Paris-Henry   County
Sports  Hall  of  Fame

(My apologies, I do not have the full citation for Angie McGrew Oliver's Hall of  Fame induction or her picture. If someone can provide it I would be more than happy to add the information and/or photo.) You can contact the site from the link on the bottom of the Home page.

Rob Hessing  starred in golf at Henry County and Austin Peay State University in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played professionally before becoming a golf club operator and high school coach.

(My apologies, I do not have the full citation for Rob Hessing's Hall of  Fame induction or his picture. If someone can provide it I would be more than happy to add the information and/or photo.) You can contact the site from the link on the bottom of the Home page.

Many hats have sat on Kendall’s head in athletics

By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor

Grove School Principal Herbert Earl Kendall has worn a lot of hats around Henry County.

His first was a helmet as a Central High School football player but he has coached both basketball and football around the county for many years since then. His hats also include that of youth director and best friend to many young people. For all that, Kendall has been chosen to be inducted into the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame.

He will join the Hall of Fame along with Angie McGrew Oliver, Rob Hessing, Bill Moody and the late Don Sutton. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Jim Farmer.

Tickets for the May 6 induction dinner are $25. The tickets can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney at 127 N. Poplar St., at Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and from any Hall of Fame committee member.

Tennessee Titans’ play-by-play announcer Mike Keith will be the guest speaker.

Kendall is the son of the Annie Mae Lovelace Kendall who resides at Paris Healthcare Center and the late Herbert Richard Kendall.

He realized at an early age that he enjoyed sports and participated in running events while playing basketball, football, boxing and wrestling. He attended high school at the former Central High School in Paris where he ran track while playing basketball and football from 1962-66.

He played blocking back, halfback and quarterback on offense in football. He also saw defensive action at defensive back and middle linebacker. As a senior, Kendall took over at quarterback and led his team to an 8-2 record. That earned him recognition as the most versatile player by opposing conference coaches in 1965.

Kendall was a co-captain of the basketball team in the 1964-65 season and excelled in rebounding with tough defensive play. His coaches in high school were J.L. O’Daniel and Boyce J. Rowe.

He was unable to play football in college because of injuries suffered in a car accident in 1966 but Kendall attended Lane College in Jackson. He studied education and while doing his student teaching as a senior, Kendall was assigned to Don David Williams, who taught and coached at Jackson Tigrett Junior High School. He mentored Kendall on how to coach football.

When Kendall returned to Henry County in 1971, he taught biology at Grove Junior High School. He was an assistant to Rowe in basketball and to Stan Outland in football at Grove.

He left teaching in 1977 but 11 years later returned to coach basketball and football at Springville School. He won championships in both basketball and football at Springville.

In 1992, he was added to the football coaching staff at Henry County High School and in the next three years, helped the Patriots advance to the playoffs each season.

He began teaching biology and became the girls’ basketball team’s assistant coach at HCHS in 1994. The Lady Patriots won two district titles, several region tournament games and advanced to the state tournament in 1998.

During his 11 years when he did not coach in the school system, Kendall was very active in youth sports. He coached Pop Warner football and in 1986 helped organized the former CAPPS basketball program.

In the summers, Kendall can still be found supervising sporting events at McNeill Park.

Kendall and his wife, Dorris, make their home near Paris.

He has four children. A son, Herbert Rodriguez Kendall and his wife, Rhonda, live in Memphis. They have two children, Hunter and Hailey.

Herbernita Kendall Jenkins and husband Corey live in Antioch with their son, Mason Earl.

Jenelle Latrice (Tricie) Kendall Robinson lives in Hermitage with daughter Jayla and son Cailon.

His other daughter, Esteall Doreese Kendall, lives in Murfreesboro.
 

Outdoorsman Moody enters Hall of Fame

By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor

Being inside a building is not where William E. “Bill” Moody wants to be, although he doesn’t mind selling you one.

Widely known for his longtime association with the family-owned business, Moody Realty, Bill has also been an athlete, coach and woodsman throughout his life. It is that love of sports and outdoors that has made him an inductee to the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame.

