The Legend of Pickle Jack McCoy

Plus, fantastic upcoming promotions from Troy basketball, softball team announces schedule, Trojan baseball coach wins a ‘Science’ award and Museum Old-Fashioned Christmas.

Pickle Jack McCoy himself! Pickles don’t last long at our house.

Note: For a change of pace, The Troy Citizen will occasionally publish works of fiction - although this story, per the narrator, really happened.

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The tale that follows might seem impossible to believe - no eight-year-old boy could be that brave, could think that fast or throw a rock that hard - but it all really happened. I know it happened because I saw it all happen.

Everybody in Paw Paw Michigan knew Jackson Mason Rice loved pickles more than any boy who’d ever lived, but “Little Jack” (aka “Jack Rabbit”) didn’t become known as Pickle Jack McCoy until one blistering hot summer afternoon in 2024 when Pickle Jack faced down Catfish himself, straight razor, alligators and all.

School had long been over when about six of us gathered up our rocks and headed towards the river. We always saved the flat ones because they skipped across the water better. (Jack of course had the record: four skips!)

On that day, Jack, always wanting one extra excursion, talked us into going to the Piggly Wiggly first … so he could get a big jug of Vlasics.

When you have that many good rocks in your pockets, you have to throw some of them, and so about Maple Street we started firing them - sidearm - at the curb. We were only 20 feet from the curb but nobody could hit the strike zone.

“Let me show you how to do it,” said Jack.

On his very first fling, Jack hit the curb square in the middle.

What none of us had thought about is that rocks can ricochet … as this one did.

Just like our mothers told us, we’d all been watching out for cars. We just hadn’t been looking out for bicycles.

None of us had noticed that riding down the road on his old bicycle with two baskets on the bumper was our town’s most evil and nefarious character, Catfish.

Nobody knew Catfish’s real name. We just knew he delivered groceries for Old Man Johnson at the Pig.

Catfish was the color of old couch leather, 6’2 and a half, about 55 years old and he had a pencil-thin mustache that looked like the whiskers of a river cat.

Every kid in town also knew that Catfish carried around a straight razor and that he hated children.

“I’m going to cut you with this straight razor, boy!”

I don’t know if Catfish really said this to my friend Tommy’s older brother a couple summers earlier, but Tommy swears he did.

The rock hit Catfish right below his catfish mustache. I don’t know how he stayed on his bike. He almost crashed into the Spoonapple’s mailbox … which is when the cuss words started spewing and all of us scattered … except for Jack.

Pickle Jack later told me he was planning to apologize to Catfish, but when Catfish discarded his bike and started walking at a very brisk pace toward Jack, and then started going for something in his pocket, Jack figured out pretty quick that he might be in for more than a close shave.

“You leave me alone, you muddy old fish!” Jack said.

The Chase was on …

I had just jumped head-first into the Spoonapple’s giant hedges and saw Jack take off for the river. Catfish got back on his bike and the pursuit was on.

It’s amazing how fast a little boy can run when a Catfish with a straight razor is right behind you.

Being a good friend and all, I decided to follow … from a safe distance of course.

I didn’t even know Jack could swim that well, but he made it to the river, dove in and quickly swam to the little sandbar we called Gilligan’s Island.

Catfish, as one might imagine, could also swim and he started in right after him.

I thought that might be the last I ever saw of my friend Jack Rabbit, until Jack started screaming, “Gator! Gator!” and pointing frantically at something in the water.

This stopped Catfish in mid-stroke.

Jack had some left-over rocks in his pockets and started chunking them at what I thought must be a giant and hungry reptile.

“Catfish, gator! … Watch out for the gator!” Jack kept screaming.

Catfish, we later surmised, must have been terrified of alligators because he swam back to the shore faster than Jack Rabbit had swum to the island.

The exertion of racing a hungry gator to the shore must have dampened Catfish’s desire to filet my friend, The Rabbit.

But before resuming his deliveries, Catfish took one last look back at the island and hollered, “I’ll get you one day, kid!”

I was still hiding in the trees by the bank watching all of this.

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Fifteen minutes later - when we were sure Catfish was gone - Jack swam back to the shore like nothing had even happened.

By then, our whole gang had re-assembled for the after-action report.

“Water feels good,” Jack said. “Ya’ll want to come in for a dip?”

“What about the gator!?” I said.

Jack laughed.

“There’s no alligators in Paw Paw, Michigan, you knucklehead,” he said.

