Veteran Hartsville coach joins Hall of Fame
From Staff Reports
Jimmy White, who coached the Hartsville High Red Foxes to state crowns in the 1980s, has been elected to the S.C. Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.
White took the HHS basketball program to state championships in 1981 and 1986 and won 519 games.
In 1999, the Legislature passed a resolution declaring March 29-April 3 Southeastern Baseball Classic Week in White’s honor. The resolution said:
“Whereas, Hartsville High School Coach Jimmy White, who is entering his 23rd year at the helm of the Red Foxes Baseball Squad, realized a number of years ago that area athletes were not getting the media exposure they deserved given the effort, commitment, and records of success they had achieved; and
“Whereas, his concern about the number of students unable to participate in sports due to academic failure led him to focus on working with these students to conquer the challenge of connecting the virtues of character and work ethic in order to enrich their lives; and
“Whereas, while he and his team participated in the International Paper Classic in Georgetown, Coach White conceived the idea of hosting a spring baseball tournament in Hartsville that similarly would attract top ranked teams with superior athletes from throughout the Southeastern United States; and
“Whereas, with a tremendous commitment of effort and resources from the citizens and business community of Hartsville, the Southeastern Baseball Classic has been established to fulfill Coach White’s vision of hosting a baseball tournament that draws both regional and national attention to the Hartsville community and to the State of South Carolina; and
“Whereas, the Southeastern Baseball Classic has now developed into one of the premier baseball tournaments in America today due to the efforts of its Board of Directors and the many individuals who voluntarily give of their time each year in support of this event; and
“Whereas, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Baseball Classic has set aside the week of March 29 April 3, 1999, to host this annual baseball tournament. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring, that the members of the General Assembly of South Carolina, by this resolution, hereby proclaim the week of March 29 April 3, 1999, as Southeastern Baseball Classic Week to recognize Coach Jimmy White’s dream of establishing and the Hartsville community’s commitment to hosting a baseball tournament that promotes character, values, discipline, and community involvement of student athletes.”