Moody will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame along with Angie McGrew Oliver, Rob Hessing, Earl Kendall and the late Don Sutton. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Jim Farmer.

Tickets for the May 6 induction dinner are $25. The tickets can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney at 127 N. Poplar St., at Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and from any Hall of Fame committee member.

Tennessee Titans’ play-by-play announcer Mike Keith will be the guest speaker.

Moody is the son of Elliott “Eddie” and Betty Moody of Paris. He and his wife, Linda, have two children: Candise Farmer and Jon Paul Moody, both of Paris.

He began his athletic career playing baseball in the Paris Little League under the coaching of his father. He moved on to Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball.

Moody attended Grove High School and played all sports that were available to him. He played baseball, basketball, football and ran track. He was captain of the football team in 1963.

He was a member of the G-Club for participating in the required number of quarters while earning Most Valuable Player, Best Spirit, Best Tackler and Best Blocker honors while playing for the Blue Devils. He was chosen as the Most Athletic Boy by his senior class.

Several colleges recruited Moody who chose to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin. Moody left UTM at the end of his sophomore year to enlist in a four-year tour with the Navy during the Vietnam War. He participated in intramural sports while in the Navy.

Moody received his military discharge in 1970 and returned to Paris to work in the family business. He also began coaching in Pop Warner football and in the Henry County Little League where he coached his son’s teams.

He has kept up his support of youth sports for more than 40 years. He has been a supporter of church youth groups and still is a member of the Henry County High School football booster club. He has served on the Lions Club’s football banquet committee.

Moody is active with the ministry of Covenant Ranch which is a local outreach for youth sportsmen. He is an adviser to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes throughout West Tennessee.

He is an avid hunter. In 2003, Moody and his son achieved a first by completing a grand slam in turkey hunting. They traveled to Florida, Texas, South Dakota and in Tennessee to kill the four different species of wild turkey in North America. This feat placed them in the National Wild Turkey Federation’s world book of records as the only father-son team to complete the single-season grand slam.

 Sutton spent his life involved with sports


By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor
Published: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:53 AM CDT
It is safe to say the late Larry Don Sutton loved sports.

He spent his life either playing, coaching, calling or directing sports events. He made strong contributions in these areas right up to his death this February.

His lifelong passion for sports has made him a selection to the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame. Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year are Angie McGrew Oliver, Rob Hessing, Earl Kendall and Bill Moody. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Jim Farmer.

Tickets for the May 6 induction dinner are $25. The tickets can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney at 127 N. Poplar St., at Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and from any Hall of Fame committee member.

Tennessee Titans’ play-by-play announcer Mike Keith will be the guest speaker.

Sutton was married for 58 years to the former Jean Fite, who lives in Memphis. They have four children, Larry, Randy, Bradley and Pamela, with six grandchildren.

His love of sports began while playing baseball, basketball football and running track at Grove High School from 1946-50. Those that knew Sutton say he often praised his high school coach the late Robert Jelks for teaching him humility and the sense of fair play.

He carried those principals into a varied career of being a referee for 30 years in the Mid-South Football Officials Association where he worked many high school bowl games, district and region playoff contests. He was an official in the Clinic Bowl two times. He served as the association president for three years and as an officer for nine years.

Sutton also worked six years as a college official for independent schools such as Tulane, Southern Mississippi, Memphis, Arkansas State, East Carolina, Western Kentucky, Northern Illinois and Army.

For one year, he was the Memphis supervisor for the Canadian Football League. He also served 31 years as an official and officials coordinator for the youth football programs in Germantown and Collierville.

Sutton also called basketball games for 25 years in Memphis and for 15 years in college women’s conferences such as the Southeastern, Southwestern, Sun Belt, Southern, Metro, Gateway and Ohio Valley.

He worked in NCAA playoff games in both Division I and Division II. He called regional tournament games in Division I several times and worked the Division II Final Four three times.

As an FIBA international basketball official, Sutton called games for 10 years in Canada, France, Argentina, Russia, Yugoslavia, China, Japan and many other countries.

Baseball is another sport that Sutton spent time calling games. For 30 years, he was a member of the Memphis Baseball Umpires Association. He worked regular season, Memphis city championships as well as district, regional, substate and TSSAA state tournament games.