Then Jack saw it. A big jug of dills, camouflaged in the weeds, had fallen out of Catfish’s basket.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” said Jack, who quickly unscrewed the top and took a big bite out of one of the biggest cucumbers at the top of the jug.

In all my years since, I don’t think I’ve seen a grander smile.

We all enjoyed a belly laugh and I think it was Tommy who said, “You are no longer the Jack Rabbit, you are now Pickle Jack Rice.”

I could tell that Pickle Jack liked his new nickname, but he instantly improved it.

“Call me Pickle Jack McCoy,” he said.

No doubt about it. That had a much better ring to it.

And that’s how the legend of Pickle Jack McCoy was born.

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Have an old-fashioned Christmas Friday and Saturday at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama.

Note: I try to plug our great Museum when I can, but need to do this even more. We have a wonderful museum, unlike any other in our state and maybe the country. If you’re not doing anything Friday or Saturday, you might want to check out this event!

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December basketball games offer unique holiday promotions, great prices!

Troy’s Sports Marketing Team has come up with a stocking full of family-friendly promotions over the next two weeks.

Opening on Saturday, Dec. 14 with Troy basketball’s lone doubleheader of the 2024-25 season - before continuing with a pair of men’s basketball games on Dec. 17 and Dec. 21 - Troy athletics is proud to announce numerous promotions and giveaways for the rest of December.

Also, the Sun Belt Conference opener for men’s basketball on Dec. 21 has been moved to a 1 p.m. tipoff time with the Trojans set to battle the Panthers of Georgia State.

Women’s and Men’s Doubleheader - Saturday, Dec. 14 – Memphis / Middle Georgia State – 2 p.m. / 4:30 p.m.

Game Sponsor: Trojan Threads (Women’s Basketball) / Moe’s BBQ (Men’s game)

Theme: Mascot Mania, Kid’s Club Day

Ticket Specials/Concession Deals:

• An added boost to the concessions for the day includes hot chocolate and pulled pork sandwiches.

• In honor of Kid’s Club Day, all members of Kid’s Club gain free admission for both games of the doubleheader.

• To keep the family-friendly atmosphere rolling, Troy athletics will also open up the Family4Pack bundle, which includes four general admission tickets for $20. Use the promo code “FAMILY” to earn the bundle.

In-game Promos:

• With it being Mascot Mania, various mascots from numerous professional and collegiate teams will be in attendance, as well as ones from Troy athletic partners and sponsors. Some mascots include Big Mo from the Montgomery Biscuits, Chuck the Trojan from Charles Henderson High School, Commander from the Birmingham Squadron and Big E from Goshen High School.

Giveaways:

To celebrate Kid’s Club Day, Troy athletics will be giving away coloring books to the first 100 children in attendance.

Pre-game Promos:

• In collaboration with Toys for Tots, Troy athletics will host a collection before tipoff. If fans bring a toy to donate, they will receive a complimentary ticket for the men’s basketball game on Dec. 21 at 1 p.m.

Halftime Promos:

• Troy athletics will feature its very own Teddy Bear Toss at halftime. At the intermission, all fans who bring in a stuffed animal and get it tagged upon entry can toss it at the target at mid-court. The closest teddy bear or stuffed animal to the target wins four courtside tickets to the men’s basketball Sun Belt Conference opener on Dec. 21 against Georgia State.

Tuesday, Dec. 17 – LaGrange – 6 p.m.

Game Sponsor: Rike’s Tacos

Theme: Two Dollar Tuesday / Taco Tuesday

Ticket Specials / Concession Deals

• To celebrate Two Dollar Tuesday, a $2 general admission ticket special will be available at the door.

• The Two Dollar Tuesday deal includes $2 soft drinks and Busch Light.

• Concessions will include burritos for Taco Tuesday.

Pregame Promos:

• In collaboration with Toys for Tots, Troy athletics continues its toy collection before tipoff. If fans bring a toy to donate, they will receive a complimentary ticket for the men’s basketball game on Dec. 21 at 1 p.m.

Halftime Promos:

• The halftime entertainment welcomes back SheBang Dance Studio, who will do a live performance at center court.

Giveaways:

• Thanks to Rike’s Tacos, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free coupon.

Saturday, Dec. 21 – Georgia State – 1 p.m.

Game Sponsor: Goldfingers

Theme: Trojan Family Christmas in Trojan Arena

Ticket Specials / Concession Deals:

• With the holiday spirit in full effect, general admission tickets will be on sale for $2 at the door.

