Just Might Be Time To Write A Memoir Book After 40 Years Of Fun & Hard Work
Billy Baker's been on a 40-year pursuit to discover the South Carolina’s best high school athletes and recognize their achievements in this unique statewide prep sports only publication.
Just Might Be Time To Write A Memoir Book After 40 Years Of Fun & Hard Work
Moncks Corner — I have been giving a lot of thought lately about writing a Memoir Book focused on the many wonderful experiences, and thousands of outstanding people, that have intersected with my orbit in a 40-year pursuit to discover the world’s greatest football player, or the world’s greatest baseball player etc.
Recently, one of our writers from the 1990’s checked in on me, and he brought up the fact that the HSSR use to produce a 96 -page publication each and every week between the middle of August until Christmas? By my count that was like 16 straight weeks!
It is often a challenge these days to produce a publication once a month, particularly during Spring break when coaches are scattered everywhere. Honestly, the publication you are reading in your hands right now is not produced, in similar fashion, anywhere in the United States. One could agree that this makes this publication unique, and a true one of kind experiment in sports journalism.
I have been thinking about some Chapter Titles for the Memoir. How about a chapter focused on real people that I met at the Waffle House after football games all across South Carolina at 11 pm on a Friday night. Probably not a good idea but it would make for some interesting reading.
Here is a chapter that might get some interest: Who were the Top 100 best football players I ever covered between 1986 and 2026, within the state of South Carolina? No doubt we will mention AJ Green from Summerville, Steven Davis from Spartanburg, and what about a guy from South Pointe High with a name like Jadeveon Clowney!
Here is an idea for another chapter: Who truly did the best job as guest speakers at the 100-plus all-state banquets the HSSR sponsored for outstanding coaches and athletes over a 35-year period, before the Pandemic closed down the awards company who provided some really cool awards for us. Some of our better-known speakers have been Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, Dabo Swinnie, Philip Fulmer, Dawn Staley and many more.
Coach Holtz, and may he RIP forever, did some magic tricks during his talk and he was really on point with his message. Ray Tanner spoke five times at our all-state baseball banquets, over the years, and all five times he tore up the check I always gave to speakers. When Coach Spurrier spoke, he insisted I tell him 10 minutes ahead of when the banquet was to be over so he could duck out through the kitchen at Seawells. You got a room full of high school football coaches, not to mention several big-time football players in the audience and he had no interest in a little hand shaking afterwards.
Honesty, Coach Swinnie from Clemson was not in a hurry, or rush to leave at the conclusion of the HSSR football banquet he spoke at around 2008, or so. He shook hands and talked to people for a good 20 minutes. He also had a keen sense of where a top prospect had been sitting.
The strangest thing a speaker every asked me to do at one of the HSSR all-state banquets came from Philip Fulmer who spoke to a packed room at Seawell’s, one month after the Vols won a national football championship. He said, “Billy, clear your throat every time a potential first round NFL draft pick gets an award today.”
No kidding, I only cleared my throat twice, and you will have to buy the Memoir book one day to find out who those two players were. They indeed became first round NFL draft picks or did they end up at Tennessee? Stay tuned.