He also called college baseball games in several conferences including the SEC and Conference USA. He worked many NCAA playoff games and conference championships. He worked several Junior College World Series.

In addition to that, he umpired in the American Amateur Baseball Conference and American Legion baseball at their highest levels.

Sutton worked many world exhibition games during the 10 years that the United States Olympic baseball team trained in Memphis.

Volleyball was the other sport where Sutton served as an official. He was a member of the Memphis Metro Volleyball Officials for six years working district, regional and substate matches. He worked the state finals on three occasions.

He was a member of the Conference USA volleyball officials and served as board chairman for the Mid-South ABO for college officials for 10 years.

The TSSAA gave Sutton its Distinguished Serve Recognition in 1998 and the A.F. Bridges Excellence Award in 2000. He was inducted into the Memphis Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Farmer knows how to show Patriot side


By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor

Every football fan attending a Henry County High School game at Patriot Stadium has heard the Patriots described as “Patriot Pride Personified” by the public address announcer Jim Farmer since 1979.

Those words ring true of Farmer upon his selection to receive the Henry County Sports Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Service Award at the 6:30 p.m. May 6 banquet at the Paris Convention Center, 1510 E. Wood St.

He will be honored along with new Hall of Fame inductees Angie McGrew Oliver, Rob Hessing, Earl Kendall, Bill Moody and the late Don Sutton.

Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney, 127 N. Poplar St., and at Paris Insurance Agency, 203 W. Wood St.

Guest speaker is Tennessee Titans broadcaster Mike Keith. Dubbed the “Voice of the Titans,” Keith has been the play-by-play announcer for Titans’ radio broadcasts since 1999. He has been selected Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year four straight years.

Farmer is a Henry County native who is married to the former Nancy Ann Upchurch who was elected to the Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. They have two daughters Christy (Randall) Minor and Beth (Monte) Belew and five grandchildren.

He played basketball at Springville School in the seventh and eighth grades. He didn’t make the team in high school at Grove but turned to broadcasting games on radio station WTPR to stay close to the game.

Upon high school graduation in 1958, Farmer enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He continued to pursue broadcasting athletics by doing basketball and baseball games on the campus radio station.

In summers from 1959-63, Farmer worked in Paris and coached a Babe Ruth baseball team with Jerry Atkins, a high school friend.

He and Nancy moved back to Henry County to live in 1975. The Farmers have been active boosters of Henry County softball, baseball and soccer programs since that time. Farmer believes he started announcing at the Patriot football games in 1979.

He says that the last 31 years have been a fantastic experience where he has seen some outstanding games, gotten to know fantastic young people and have has some unforgettable experiences with the best part being they all happened at home.

Professionally, Farmer is best known for serving as the county executive for Henry County from 1980-86. In addition to running the county’s day-to-day business, Farmer helped implement the Job Training partnership program in West Tennessee and organize the first West Tennessee Jobs Conference in 1983.

He co-founded the Tri-County Industrial Development Counce in 1985 to help assist Benton, Carroll and Henry County with industrial recruiting and development.

Farmer first worked from 1963-66 as a counselor for the state’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Jackson. That program aided handicap individuals in four counties.

From 1966-72, Farmer worked in Nashville first with the Financial Programs Inc. as a sales representative and then at Performance Systems Inc. as a director of company stores and assistant director of operations. That company managed fast food stores.

He also worked as a representative and consultant for the Advanced Financial Planning corporation in Nashville before returning to Jackson in 1972 to work as an insurance agent for The Carl Smith Agency.

In 1975, he became co-owner of The Farmer Agency in Jackson selling general life and health insurance. He left that business and returned to Henry County to serve as vice president at Plumley Rubber Company in 1977 where he stayed until October 1979.

After completing his stint as the county executive in 1986, Farmer returned to the health insurance business for three years before becoming the assistant to the president of General Container Corporation in Jackson.

In 1993, Farmer went to work for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development in the Division of Workers’ Compensation in Nashville until retiring in 2008.

(I do not have a photo of Jim Farmer. If someone can supply his photo I will be happy to add to the site.)