Foster lives big
life despite small stature
By TOMMY PRIDDY
P-I Sports Editor
Being small of stature has never kept Tony Foster from being a big contributor whether it
was playing athletics, serving his country in the military or being a father to his
family.
Those values have earned him many accolades since graduating from Henry County High School
in 1976. He is receiving another one this spring as he will be one of the five new
inductees to the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame May 16.
The induction banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Paris Convention Center at 1510 East
Wood St. Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame that night are Rhea Hart, Bobby
Williams, the late Dorothy Bruce Bourne and the late Charles Scholes. Jim Adams will
receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Hall of Fame committee.
Birmingham-Southern University athletic director Joe Dean Jr. will be the guest speaker.
Tickets for the event cost $25 and are available at Bill Looney’s Law Office at 127
N. Poplar St., Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and Medical Center Pharmacy at
234 Tyson Ave.
Former Henry County High School football coach Gerald Young remembers Tony Foster as a
quiet leader on the Patriot football team that he led to an 8-3 record as a senior. The
previous two Patriot squads had gone 1-9.
Foster also was a three-year starter on the Patriot baseball team and the team’s Most
Valuable Player in 1976. He was a perennial All-Star in summer baseball competition.
In the classroom at HCHS, Foster excelled and was president of the local National Honor
Society and Senior Class president.
He accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he
earned a degree in engineering. He played baseball as a freshman at Army but dropped the
sport because of academic challenges.
Foster kept active in sports through the academy’s top notch intramural program and
was named the Most Valuable Intramural Athlete amongst the 136 student athletes in his
unit in his sophomore year of 1977-78. During that year, he led his company football team
to the regimental championship as a quarterback/safety in 8-man tackle football. He also
boxed and ran cross country.
Active duty in the military began in 1980 for Foster and he stayed in the army until 1992.
He was commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer in 1980 at Fort Ord, Calif.
Through his years in the service, Foster served at bases in Baumholder, Germany, Fort
Sill, Okla., Forth Leavenworth, Kan., and at Fort Campbell, Ky.
He was serving as a Major as a Brigade Fire Support Office in the 101st Airborne Division
at Fort Campbell when he resigned from active duty in 1992.
Foster’s military awards include Meritorious Service Medal (2), Army Commendation
Medal (2), Army Achievement Medal (4), National Defense Medal, Army Service Ribbon, the
Overseas Service Decoration, and Master Fitness Badge.
When he was selected as Major in 1988, he was the Fosterest Major on active duty at the
time. He was the 1988 recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.
He worked on numerous projects to design and develop future Army and Marine Corps weapon
systems, guided munitions, radars and satellite-based positioning along with command and
control systems.
Foster directs his own consulting business that works with firms around the world. The
small firm provides training services for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and engineering services to the Department of Defense.
When his oldest son entered high school, Foster organized an all-sports booster club that
has provided funds to build new facilities at Cache High School’s baseball/softball
and football complexes.
Still staying physically fit, Foster competes in 10-kilometer races and is an accomplished
golfer.
Hart was leader as player, coach in long career
By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor
Transitioning from an athletic star to an effective coach can be a problem for many, but
that wasn’t a problem for former Cottage Grove High School standout Rhea Hart.
A noted basketball and baseball player at Cottage Grove in the late 1950s and early 1960s,
Hart went on to play at both Freed-Hardeman and Bethel colleges but he is praised just as
much for his work as a middle school coach at Lake City, Fla.
Those credentials have earned Hart a spot in the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame.
He will be enshrined along with Tony Foster, Bobby Williams, the late Dorothy Bruce Bourne
and the late Charles Scholes at a 6:30 p.m. May 16 banquet at the Paris Convention Center
at 1510 E. Wood St.
Jim Adams will receive the Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Service Award at the banquet.
The guest speaker is Birmingham-Southern University athletic director Joe Dean Jr.
Tickets for the event cost $25 and are available at Bill Looney’s Law Office at 127
N. Poplar St., Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and Medical Center Pharmacy at
234 Tyson Ave.
An All-District and Lake Conference selection while playing basketball at Cottage Grove,
Hart was the team captain as a senior and leading scorer both his junior and senior
seasons. He helped lead Cottage Grove to a second-place finish in District 25 his junior
season and to the district championship as a senior in 1961.
He was also a standout pitcher and shortstop in baseball for two years on the Paris
American Legion team in 1959-60. He earned a master’s degree in education in 1972
from Mississippi State University.
Hart was described as a smooth player with graceful moves and great touch in both sports.
Those are the same attributes given to him by former players at Lake City Junior High and
Lake City Middle schools when they meet around that town to share memories about the
longtime coach and teacher for 40 years.
