Thomas Berry Record Setter

Thomas Berry a Gryphon grad who is a redshirt sophomore for Lander University in South Carolina has help his team finish their regular season  with a 43-6 record and for the first time in school history Lander won the Peach Belt regular season title.

Berry  set a school record walking 50 times in 49 regular season  games and in doing so set the school record when he walked for the 48th time.  His 50 walks leads the nation in division II. Lander will try to win their conference tournament next weekend.  "Baseball" Britt Johnson a 2001 Gryphon graduate and the assistant coach for Lander is responsible for Berry being at Lander.

Hobbs Johnson lost three straight games since my last report on him as he plays for Brevard A league team in Florida.  His first lost he gave up six runs in five innings but one outing  five innings of relief and another start he gave up no earn runs but lost twice.  This week he picked up his second pro win giving up one earned run for the  win  and in five appearances his ERA is 2.33 with a 2-3 record.

Brian Goodwin has been on a roller coaster playing for AAA Syracuse Chiefs. He started out just getting two hits  in his first 20 at bats them got 13 hits in his next 30.  He has managed only five in his next 38 to drop his batting average back down to 224.  Interesting Brian in those five hits has two triples which gives everyone hope than if he makes contact he 's going to get on base.

Back in January when I attended the funeral of  Darryl Allen in Ahoskie many people were there and even though I knew his health was not good then from cancer Richard Murray and I had several minutes to hash old times.

Other than my father Coach Murray was the person I most respected in my life.  1967 as a skinny freshman I had coach Murray in Civics and and I was a running back on the JV's for two years as he was the line coach.  I played varsity baseball for him for three years and as a senior I had him in a government class.

During my senior season I pulled a groin muscle two days before our first game. I was a third baseman and I never made an error in my career with the ball going through  my legs.  I threw many away making errors but I was a vacuum cleaner and my nickname was Brooks after the Baltimore third baseman Brooks Robinson. Now you know why I named my son Brooks.

The first four games of the season I was 1 for 15.  As a senior by this time I was working at the radio station on weekends and three nights a week a worked to midnight.  I was depressed about having a terrible season my senior year after having a really good first two.  After practice I waited in the looker room for coach Murray to come take his shower after all the other players had left.  I told
coach that I understood if he  needed to benched me to put someone in the line up who could play better than I was.  What he told me then help me change my season and there are not many days that go by  I don't think about that day.

He told me that as I went through life I would have people in my life that were going to depend on me and there would be days when I would not feel like going to work but when I looked at those depending on me I would get up and do what I had to do to take care of my family.  My teammates were depending on me now and I have to get up and go to work for them.

I finished the season on an upswing  graduated went directly into the radio business and spent 22 years working with him as the Athletic Director at Ahoskie and Hertford County High on a weekly basis doing football on the radio.

Murray was the line coach for Darryl Allen for every year that Allen was the head coach.  He was a man that could be second fiddle  and be perfectly happy watching others get the glory.  What kind of Athletic  Director was he?  He is in the NC Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.  Thursday Richard Murray moved on to join to join the Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in Heaven.  Richard Murray was one of the greatest men I ever knew.