Championship Dragons returning to PJC Saturday

Published or Revised April 09, 2010

Winning a national championship in any sport creates many lifetime memories. Members of the Paris Junior College 1959 Dragons baseball team will relive those moments and be honored Saturday, April 10, at 12:45 p.m. at Hub Hollis Field at the Barney Bray Complex. The 2009-10 Dragons will take on the Angelina College Roadrunners in a double-header beginning at 1 p.m. The ’59 team went to Grand Junction, Colo., with just 11 student-athletes and brought back the National Junior College Athletic Association trophy as the best JUCO team in the country. The feat wasn’t easy, but one that created a bond unlike any other. Led by Coach James Self, the team accomplished something no other PJC team had done to that point. According to stories by some of the players, rain delayed several days of the tournament, allowing then-required ‘rest’ for pitchers between games. Six of the eight players, plus their manager and coach, are expected to be in attendance Saturday. Scheduled to attend are Glen Baker, Ron Kyle, Jerry Wells, Pat Camp, Olen Jordan, Jim Whitworth, Manager Johnny Crawford and Coach James Self. Unable to attend is Jack Ward. Three of the ’59 squad, John Pomroy, Norman Reedus and Jim Culpepper, are deceased. There is one team member, Leonard Bell, originally from Duncanville, Texas, who has not been located despite the efforts of teammates and PJC. A number of the team gathered in November 2009 for their 50th PJC Class Reunion but wanted to return to Paris during the baseball season to see the 2009-10 Dragons play and enjoy sharing memories. Following the National Championship, several from the ’59 team went on to play baseball at four-year colleges and universities, including the University of Alabama and Texas A&M University, and three attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La.