Doodles 73 Year Journey Started In 1953
Gerald Doolittle is a one-of-a-kind, truly amazing stats person, and the HSSR is very thankful and appreciative of his many years of service to the prep fans across the Palmetto State. He is an icon defined by hard work and his love for tracking down the numbers that reflect the score boards in our lives.
By: Gerald Doolittle
Edgefield, S.C. – The love of following high school sports began for Gerald Doolittle on 9/18/1953 when he slipped away to follow his two older brothers, the quarter mile down the street to Addison Field, where Edgefield High School played their football and baseball games.
On this night, as a fourth grader, Gerald weighing in at 50 pounds, became a prop for the Edgefield cheerleaders. They needed a prop to be their pump house to fire the Bulldogs to a 44-0 win.
This particular cheer went as follows: “Chase around the pump house. We can beat Wagener all to rickety rickety rust, we are not allowed to cuss. But never-the less we can defeat the Wildcats. Sisters Peggy and Naomi Strom adopted me as their little pump house for home games.
Then, later in the 1953-54 basketball season, I attended my first basketball game, when my mom took me to Saluda to watch Peggy and Naomi defeat the Tigers. After that night I was hooked on basketball.
During the 1954-55 school year, my little brother and I became water boys for the varsity football team. We served as water, or ball boys, for several years. One game in 1957 was played at Paris High School where the water froze in the buckets!
Because of health issues I was not able to play football. Instead of playing in games, I supported the team in other ways. I did attempt to play basketball, until I had a hemorrhage. That is where I started keeping stats for all the sports at Edgefield High School.
In my junior year, I started to create my Doodles Doodles. I played around with a formula for ten years before I finally shared my finished product with the local papers. Sandra Reese, one of the editors, gave my system its name Doodles Doodles.
In the 1970’s I had the opportunity to serve as President of the Edgefield County Softball league which had 12 teams for the male division, and 6 teams for the female division. During this time, I was the official scorer for three games a night five days a week.
Then in 1988, I became the sports statistician at Wardlaw Academy which lasted for 23 years before going over W.W. King Academy for 13 years. In 2022, I finished 68 years of keeping stats involving results from 9,150 games.
In 1996, Billy Baker found me and got me involved in Sports journalism. I have served 30 years with the HSSR. I am proud to be called the HSSR Historian.
In 2010 I had my first stroke that slowed me down, and then in 2011 my second stroke led to the discovery of my cancer. I had to have 42 radiation treatments into 2012. In 2019, my right kidney started to fail. In early 2026, a dime sized kidney stone destroyed the right kidney. Also, during this ordeal it was discovered that my cancer had returned to my prostrate.
Since 2022 I have been home-bound by a chronic stomach condition. I only get out to doctor appointments and taking my chances at the grocery store and CVS.
So, as I turn 83 in July, I will continue to give my fans my Doodles during the 2026 football season and I will continue to post statewide stats for the HSSR each week.
It has been a long and fulfilling journey over the years. Many have asked me about my formula for extending power ratings to every varsity football team in South Carolina. These power ratings have helped me maintain a more than 80 per cent accuracy rating in predicting winners and losers every week during the football season. This 80 per cent is against the spread also.
One time I had to ask a gentleman to leave my home in Edgefield after he got upset that I would not share my formula for predicting games with him. He drove quite a way also, but when he called to ask if he could stop by it was only to say hello!
In fact, should Mr. Baker outlive me, he and only he, will inherit my formula and this is already stated in my Will. So, the 2026 football season will soon be here and I am excited as ever to get Doodles Doodles cranked up again.
Publishers Note: Gerald Doolittle is a one- of- a- kind, truly amazing stats person, and the HSSR is very thankful and appreciative of his many years of service to the prep fans across the Palmetto State. He has pressed on despite major health issues also. He is an icon defined by hard work and his love for tracking down the numbers that reflect the score boards in our lives.