He had many winning seasons in 25 years of coaching different sports, including football
and basketball. He is hailed for his ability to instruct students in the proper
fundamentals, no matter what sport they were participating in. They talk about his humor
but also about the strict discipline that he demanded. Many say they can testify to that
discipline and confess that one trip was enough to stop any problem. He is said to be a
born teacher and talked about his charisma and intangible ability to help young people
learn that most do not possess.
Now retired, Hart likes to play golf five-six days each week.
Hart is married to the former Joan Oliver of Palmersville. They have a daughter, Michelle,
who lives with her husband, Justin Yovanovic, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Harts attend Lake
City Church of Christ.
Hart is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Floyd H. Hart of the Hico-Jones Mill communities.
He has two sisters that live in Paris, Beverly Miller and Vickie Kesterson. A brother,
Floyd Hart, lives in Murray.
Robert C. Williams
Photo from 1960 Tower Yearbook
Dedicated to Mr. Williams
Discipline defined Williams
By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor
Words like discipline, private and physically fit are used whenever anyone talks about
Robert Crockett “Bobby” Williams.
Williams isn’t known for talking much about himself, but others know enough about his
contributions as a player, coach and school teacher to elect him to the Paris-Henry County
Sports Hall of Fame. Williams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a 6:30 p.m.
May 16 banquet at the Paris Convention Center at 1510 E. Wood St.
Also being inducted into the local Hall of Fame that night are Tony Foster, Rhea Hart, the
late Dorothy Bruce Bourne and the late Charles Scholes. Jim Adams will be presented the
Distinguished Service Award at the banquet. The guest speaker is Birmingham-Southern
athletic director Joe Dean Jr.
Tickets for the event cost $25. They can be purchased at Bill Looney’s Law Office
located at 127 N. Poplar St., Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and at Medical
Center Pharmacy at 234 Tyson Ave.
Williams played several sports while attending Grove High School but excelled in football.
He went on to play in college at the University of Tennessee Junior College.
After college, Williams served as an assistant football coach at Grove in the 1950s and
1960s. He coached under head coaches Kenny McRee, Andy Settles and Mel Pratt at Grove.
Williams usually worked with the Blue Devils’ linemen.
Williams was a noted disciplinarian, both on the playing field and in the chemistry
classes he taught. Part of his ability to assert his authority came because Williams kept
himself in great physical condition.
An avid hunter, Williams probably enjoyed hunting quail and squirrels the most.
A challenging chemistry teacher, Williams taught the subject at both Grove and Henry
County High School into the late 1970s.
Bourne was an AAU
basketball star
Whether it was starring on the basketball court at Grove High School or on
national Amateur Athletic Union teams, the late Dorothy Bruce Bourne was popular and known
for having a loving, kind spirit.
That combination of athletic competitiveness but remembering to be a giver has landed
Bourne in the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame. Bourne will be inducted into the
local Hall of Fame at 6:30 p.m. May 16 at Paris Covention Center.
The then Dorothy Bruce played basketball at Grove High School from 1941-44 where she made
All-County and All-District teams in 1943 and 1944. Two of the teams she played on
finished the season with just one loss.
College scholarships were not available for female athletes in those times. Known by
teammates as Dot, she attended Nashville Business College and played on the school's AAU
team in 1945 and 1946. She was named an AAU All-America in 1945. At this time, AAU teams
were sponsored both by smaller colleges and private businesses but were recognized much
like college teams and WNBA women's teams are now.
After leaving Nashville Business College, she played for the Cook's Goldblumes in AAU.
Cook's was a beverage company that sponsored a team. In 1948, the Goldblumes won the AAU
national championship. Bruce was chosen as an an AAU All-American in 1949 and 1950.
She returned to Paris when her playing days were finished and married Pugh Bourne, Jr. The
Bournes moved to Jackson where they lived until their deaths. Both are buried in Paris.
The couple have two sons, Rusty and Brock.
Bourne worked for both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Farmers Home
Administration Office. Her husband was for many years the director of Parks and Recreation
in Jackson.
Grove Basketball 1944
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Class of 1944
Senior Photo
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 Knee
troubles forced Scholes out of football
By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor
Recently, Henry County High School junior football player Dominique Allen gave his verbal
committment to play football at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
That brought many questions about how many past Henry County natives had played
scholarship football for the Vols and the answer is three — Gordon E. Smith 1931-33,
C.C. “Sonny” Humphreys 1933-35 and Charles Scholes in 1954.
A severe knee injury would cause Scholes to give up his scholarship at Tennessee but he
would later become the starting center at Memphis State University before his bad knees
forced him to give up football. He met his future wife, the then Mary Lynn Busby, while at
Memphis. He became a devoted husband and entered management in agricultural equipment.
His successful life has made Scholes a posthumous selection to the Paris-Henry County
Sports Hall of Fame. Scholes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a 6:30 p.m. May
16 banquet at the Paris Convention Center located at 1510 E. Wood St.
