Friday night was special for Coach Ricky Smith and Curtis Smith,two longtime supporters and workers in Loyd Star athletics. As thesun set and the dew fell at the conclusion of a beautiful springday, a ceremony honoring the two Smiths on the baseball diamondtook place between games in the Lincoln County Tournament.

The Rev. Tim McCaffery of Mt. Zion Baptist Church read thededication message over the public address system. The two humblegentlemen received a standing ovation. Both men took turns throwingthe ceremonial first pitch prior to the game.

Ricky Smith began his teaching and coaching career at Loyd Starin 1973. A Whitworth College graduate, Smith had been a standout inbaseball and basketball at Loyd Star during his high schoolcareer.

On the diamond, he directed the Hornets to the statechampionship in 1980. Under the circumstances, it was a remarkablefeat. Loyd Star’s new baseball field was under construction at thattime. West Lincoln’s field was the site of the championshipgame.

In 1981, Smith oversaw the completion of the new baseball field.The Hornets won the South State championship in 1985.

Recognized for his quick wit and wonderful dispostition, CoachSmith was a chronic worrier on the inside. He kept the Peto-Bismolcompany in business. While some coaches kept a wad of chewingtobacco in their back pocket, Smith kept a bottle of thepink-colored liquid at his elbow.

Off the field, he spent countless hours molding futuregenerations of young men from Loyd Star, recognized as a hotberdfor athletics. It also is recognized for enthusiastic but oftencritical fan support.

Ricky Smith has a grandson, Tyler Case, who plays baseball atLoyd Star, so you know you’ll find him at the ball field.

Current Loyd Star athletic director and girls basketball coachBilly Vaughn played for Smith. He impacted his life, too.

“Coach Smith is one of the main reasons I got into coaching andteaching,” said Vaughn. “He always was encouraging hisplayers.”

Vaughn, a 1978 Loyd Star graduate, recalled his younger yearswhen he was chasing foul balls for coach Smith. “Back then the foulballs would land in a pine forest. I would ask Coach Smith wherethe baseball went and he would say, ‘It’s right there next to thatpine tree.'”

Anthony Hart, currently a successful head football coach atLafayette County in Oxford, was a membere of Loyd Star’s statechampionship baseball team. He fondly recalled his relationshipwith Smith as coach and teacher.

“I got to play for Coach Smith and then I got to coach with him(at Loyd Star) when I was head coach,” said Hart. “That was a greatexperience.

“Coach Smith has always meant a lot to me,” Hart continued.”I’ve always been able to get advice from him when I was growingup.

Hart was the Star Student at Loyd Star in 1983 and he selectedSmith as his Star Teacher. Smith taught history.

According to Hart, there was never a dull moment in the classroom or on the athletic field. “Everything Coach Smith did wasinteresting.”

Curtis Smith continues to be an exceptional groundskeper for theLoyd Star campus. A heavy equipment operator before his retirement,Smith continues to work diligently on the athletic facilities.

McCaffery said Smith maintains a constant smile on his face andconstant corcern for Loyd Star athletics. “It is impossible to knowhow many hours he spent meticulously manicuring and caring for ourball fields.”

He is a fixture at Loyd Star athletic events. In basketball,Curtis Smith sits on the front row, near midcourt. In baseball andsoftball he sits directly behind home plate.

His son Lance was an all-state baseball pitcher at Loyd Star.Lance later starred for Mississippi College.

“Curtis Smith is a tremendous asset to our school and ourathletic department,” said Vaughn.

Vaughn said some serious cardiac problems haven’t slowed Smithdown much. “His son and daughter have told me that if Smith diedwhile he was working on the football or baseball fields, he woulddie happy.”

For sure, the Loyd Star community is happy to name the baseballfield after these two Smiths.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz,c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com