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SCOREBOARD
■ Nothing reported
Coactes/assistMts: Please cal In your
scares at 887-1823 Ext 231 (please
leave a message with stats - score
by inning, leading hitters - only at 80s
number) or 256-6127
ON TAP
■ Nothing reported
Coaches: Please fax your sched
ules to 988-1181 or e-mal them to
IN BRIEF
Warner Robins to hold
cross country serins
Warner Robins High School
will host the Middle Georgia
Cross County Summer Series
July 7 (4,000 meters) and 21
(5,000 meters on the course
behind Pearl Stephens
Elementary School.
The cost for each race is $5
and registration can be made
the day of.
The venue is open to all.
Call David Erpelding at 328-
3208 for more.
WR Roc sots football
registration dates
The Warner Robins
Recreation Department is
scheduled to begin registration
for its youth football and cheer
leading program July 16 from 8
a.m. until 1 p.m.
Registration will continue
the following week, July 18-22,
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. until all of the leagues
are filled. The program is for
boys and girls ages 5 to 12.
Children registering for foot
ball will be required to submit
their weight as the time of reg
istration. Parents need to bring
their children’s birth certificates
and participation feet with them
when they register their chil
dren.
For football, the cost per child
is SSO for city, $lO3 for county
and $177 for out of county. For
cheerleading, the cost per child
is $75 for city, SIOO for county
and $l2O for out of county.
For more information, call
929-1916.
Archery championship
to be held io Conyers
Arrows will be flying July 16
and 17 at Rockdale County
Soccer Compiex located
in Conyers, as the Georgia
Games hosts their 15th annual
Archery championship.
Archers have the option
of competing in Compound
or Recurve bow events.
Compound bow will consist
of open, limited, and barebow
events, while Recurve will hold
Olympic and traditional styles.
Anyone interested in com
peting must register by July
3rd. Registration is open to all
Georgia residents. Fees run
sl7 for archers ages 15 and
over, while participants under
15 pay $lO.
For more information on
this year’s event, contact the
Georgia Games at (770) 528-
3582 or visit their Web site at
at www.georgiagames.org.
WR Rec registering for
swimming lessens
Warner Robins Recreation
Department is registering for
American Red Cross swim
ming lessons. For more infor
mation, call 929-1916.
WR Rec to host boys,
girls tournaments
Warner Robins
The Warner Robins
Recreation Department will
play host to the senior boys
baseball tournament and senior
girls softball tournament. Both
events are scheduled to run
July 6-8. The boys will play at
Perkins and the girls will play
at Warner Robins High School
Demonettes’ field.
THURSDAY,
JUNE 30, 2005
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Al " Skinne r" Smith takes his #l6 car out for a spin.
Smith ...
By DON MONCRIEF
HHJ Sports Editor
It may not be true today,
but there was a time -
and it hasn’t been that long
ago - when A 1 “Skinner”
Smith sang, “I’ve been
working on
CDCQI AI the railroad,
~ " all the live-
SERIES long day,”
and you
The National better have
Vintageßacing k him
3 of 8 literally.
The
72-year
old local
National Vintage Racing
Association driver spent
48 years and nine months
- starting when he was 19
and living in Macon - with
the railroad.
A good portion of that
was running the Macon to
Jacksonville, Fla., route,
hauling everything from
coal to cars. That journey,
he said, took upwards of 32
hours round trip.
He still remembers every
thing to from hot it was
to hobos - and sometimes
college students “at a lark”
- hitching a ride. “I never
threw one off,” he said.
Later on in his career he
became vice president of
the union because, “I saw
a guy in a Seersucker suit
and a briefcase,” he said.
“I asked somebody what he
did. They said he was a
‘union man.’ I said, ‘That’s
the job I’m want.’”
So, he went out and got it.
When a lot of the railroads
started merging sometime
later, he said he was the one
Off the rail
Born: Oct. 30, 1933
Place of birth: Tifton
Children: 3
Grandchildren: 5
First racecar: 1939 Ford
Coupe
Races won: Unknown
- but a lot.
Most memorable race:
Daytona. “I won for one
thing," he said. Reflecting,
“At the drivers meeting,
they emphasized staying
in line until you were under
the flagger stand. Well,
when dropped that flag it
looked like yellow cabs in
Chicago. Everybody was
diving everywhere.
