Tampa – Lin and I are closing in on 40 years of Marriage 💑 so there’s little doubt we know each other fairly well.
Today we are on Day 3 of our 11 Day excursion and she’s picked up on one common thread – life has been centered around a person who she has never met, Casey Burcham.
Only the diehard Buffett Fans will know the song 🎵 “Who’s the Blonde Stranger ” from back in the 1980’s but it was one of my favorites. At the end of the song there’s a reference to talking 👄 in one’s sleep 💤 about a Blonde Stranger.
Not sure I said Casey out loud in my sleep but HE was my last thought last night and my first thought this morning….
I have been begging folks here in Carroll County for years to share their thoughts with our Site because its my passion for five decades. I am still riding the emotional wave from last Sunday at the Baseball ⚾️ Alumni Game and I want anyone who was a part of the festivities that has a knack for writing ✍ to jump in while the wave is still visible.
Insert Lin, in her best Jan Brady voice, saying Casey, Casey, Casey why does it always have to be about Casey?
Now that I have proof that Casey is indeed a Guy 👦and is happily married to a beautiful bride 👰, let’s get back to Bill Worrell Field and what it means for someone to have their name on a facility, especially at the High School level.
I have spent time with this three times in my five decades. In the case of Alan Knight Field at Page County High School 🏫 in Shenandoah, Virginia it was my campaign for the honor 🎖 that led to the naming. Alan is in his fifth decade of Coaching at the school he graduated 🎓 from and I was able to witness 20+ years of his efforts.
Coach Jerry Walters at Central High School in Woodstock, Virginia is someone who we honored with our very first Lifetime Achievement Award. Walters touched the lives of tens of thousands people over the decades.
Third, the man 👨 I proudly introduce at our West Virginia Tech Golden Bears 🐻 Baseball games ⚾️ as the Legendary Joe Goddard. Goddard is from Independence High School outside Beckley, WV. Joe spent nearly 40 years at the School and literally Built the Field that has his name on it.
That brings us to my fourth amazing time but this ones different because I didn’t have the honor of hanging around Mr. Bill Worrell. So, naturally I am wanting to read EVERY word about him that someone is willing to ✍.
The reason for running 🏃♂️ the stories one at a time is simple – these stories are very personal which in my World 🌎 means they all deserve ❤ their sole spot in the Sun 🌞.
Good thing it was a T-Shirt 👕 that I was frantically shopping 🛍 for in regards to Casey yesterday afternoon at the Airport. It might have been a tougher sell to Lin if it had been a bottle of perfume….
What does the CCHS Baseball program mean to me? What does being on the All Time Board mean to you? Seems like a straightforward question. One would assume that could be answered in a few short statements.
However, I have spent 25 years (playing or coaching) within this program and to only give it a few short statements would be unacceptable in my eyes.
So here is my best shot at explaining what this program means to me. Growing up I was just like any other kid. During the Fall months I played football, during the Winter months it was basketball, but during the Spring and Summer months we got to play baseball. I enjoyed playing football. Playing under those lights on Friday nights was something special. Basketball, in all honesty, was something to pass the time between football and baseball season. But baseball has always been my passion. I know that comes from my mom and dad, Jimmy and Lynn. My dad was a Yankees fan, so naturally I would be named after Casey Stengal, legendary Yankees manager from way back in the day. Of course, if we could ask my late father who I was named after for this story, I would imagine him saying I was named after the Mighty Casey that struck out. Because I did that….. a lot.
But my baseball story couldn’t be told without talking about my parents. Growing up, my dad knew how to push me to do my best, because he knew I had a “I’ll show you attitude” So he would make some comment about something I was doing wrong because he knew I would work on it until I could “show” him that it wasn’t wrong anymore. I can count on one hand how many times they missed a game. High School or College.
They have always been there for me. Naturally my introduction to Carroll County Baseball was from my dad. He played for Coach Worrell in the 70’s, and like many people who have shared their thoughts held Coach Worrell in the highest regards.
I can remember him bringing me to games when I was around the age of 10 or 12 to watch the baseball team. Just so happened when I was 12 (1994 region champs) our baseball team was really good. Watching those guys play made me want to be a baseball player that much more. Not long after that I entered the 8th grade and was fortunate enough to make the Junior Varsity team, I want to think that was 1996.