The other inductees into the Hall of Fame this year include Tony Foster, Rhea Hart, Bobby
Williams and the late Dorothy Bruce Bourne. Jim Adams will be presented the Distinguished
Service Award while Birmingham-Southern University athletic director Joe Dean Jr. will be
the guest speaker.
Tickets for the event cost $25 and are available at Bill Looney’s Law Office at 127
N. Poplar St., Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and Medical Center Pharmacy at
234 Tyson Ave.
Scholes was born during the Depression in 1935. His parents, Med Hooper and Myrtle,
briefly moved Charles and older brothers Med Jr. and Bill to Graves County, Ky. Another
brother, Randal, was born in Graves County before the family resettled in Paris in 1940.
He attended Lee and Atkins-Porter schools before going to high school at Grove. At Grove,
Scholes was senior class president, a National Honor Society member, Mr. Grove, a
secretary-treasurer of Quill and Scroll and a member of the Hi-Y Club.
A member of the Grove football team, Scholes played center and was captain of the squad as
a senior. He accepted a scholarship to play center at Tennessee in 1953.
He was a starter at center in1954. The tailback on the squad was future All-America Johnny
Majors who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1956. Majors would later serve
as the Vols’ head coach from 1977-1992.
After injuring his knee, Scholes went to Hiawassee Junior College in an attempt to
rehabilitate the knee. The knee got better and he later enrolled at Memphis State where he
became the starting center there before more knee trouble led him to give up football.
Scholes married college sweetheart Busby in 1956. They had two children, Patrick in 1959
and Laura in 1964.
Busby had been stricken with multiple sclerosis at a young age and the Scholes family
would spend many years traveling around the world looking for a cure. Scholes stood firmly
by his wife’s side until his bad knees wouldn’t allow him to workout any longer.
He died in 1991 at the age of 55.
Professionally, Scholes started his career working in sales for Massey Ferguson in
Russellville, Ark. He moved back to Tennessee in 1966 and held several management
positions at leading agricultural equipment companies in the Midsouth.
During the 1980s, he founded and retained an ownership position in the North American
operations of Vicon Agricultural in Memphis. He kept that ownership stake until a year
prior to his death when he sold his stock back to the parent company.
1953 TEAM CAPTAIN
POSITION CENTER |
SENIOR PHOTO
CLASS OF 1953 |
 Youth
programs owe great deal to Adams
By TOMMY PRIDDY, P-I Sports Editor
Jim Adams may be best known as a local grocer but his name is just as recognized as a
promoter of youth athletics and a supporter for youth-related programs throughout Henry
County.
On May 16, Adams will be recognized for his years of support when he is presented the
Disinguished Service Award at the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame banquet. The
banquet is at 6:30 p.m. at the Paris Convention Center at 1510 E. Wood St.
Five new members will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony. They are Tony
Foster, Rhea Hart, Bobby Williams the late Dorothy Bruce Bourne and the late Charles
Scholes. The guest speaker for the banquet is Birmingham-Southern athletic director Joe
Dean Jr.
Tickets for the event cost $25. They can be purchased at Bill Looney’s Law Office
located at 127 N. Poplar St., Paris Insurance Agency at 203 W. Wood St. and at Medical
Center Pharmacy at 234 Tyson Ave.
Adams grew up near the Osage community and attended Johnson Chapel Church where he was
active in youth fellowship programs. He is the son of Evelyn and the late Louie Adams.
He attended Osage School where he was active in the 4-H club. He was a member of the 4-H
Honor Club, a junior leader to camp and twice winner of grand champion fat calf.
Adams didn’t forget his 4-H roots when he became a successful businessman. He has
been a longtime participate in the calf auction at the county fair and nearly every year
paid the top price per pound for the fair’s grand champion. He has been honored as
the 4-H alumni of the year.
Numerous youth baseball, softball, soccer and other sporting teams have received
sponsorship from Adams over the years. He also has been an active supporter of the Boy
Scouts of America, including serving as the district fund drive chairman in 1980.
He also has been a partner in education through his stores at both Cottage Grove School
and McKenzie Elemenatry School. He served as chairman of the campaign fund that provided
lights for Patriot Stadium in 1980.
Adams has served as past president of both the Rotary Club and the Paris-Henry County
Chamber of Commerce. He has been honored as the Chamber’s Person of the Year, Paris
Retailer of the Year, Tennessee Grocery Association Grocer of the Year and the Southwest
Regional Retailer of the Year. The Paris-Henry County Jaycees also have dedicated their
World’s Biggest Fish Fry celebration book to him.
He is well known for his work with literacy programs, support of the needy and with
college scholarship programs.
SENIOR PHOTO
CLASS OF 1956
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