By Staff
In Wednesday's paper, in this same exact spot I wrote my column about this year's 10- and 11-year-old Brewton Little League being the first team from Brewton to win a state game.
Well, this Thursday I got an e-mail from someone who played on the Brewton Little League All-Star team from 1976.
Jimmy Johnson wrote:
I do know the team won that first round game because I played on that team. The coaches were Paul Best and my father, James Johnson.   Some of the guys from that team still live in Brewton – Rodney Arrant, Lamar Ward and Thomas Harp are three that come to mind.”
As soon as I got Mr. Johnson's e-mail I thankfully replied and went into our archives in the back and grabbed the 1976 book.
Sure enough, in the 1976 book on Thursday, Aug. 12, 1976 there is an article about the team.
After scanning the article, I learned the team went to Municipal Park in Mobile and beat South Baldwin in game one 5-1 and in game two lost to Huntsville 17-0. Huntsville eventually went on to win the state tournament championship.
Members of the team were Keith Van Hoosen, Steve Luttrell, Jimmy Johnson. Rodney Arrant, Jimbo Shirley, Brent Sears, Thomas Harp, Chad Linvall, John Blair, Darin White, Jeffrey Maddox, Ron Moody, Herbert Boyd, Lamar Ward, and coaches Paul Best and Coach James Johnson.
The team finished tied for third best in the state and won five straight games before losing to Huntsville in the single elimination tournament.
So to answer the question that was submitted last week, this 1976 team was the first to win a state tournament game in Brewton Little League history and this year's 2008 team was the second.
Thanks to Mr. Johnson for reading our paper online and supplying me with this information.
Thomas Harp was a coach on the Brewton team from this season that won and his son Hunter Harp was a player on the team.
I am sure Mr. Harp is happy to know that he was on the first team to win at state from Brewton and to have his son on this year's team and for him to be a coach was a pretty neat experience for both him and his son.
I e-mailed Mr. Manning afteer getting Mr. Johnson's e-mail and his wife replied back saying that he enjoyed remembering his old Little League days.
On a different note, did anyone catch the big trades that were made in baseball this past week?
Ken Griffey, Jr. is now with the Chicago White Sox and Manny Ramirez has left the Boston Red Sox and is now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and former New York Yankee manager Joe Torre.
Also, the Braves traded Mark Texiera to the Los Angeles Angels.
Wow! Those are some big names.
On the home front, things as far as games in the world of sports are in a lull right now. All sports are done as schools start this week.
Practices for volleyball and football for T.R. Miller, W.S. Neal and volleyball for JDCC will be starting this week in preperations for their 2008 seasons.
I hope all had a great summer and I want to wish all our area sports teams the nest as they begin practice for their new seasons.
Until Wednesday when we meet again here or out in the sports world, God bless.