 Gaddis:
Always do your best
Hall of Famers honored
By DAVE PHILLIPS, P-I Sports Writer
“Everything you do, make it be the best.”
That was how featured speaker Joe Gaddis ended his speech at Tuesday’s 16th
annual Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame banquet, and that’s what each
of the six people that were honored at the ceremony did during their
respective careers.
Paula Carter Bell, Billy Lee Howard Jr., Chris Hudgins, the late Dan Robison
Jr. and Lance Smith were inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the late Bill
Davis was honored with the Distinguished Service Award during the banquet.
Several student athletes also were honored during the banquet. That list
includes Justice Birmingham and Khalil Kendley, Inman Middle School;
Savannah Rose and Justin Stubblefield, Harrelson School; Allison Brooke
Scott and Trey Cowans, Henry School; Bridget Stahl and Jacob Scarbrough,
Lakewood School; Cher’ron Teague and Andrew Jelks, Grove School; and Jasmine
Porter and Marsalis Teague, Henry County High School.
Gaddis’ speech focused on three stories. The first one was a story about his
introduction to football practice, which was heavily guided by his
stepfather who forced him to go out for the team at age 12.
“At the end of (the first) practice, (the team) ran a lap around the field.
I’m at mid pack ... it’s a jog, a cool down. I got into the car after
practice, beaming, thinking I did a good job. I was happy and I thought he
was happy — I was wrong.
“He said, ‘Why didn’t you win that lap before and after practice?’ I told
him, ‘It’s not a race.’ He grabbed me, pulled my face to his and said, ‘It’s
a race now, and you’re going to win it.’ I can assure you I always won it
after that.
“My stepdad would ask, ‘Why would you do anything less than the best you can
do?’ Even at twelve years old, I didn’t have an answer. It’s a point well
taken, and it’s something I never let go of. Why settle for a B plus when an
A is right there?”
Gaddis also told a story about Jason McAddley, a lightning-fast wide
receiver he coached at Oak Ridge High School who couldn’t catch a pass to
save his life.
Gaddis said McAddley wanted to quit a few times because of criticism he
received from teammates, but Gaddis convinced him to stay on the team.
Gaddis said McAddley worked very hard before his senior year and would ask
anyone to throw him the ball — even an elderly woman who happened to be
walking the track.
“He caught seventeen touchdown passes (his senior season), and he still
dropped two to four,” Gaddis said.
“Still to this day he doesn’t have great hands, but he earned a scholarship
and was a two year starter at the University of Alabama while all of those
people who were criticizing him were walking the streets of Oak Ridge
looking for a job.”
Gaddis said McAddley was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and is currently
on the Washington Redskins.
“It was because he pushed himself to be the best he could be,” Gaddis said.
“It works.”
The final story is Gaddis’ favorite to tell. His 1987 high school team in
Tullahoma was preparing to play a powerhouse Knox Central team in the
quarterfinals of the playoffs. Knox Central had fullback Rodney Helton — the
brother of major league baseball player Todd Helton — who would go on to
play at the University of Alabama. Helton was a a giant compared to Gaddis’
starting linebacker, Tom Daniel.
“There’s not a way we beat this team on paper,” Gaddis said. “If we played
them twenty times we win once. They’re basically going to run Rodney Helton
at Tom Daniel. It’s a total physical mismatch.
“I called Tom Saturday at 11:30 and told him, ‘Rodney Helton is going to
dominate you on the first play of the game and every play,’ and then I hung
up.”
Gaddis said he called again an hour later and constantly did it all week,
even sending letters to Daniel’s house.
“Tom is in an absolute total frenzy (at the start of the game),” Gaddis
said. “Tom is literally screaming incoherently.”
Daniel was fired up, and it worked.
“In a football game in high school, there are anywhere from eighty to one
hundred plays, and only about three or four of those plays will turn a
football game. This one came down to one. Tom Daniel went as hard as he
could go through Rodney Helton’s shocked knees (on the first play of the
game). The tailback who was getting the ball runs into the quarterback and
Helton, and we get on the ball. Momentum has been shifted for the whole ball
game.”