“Back then no drivers wore
a uniform, just a white
T-shirt and pants. Well,
your pants leg would flag
and after 300 miles your
leg would be so sore, you
couldn’t touch it.”
who negotiated most of the
contracts.
As has already been
Sports
HHJ/Don Moncrief
alluded to, Smith was also
no stranger to a racecar.
Born to sharecroppers, he
grew up worked the farm,
doing odd jobs at the movie
theater and “pedaling
groceries on my bicycle.”
That is, when he wasn’t in
school.
With the war on, he
enlisted into the Marine
Corps at age 17 and per
formed a variety of jobs
including drill instructor
for two years.
He was stationed at Nara,
Japan, and would have seen
action if not for the fact his
squad, which was headed
to Korea, was diverted to
Hawaii.
Still the scenery only kept
him in for four years.
Once he got out, he
returned to Macon and
began once again to work
for the railroad and resume
his racing career.
That was back in 1951.
He was 19.
It was during that time a
friend who was also racing,
helped him get started by
turning a 1939 Ford Coupe
into a racecar.
He remembers his first
race quite well.
“I didn’t finish,” he said.
“I had the wrong head
ers and the exhaust fumes
made me sick.”
In fact his whole racing
career wasn’t going too
good at that point.
“I wasn’t fast enough. I
wasn’t experienced enough.
The motor didn’t have
enough power ... I had too
many wrecks.”
See SMITH, page 2B
WR wraps up
summer league
By JOE SERSEY
HHJ Sports Writer
Warner Robins finished
its summer baseball pro
gram with a JV and var
sity doubleheader against
Westfield Tuesday night.
For new Demons head
coach Bill Beatty, it has
been a busy summer. His
team has played 21 games
in June, appearing in four
tournaments and playing
each Tuesday night of the
month.
“We used Tuesday as
warm ups for the week
end tournaments,” said
Beatty. “I thought we did
very well this summer. The
first tournament, with me
being new, went a little
rough, but we won at least
three games in every tour
nament.”
The Demons played in
the Houston County, Perry
Crossroads, and Parkview
tournaments and finished
tournament play last week
end at the Jones County.
“I think the key thing
this summer is that we had
a couple of positions we
needed to fill,” Beatty said.
“First, second, third and
the outfield, we know who
is going to play. We needed
to find people for second
and shortstop.”
Warner Robins looks to
be strong in pitching. They
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Deon Shane Sams delivers a pitch.
oue
COUPLESONLY: SL *JL J
Phyllis and Frankie Rivers
Married: 44 years
-*• 'msmr
Team he loves to hate:
She said: Miami Heat.
He said: Miami Heat.
I don't care for Shaquille
O’Neal.
Favorite team:
She said: Denver
Broncos. Our son played
for the Broncos from 1990
to 1996.
He said: The Denver
Broncos, and the San
Antonio Spurs. We lived
near San Antonio until we
moved here two weeks
ago.
Favorite Athlete:
She said: Tim Duncan
He said: Tim Duncan.
It he had two tickets to the
Super Bowl, whom would he
take?
SECTION
B
have four returning and
only one is a senior.
Beatty says that the play
ers will stay active in the
weight room three days a
week after school starts,
and his coaches will be
doing two on ones with the
players through the rest of
the summer and until the
baseball season begins next
spring.
For Westfield, their sum
mer program ends today
when they host Taylor
County in a 6 p.m. JV game
and an 8 p.m. varsity con
test.
The Hornets have used
the summer to get their
young players more experi
ence.
“(Today) we will have
played 24 games, varsity
and JY” said coach Allen
Smith. “These kids have
really learned a lot.”
Smith runs the Westfield
summer program and
assists head coach Billy
Sellers during the regular
season. Smith will enter
the Taylor County game
with mixed emotions. He
lives in Butler and owns a
business there.
The Hornets participat
ed in the Perry Crossroads
and Jones County tourna
ments.
See WR, page 2B
HHJ/Joe Sersey
HH*J Joe Sersey
• a 4* \■ 7
4
She said: Me.
He said: Of course I’d
take my wife. We've been
around football for a long
time.
What was the last time he
bought you something?
She said: Mother's Day.
He said: Does dinner
count? I bought her dinner,
yesterday.
How much time during the
week does he spend watch
ing sports on TV?
She said: Six or seven
hours a week because he
was watching the basketball
playoffs.
He said: Four or five hours
a week. I like all sports, but
I’ll watch any kind of foot
ball, even arena football.