postseason tournament with a 15-9 victory over UC Insurance. Drew Babb went 4-for-4, while John West, Adrian Finch, A.J. Gibson and Talon Bivens all had three hits for DC. Adam Cross, Ben Reese, Kevin Tuscan and Jeff Potter each collected three safeties for UCI.
10 Years Ago
June 20 — After one season away, Sam Miller agreed to come back to the Fulton City boys’ basketball bench. Miller led the Bulldogs to four straight regional berths and a 103-85 record during his previous seven-year tenure as head coach. He was to replace Josh Shults, who went 7-16 in his only year at the helm before resigning and returning to his native Murfreesboro.
June 23— Former South Fulton High School star and Class Mr. Basketball Trey Pearson confirmed he would transfer to Murray State after spending just one season at Ole Miss. Pearson, who led the Red Devils to the Class 1A state title as a sophomore, ranked among the top players in the SEC in assists-to-turnovers ratio in his only year at Oxford. Murray State won out for his services as a transfer over Boston College, Oklahoma and UT Martin.
5 Years Ago
June 23 — Kim Decker was named head boys’ coach at Dyersburg — making her the only female to have those responsibilities in a boys’ sport in the Tennessee prep ranks. Decker, who starred as a player at Obion County Central and also coached the Lady Rebels for eight seasons in which they won 169 games, succeeded Dion Real. Decker had cut her teeth in the coaching business during a four-year stint at Lake County High School and had a career record of 236-122. Rising sophomore son, Winn, was to be a part of her first Dyersburg club.
June 26 — The team of Gary Gill, Carlos Rodriguez, Syd Chappell, Jim Baker, Tiger Haag and Matt Elam combined to shoot a blistering 11-under par and win the weekly men’s golf scramble at Poplar Meadows Country Club. The 9-under score of a team made up of John Miles, Phillip White, Rick Smith, Raymond Hendrix and Richard Davidson would’ve won most weeks, but was only good enough for second in the final June outing of the year.
1 Year Ago
June 21 — Rising Union City High School senior Drake Parker was chosen to play for Team Tennessee against fellow baseball standouts from Alabama and Georgia in the two-day Border Wars Classic, set for Atlanta. Parker was picked for the 20-member squad after a standout tryout effort and game performance in which he had four hits and five stolen bases against fellow Team Tennessee hopefuls.
June 26 — Ex-Union City High School three-sport standout Colton Speed confirmed he would transfer to Union University from Murray State for his final collegiate season. Speed, who played two seasons at State College of Florida in the juco ranks, hit .267 for the Racers before his junior season ended prematurely with a broken finger suffered in Murray State’s upset win over nationally-ranked Kentucky. On the high school level, he starred in football, baseball and basketball for the Golden Tornadoes. Published in The Messenger 6.20.13 |