This is when I met Coach Joe Tompkins. Matthew was right when he said his dad was a fan of bunting. I hit in the 2 hole that season and I’m pretty sure if JV stats were kept I would have led the state in sacrifices. But I learned a valuable lesson from Coach Tompkins in those early years.
Nothing was bigger than the team, everyone did what they needed to do to help us win. As fate would have it, Coach Tompkins would be hired as the varsity head coach going into my freshman season.
Coach saw something in me that I don’t imagine a lot of people did at that time, but he moved me up as a lanky 9th grader to play varsity. The vision that Coach Worrell had with Rod must have been similar to the vision that Coach Tompkins had with me.
Both of us left handed, both of us hitting everything but the catcher’s mitt, both of us causing our coaches to scratch their heads numerous times. But just like Coach Worrell, Coach Tompkins had a belief in me that I won’t forget. Thank you. I enjoyed playing for Coach Tompkins, many years later he would give me my first opportunity to coach at Carroll County.
I will forever be indebted to him for that. Coach is a good man, he threw a benefit golf tournament for both my parents when they were dealing with cancer and handed over 100% of the proceeds that day. He did all that simply because he wanted to, I appreciate him more than he will ever know.
Along those same years I also met another Coach that would influence my life way beyond high school, his name is David Meredith. However, if you were to say that name there aren’t many people in Carroll County going to know who you are referring to, but if you say his nickname “Doc” then everyone knows who “Doc” is. Doc was a big reason that I received a scholarship once high school was over so I could continue to play baseball. He was also instrumental when I decided to transfer colleges. He is probably the only reason I ended up at Emory and Henry College (now University). I still to this day speak to Doc two or three times a week about everything going on in my life.
I know this is getting lengthy, and I apologize, but you ask a question and I want to make sure I answer it to the best of my ability. I have also had the unique perspective to be able to coach in this program for almost 20 years.
I would not be doing this justice if I didn’t speak about Coach Dehaven. Coach D was already an assistant in the program when I was coming through school (yes he is that much older than me lol) so our paths never really crossed until I came back to coach.
Just like Coach Tompkins 20 years ago, Coach Dehaven gave me an opportunity to coach at the varsity level. I will always be grateful for that decision. It was an absolute pleasure being your assistant.Being named on the board for me simply means that I got to play with a lot of great teammates.
I don’t get the opportunities to get those hits if my teammates aren’t doing their jobs. I guess that leads me into my final thoughts, and I guess the one you have been waiting on.
When I think of the CCHS baseball program, I think about the people.
Sure they all could play baseball, but we were all willing to sacrifice for the betterment of us all. It’s the people that make programs, and I’m very proud being a part of this one.
Casey Burcham
Thank You Casey !
Last Sunday felt very Magical to me and we will continue with this Series as long as Folks are willing to share their thoughts !
Tampa, Florida – One of the greatest marketing promotions ever was for Penny Hardaway and a miniature version of him Nike called Little Penny.
Trying to secure a $5 Million Dollar offer in hopes of funding everything in Carroll County for a spell !
George Steinbrenner Field is the home of the Single A Tampa Tarpons, minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. The sales pitch takes place here in a few minutes and we are hoping to bring 🏡 a Brinkx Truck 🚚 full of cold hard cash 💸….
Big Rick has grown quite fond of Little Ricky and we are extremely hopeful about our chances down here tonight !!
Stay Tuned…..
Breaking News – we have an offer in hand ✋ for the amount we want but there might be a slight hiccup…. Big Rick and Little Ricky will have to wear Yankee Pinstripes……
It’s up to Big Rick now ????
Turns out that they want Glenn Powell and Little Ricky….
Casey Burcham connected me to both Rod Bryant and Matthew Tompkins. Both of these young Men took the time to pen 🖊 a story for our site here and they were equally gracious in doing so.
So now I feel like I should show Casey my gratitude 🙏 and think this shirt 👕 will do the trick !
Casey bleeds Duke Blue !!!
On a serious note 📝, we now welcome the next former Cavalier Baseball ⚾️ player to step up and tell their story… If we keep this up we might have to get Casey the matching hat 👒.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 