NEWBERRY — The year was 1981, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s song ‘Endless Love’ was at the top of the charts, Ronald Reagan was president and Princess Diana & Prince Charles were two of the most popular figures in the world. Also, it was the year that head coach Bill Harvey led the Bulldogs to the baseball state title!
On Thursday, April 30, Newberry High School athletics invited the ‘81 team back to now known as ‘Bill Harvey Field’, to celebrate their 45th anniversary. They group that was between 15-18 years-old at the time was now all in their late 50s to early 60s were in attendance and they still remembered that season like it was yesterday. Harvey and his assistant coach Sam Baird led their team to a 24-4 record that season.
The old crew was honored during pre-game celebrations in front of good size crowd. Afterwards, the guys enjoyed some barbecue and each other’s company. The Observer had the pleasure of being in attendance to take in the festivities and spend time with some local legends. They all laughed and shared old stories like they were still sitting on the back on the school bus headed to an away game.
In addition, the players brought some of their old gear, the original lineup book from the final game that sealed the title for them and of course their trophy was in attendance as well.
“I love things like this for our players because it gives them a chance to connect with the future players and the players that have played here in the past. Really, all that goes with Newberry County and Newberry High School athletics is so important to understand so you can be proud of where you come from and what you represent. Because of those guys are why you[the current players] are where you are. They set the tradition here and it’s a lot to uphold but our guys have done a really good job of upholding that standard. Hopefully, they can continue to do so,” said current head coach Dylan Skinner.
The roster, which was provided by NHS Athletics, include the following people:
Bruce Berley
Roger Caldwell
Ricky Caughman
Rusty Chappia
Keith Dudley
Kemper Fuller
Ed Hill
Lee Harmon
Charles Kinard
Albert Miller
Ray Miller
Ted Miller
Ricky Nance
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