Byars filled role of ‘big man’ at Henry  County  High  School


BY TOMMY PRIDDY, POST-INTELLIGENCER

 

Start a conversation around Paris about the best basketball players ever at Henry County High School and it will be a sound bet that the first name you hear will be the late Richard Byars.

The 6-foot-8-inch Byars defined the term ‘big man’ at HCHS when he began dominating games as a sophomore in 1972. He won the school’s rebounding award that season but there were far bigger awards awaiting him the next two years.

He would go on to awards that included the titles of Most Valuable, All-State and All-America. This year his fans have added the monicker of Hall of Famer to Byars’ titles as he will be inducted into the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame during the July 24 banquet at the Paris Convention Center, 1510 E. Wood St. The banquet is set for 6:30 p.m.

Also being enshrined at the banquet are Kitty Allen, Josh Archer, Jim Drexler and the late Buddy Akers.

Longtime youth baseball coach and organizer Calvin Jones will be presented the Distinguished Service award.

R.L. “Buddy” Patey of Jackson will be the guest speaker. Patey is a well-known football official who worked in both high school and college games.

Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney, located at 127 N. Poplar St.

Byars towered on the court for the Patriots. He led the Patriots in scoring as a junior with a 16 point per game average and averaged 15.4 points as a senior. He finished his career as the school’s scoring leader with 1,227 points. That total still ranks No. 5 on the HCHS all-time scoring list.

But he was more than a scorer. He averaged more than 14 rebounds as a sophomore and junior while picking off a whopping average of 20 rebounds a game as a senior. Byars was also good for at least four blocked shots in every Patriot game.

The Patriots were District 21L champions in both the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons with Byars earning the district’s MVP award each year.

Although the Patriots couldn’t navigate through region competition either season, Byars earned All-State honors from both the Associated Press and the United Press International for the 1973-74 season.

Along with teammate Sam Tharpe, Byars was chosen for the Sportswriters All-West State team in 1974.

He was also chosen as an All-America in the Coach and Athlete Yearbook for the 1973-74 season.

Byars played basketball in college at Ashland University in Ohio, Jackson State Community College and at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

The son of the Pauline Olive Byars of Paris and the late Charles Byars, he was married to the former Susan Calloway. He has a son, Zachary, who lives in West Sussex, England.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

 

 

 

Athletic Drexler elected to Hall of Fame


BY TOMMY PRIDDY, POST-INTELLIGENCER
 

Whether the sport was basketball, football, golf or track, Jim Drexler was good at it while attending school at Grove High School during the mid-1960s.

He was good enough to earn golf and basketball scholarships to Lambuth University in Jackson and he has now been chosen as good enough for election to the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame.

Joining Drexler in being inducted into the Hall of Fame during a 6:30 p.m. July 24 banquet at the Paris Convention Center, 1510 E. Wood St., will be Kitty Allen, Josh Archer, the late Buddy Akers and the late Richard Byars.

Longtime youth baseball leader Calvin Jones will be presented the Distinguished Service

            Jim  Drexler

Award at the banquet. Football officiating great Buddy Patey of Jackson will be the guest speaker.

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

Drexler was a starter at both split end and defensive end on the Blue Devils’ football teams in 1965 and 1966. He also handled the kicking duties.

He was a top scorer and rebounder for the school’s basketball team those years averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds as a senior. His teammates in basketball including stalwarts such as Glen Weaks, Dickie Dortch, Gregory Coats, Mitchell McClain, Robert King and Marshall McDonald.

It was on the golf course where Drexler really stood out. He was first noticed when he finished as the runner up in the Paris Country Club championship tournament at age 15 in 1963. He broke the PCC course scoring record the next year and won his first club championship at age 17 in 1965.

He went to on to win two more PCC championships, the club’s Fish Fry tournament and the Paris Invitational which usually had a strong field from around West Tennessee.

As a golfer at Lambuth, he was the team’s No. 1 seed all four years an he went undefeated the next year.

After earning his degree at Lambuth, Drexler attended the Memphis State Law School and has been a practicing attorney in Houston since 1973.

He is the son of Robert and Arlene Drexler of Paris.

Published: Monday, July 16, 2012

 

 

 

Akers raced through life fast


BY TOMMY PRIDDY, POST-INTELLIGENCER

It thrilled the late Buddy Akers to make motorcycles go fast but he got just as much satisfaction each winter by shouting Ho! Ho! Ho!

Akers was so good at both activities that he has been chosen for induction into the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame. He will be inducted during a 6:30 p.m. July 24 ceremony at the Paris Convention Center.

Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame will be Kitty Allen, Josh Archer, Jim Drexler and the late Richard Byars. Longtime youth baseball leader Calvin Jones will be presented the Distinguished Service Award.

Tickets for the banquet are $25 and can be purchased at the law office of William T. Looney, located at 127 N. Poplar St.

Akers entered every level of motorcycle racing from flat tracks to woods to motorcross events from Ohio to Florida in a career that lasted over five decades. He won his first championship in 1969 at the WHBQ Drag Festival in Memphis and was still earning honors in 2002 when he placed second in the Tennessee Arenacross 250cc A class division.

A national record holder in drag racing in the 1960s and 1970s, Akers raced well into his 50s. One of his proudest achievements came in 2001 when he qualified for the American Motorcyle Association Amateur Nationals at the Lorretta Lynn Dude Ranch near Hurricane Mills.

While he was a top rider, Akers was hailed for his promotion of the sportsmanship in the sport. Many of his awards were sportsmanship awards.

He not only ran races but he spent time promoting motorcycle races and announced at events on the Tennessee Arenacross series.

But he may be remembered more in Henry County his 11-year run of playing Santa Claus in downtown Paris. Akers also volunteered his time with the Special Olympics.

He was the son of the late Earl E. and Ruth Lindsey Akers. He is survived by his wife, Justine, of Mansfield, and a son, Tony Akers, who lives in Knoxville.

Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
 

 

2012 Distinguished Service Award

 

Jones donated time to youth baseball


BY TOMMY PRIDDY, POST-INTELLIGENCER

For much of the last 50 years, there was one guy to call if you needed a coach or your field mowed or maybe your scoreboard wouldn’t work.

That man would have been Calvin Jones, who has gladly spent his life volunteering for all those roles. Because of his fierce generosity, the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame has awarded its Distinguished Service Award to Jones.

Jones will be honored during a 6:30 p.m. banquet July 24 at the Paris Convention Center, 1510 E. Wood St. Also being honored that night are 2012 Hall of Fame inductees Kitty Allen, Josh Archer, Jim Drexler, the late Buddy Akers and the late Richard Byars.

Football officiating great Buddy Patey of Jackson will be the guest speaker.

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

Jones graduated from Springville High School in 1950 and then, served in the Navy for four years. He retired to Henry County to begin what would turn into a 42-year career with Southern Bell telephone company. He retired from BellSouth in 1997.

He began coaching Little League baseball in 1963 at Ogburn Park. When it was determined the Paris Little League had outgrown the one-field park, Jones was part of a group that began requesting the City of Paris to purchase more land and build additional fields.

These requests led to the opening of McNeill Park. After McNeill Park opened, Jones moved up to coach in the local Babe Ruth League in 1973.

Jones further assisted the quality of play at McNeill Park by getting cable donated to wire the scoreboards and press box at the park. He maintained the scoreboards at the park for many years. He served a one-year term as the Babe Ruth League president.

Later in life, Jones helped form a travel team for boys 9-years-old and under. The team stayed together until the group was 14-years-old. He funded the squad by hosting two tournaments each year at McNeill Park.

The tournaments grew to the point of drawing teams from nine states with some coming from as far as Michigan and Wisconsin. After the travel team disbanded, Jones continued to host the tournaments until 2008. During those years, he donated the proceeds to the baseball and girls’ softball programs at Henry County High School.

Baseball wasn’t his only passion. He coached girls’ and boys’ 6-12-years-old basketball for several years in the former Biddy Basketball League that played its games at the old City Auditorium.

In 1970, he was part of the group of men that formed a Pop Warner Football League. He served on the Pop Warner board of directors for four years.

After he retired from BellSouth, Jones took care of the field maintenance at Civitan Park which was home for the Henry County Little League. He oversaw the sodding of the playing fields and several improvements to drainage at the park. He made sure daily that the playing fields were ready for that night’s games.

He also served for several years on the HCLL’s board of directors.

Jones gives high praise for the Paris Parks and Recreation Department and its support of youth athletics.

“If I had it do over, I would do it all again,” Jones said recently,

He said he was only able to spend as much time with youth athletics because of the understanding support of his late wife, Ruth Hill Jones.

“She was very understanding and didn’t complain, not much anyway,” Jones said. “You could always spot her in her lawn chair with a hat to shield the sun. She should share the recognition for all those years of support.”

Jones advises young men and women around the community to take the time to get involved with youth activities. He said the various sports always can use more volunteers and the rewards of spending time with the area’s youth are enormous.

Published: Wednesday, July 18, 2012.