• The deals continue at the concession stand, where hot dogs, Busch Light, popcorn and soft drinks will all be $2.

Pregame Promos:

• In addition to Christmas music being played throughout pregame, there will be a Santa Claus photo booth in the main concourse.

Giveaways: Troy athletics will gift a tacky Trojan Sweater T-shirt to the first 500 fans.

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USA Baseball Honors Troy's Skylar Meade with Science Award

USA Baseball awarded Troy head coach Skylar Meade with the “Doc” Counsilman Science Award as a part of its 2024 Award Winners on Wednesday.

Coach Skylar Meade was the pitching coach for Team USA this summer - and used “science” to produce fantastic results.

Presented on a year-by-year basis in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the USA Baseball "Doc" Counsilman Science Award is for a coach that utilizes scientific techniques and equipment as an integral part of their coaching methods or has created innovative ways to use sport science.

Meade, who served as the pitching coach for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer, is the first Collegiate National Team coach to receive the award.

“Being awarded the ‘Doc’ Counsilman award is quite an honor,” Meade said. “This summer was an unreal experience with USA Baseball and all of the great people involved. I would like to thank Eric Campbell, Allison Gupton, all the players and Jose Vasquez especially for allowing me to work with the great players representing the red, white and blue this summer.”

Meade utilized data provided by PDP Performance Assessments and Rapsodo to lead Team USA to a five-game sweep of Chinese Taipei and a win over the Team USA Summer League Tour roster.

Over the course of six games, Meade’s pitching staff compiled a 1.12 ERA and held its opponents to a .146 batting average while racking up 62 strikeouts to just 18 walks. The dominant performance by the USA pitchers included two shutouts, and a combined no-hitter against Chinese Taipei on July 2.

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Troy Softball Schedule features numerous highly-touted opponents

Highlighted by back-to-back tournaments at the Troy Softball Complex to open the season and seven 2024 NCAA Tournament teams, Troy softball and head coach Eric Newell recently unveiled the team's 2025 schedule, which opens Feb. 6 against Tennessee State.

“We are very excited about the 2025 schedule,” Newell said. “The schedule is stacked with P4 and top 100 RPI opponents. So, we will be tested early and often this spring.”

Opening day of the 2025 campaign is set for Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. when the Trojans battle Tennessee State, which also jumpstarts the Trojan Invitational (Feb. 6-9). Over the next three days, Troy faces Central Michigan, Tennessee State, North Texas, and Samford.

The following week opens a second tournament in the Troy Softball Complex. The 2025 Cardinal Clash (Feb. 13-16) invites both the regular season (Eastern Illinois) and tournament champions (SEMO) of the Ohio Valley Conference. Western Kentucky and Alabama State round out the tournament field.

A midweek game in the Troy Softball Complex on Feb. 19 against Georgia Tech at 5 p.m. pauses tournament play shortly before the Trojans head to Tampa, Fla., for a 2-day tournament at USF (Feb. 22-23). On Feb. 22, the Trojans face two Big Ten opponents, including the tournament champions, Michigan, and Wisconsin, before they face Kent State and South Florida on Feb. 23.

Troy’s final tournament sends the team to Gainesville, Fla., to battle the 2024 Gainesville Regional Champions Florida on March 1, who advanced into the NCAA Tournament Semifinal round. The Gators fell to eventual National Champions Oklahoma, 6-5, after taking down the Sooners in game one, 9-3. The rest of the tournament (Feb. 28 – March 2) sees Troy take on Western Michigan, Samford and Florida A&M.

“Obviously, the Sun Belt schedule week in and week out is always a dogfight, but this year’s nonconference schedule is incredibly tough,” Newell said.

“Additionally, the non-conference slate includes away or neutral games with Florida, Auburn, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as home games against Auburn and Georgia Tech. We are looking forward to a great season and hope to have some big crowds at the Troy Softball Complex.”

March 5 opens non-tournament play as Troy travels in-state to battle Auburn in the first of a two-game series in 2025. Game two sees the Trojans host the runner-up of the Tallahassee Regional on March 26.

Games at the Troy Softball Complex don’t end in the regular season as Troy softball will host the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, starting on May 7 and ending on May 10.

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Two more days to enter Troy Trivia Contest

Readers who enjoy local contests and know a fair amount of local trivia still have until Friday at noon to enter the First Annual Troy Citizen Trivia contest.

Any readers who correctly answer only 15 of 25 questions will qualify for the grand prize - dinner for two at your favorite local restaurant.

Questions can be found at this link.

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