Gaddis’s squad went on to win handily, and he gives all the credit to
Daniel.
“Tom Daniel I promise you won that game on that one play,” he said
Inductees have made an impact off playing field
By Dave Phillips, P-I Sports Writer
Paula Carter Bell was the first inductee to speak during the banquet, and
she was admittedly nervous.
“I remember that runner up (in her first professional event at the Women’s
Tennessee State Open) when I missed a three-foot putt that lipped out,” Bell
said. “That was a close second to how nervous I am right now.”
The two-time Tennessee girls’ Class AAA State Golf champion racked up
several awards in her golfing career and was chosen to the All Southeastern
Conference team as a senior at the University of Alabama.
“Golf has taught me a lot of things. It’s made me who I am.”
Bell was quite appreciative and thankful for her “handrails,” as she
described those who are important to her in her life.
Speaking to the student athletes who were honored, she said, “Think of your
career as a staircase. The bottom is your sport, and the top is the ultimate
goal. To get to the top, you have to build your stairs. You’re going to take
steps forward and back, and it’s not that you might fall — you’re going to
fall. You need your handrails as a tremendous support system. Always dream
big, always want more, always work hard and you’ll reach the top, but don’t
forget those handrails.”
Howard a man of few words
Billy Lee Howard Jr. was tough to handle on the basketball court, playing
semi-pro ball for a team in Memphis after successful stints at Union
University and Central High School.
He also was a standout football player and track athlete at Central, but
he’ll let his accomplishments do the talking, as he gave a short speech
after thanking family and friends.
Sticking with a common theme, he also had a word of encouragement for the
youngsters. He described a cartoon where a crane is swallowing a frog, but
the frog has reached out and grabbed the crane around the neck.
“The moral of the story is don’t give up,” Howard said.
“I don’t have a long speech to say,” Howard said. “I want to leave you all
with two words — thank you.”
Hudgins was a multi-sport star
Chris Hudgins was all-district everything during his time at HCHS. He
excelled in football, basketball and baseball.
He may have found sporting success, but he was far from fast.
“I was so slow in high school that the lineman would outrun me in sprints,”
Hudgins said.
“In my junior year, (former Patriot head football) coach (James) Counce
pulled me out of school and took me to Doctor (Mickey) Norman to teach me
how to run. As great as they are, I never got any faster.”
He thanked the community for helping him accomplish his goals.
“It takes everyone to accomplish achievements in life. It truly takes an
entire community.”
Education made Robison proud
Dan Robison Jr. was a baseball, football and track coach at Grove from
1927-1934, and he was instrumental in starting a boys’ basketball team
there, which he also coached.
Accepting the award on his behalf Tuesday was his son Barton F. Robison, who
shared stories about his father off the field.
He said the family moved to New Jersey in 1944 and his father took him to
see the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees play baseball, as well as Davis Cup
matches and college basketball tournament games.
Robison said his father was just as interested in education as he was
sports.
“Monk Jennings dropped out of school, and dad went to his farm and said,
‘You’re coming back,’” Robison said.
“Monk did finish school. Dad was just as proud of that as any of his teams.”
Sports is more than skill.
Lance Smith excelled on the baseball field at HCHS and the University of
Tennessee, eventually helping the Volunteers with two SEC titles and play in
the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
He said to excel in athletics, one needs more than skill and training.
“Passion and love of the game is just as important,” he said. “Sports was
always more than just a game to me. It was my driving factor, my reason for
existence.”
Smith said he was “very honored and totally shocked” to be inducted. He
thanked his mother, who he said was instrumental to his baseball career.
“There’s only one field that can top the great field in Omaha (where the
College World Series is played) and that’s that grassy field that my mom and
I used to play on. That can’t be beat. Any accomplishment I receive is a
direct reflection of her.”
Davis kept thorough stats
Bill Davis earned the Distinguished Service Award for his help compiling the
extensive record book for HCHS football.
He also did stats for Murray State University football games as well as at
Grove.
Davis, who died in March 2008, was a longtime community and civic leader and
a former business manager for The Post-Intelligencer.
Davis’ daughter, Evelyn Yeargin of Puryear, accepted the award |
