FHS seeking its first Hall of Fame class

With 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of Flomaton High School's 1973 state championship baseball team, FHS Principal Mark Harbison is seeking a committee to kick off a Flomaton Athletic Hall of Fame to begin recognizing the many men and women who have excelled in athletics over the years.

"People have done a lot of good things for the school and the community," Harbison said. "And they need to be recognized."

Harbison is seeking individuals to form a committee to begin the process of selecting members to the high school's athletic hall of fame. If someone is interested in serving on that committee, they can call Harbison at the high school at 251-296-2627.

"This marks the 50th anniversary of Flomaton's first state championship team and it's time we start honoring people who have excelled in athletics," Harbison said.

Flomaton fielded its first athletic team in 1925 and has a rich history in athletics. The 1973 baseball team won the Class 1A-2A title. In 1988 the Hurricane baseball team brought back the school's second state championship playing in 3A.

Flomaton's 2005 girls softball team brought back the 2A state title and in 2018 the FHS football team won the 3A state championship.

Harbison said he'd like to see the 1973 baseball team honored this fall but also wants to put the plan in place to add to the Hall of Fame.

Billy Hines was a sophomore on the 1973 team and when asked his thoughts, he said "That was 50 years ago".

Hines recalled what made that team special is they had all played Little League together and through the years.

"We had a good team," Hines said. "I don't think we had anybody bat under .300 and we also had Chuck Fore on the mound."

Hines said Flomaton could not host a playoff game since the field, which is where the high school is located now, didn't have a fence.

"We had to go on the road for all playoff games and never lost one," Hines said. "Chuck pitched every game."

Fore said the team had been playing together since they were 5 or 6 years old, whether it was in organized baseball or gathering up in a cow pasture to play ball.

Fore, who went on to play in the major leagues in AAA, said he'd always been a pitcher but said he grew about 4 to 5 inches before his senior year, which he said really helped his fast ball.

According to a May 16 edition of the Tri-City Ledger, Flomaton swept Daughter of American Revolution in Grant, Ala., 2-1 and 5-2 to win the state title.

"There couldn't be more of a thrill than winning the state championship," head coach Melvis Holt was quoted as saying at the time. "We have a lot of good ballplayers, they play as a team, work hard and have a lot of pride within themselves and as a ball team."

Team members were listed as Kenny Fletcher, Anthony Matheny, Garry Anderson, Chuck Fore, Johnnie Hines, Billy Hines, Ronnie White, Kenny Powell, Ricky Freeman, Melvin Johnson, Mike Bell, Steve Dantzler, Ronald Byrd, Bob Collins and Alporter Chrittenden.