The ‘world’s fastest man’ was from Troy

James Batie, a Troy State track star, once held the world record in the 50-yard dash. Also, a post recounting the time Gov. Wallace met Vivian Malone 33 years after standing in the school house door.

Also, today: Several photos of local baseball tournament teams that won District titles.

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Troy Citizen subscriber Chuck Ash reminded me in a message that the greatest track athlete to ever live in Troy is James Batie - who was the fastest person in the world for a period of time in the early 1970s.

James Batie in 2015.

(Note: In yesterday’s dispatch, see link here, I mentioned three great track stars from Troy - Payton Ousley, who has two years of eligibility left at CHHS, Cencade Pennington and Wanda Elder.)

Former Troy State track coach John “Doc” Anderson recruited Batie out of Columbus, Georgia’s Baker High School in 1969.

In high school, Batie finished just one-tenth of a second off the world record in the 50-yard dash, a record he would later tie as a freshman at Troy with a time of 5.10 seconds. (This means for the distance of 50 yards Batie was the world’s fastest human.)

Batie, a five-time NCAA & NAIA All-American, ran for the Trojans from 1970-73. He was inducted into the third class of the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. (See induction video clip here).

“In the spring of 1970, we went down to Florida and he won the 100-yard dash, upsetting the guy from Southern Illinois,” Anderson recalled in a story when Batie was named to the Hall of Fame. “He was the first real-deal guy that we had, and the rest was history.”

(In my research, I found a story from a track meet at Auburn University in 1971 where Batie set a track record in the 100-yard dash, beating athletes from Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Memphis State. See today’s Reader Comments for link.)

Added Anderson: “In track, you are not selected - you earn it, and he did. He upset the guy from Michigan in Detroit at the NCAA Indoor meet. Back then, if you qualified and were a member of the NCAA, you could go to the NCAA indoor meet, and that’s how he did it, several times.”

Simply put, Batie lit it up on the track, said Anderson.

“He really is the reason today we have a track program. He lit it up. In the spring of 1970, we won a conference championship we weren’t supposed to and from then on, it was championships after championships. He would and could still be competitive today.”

The Troy sprinter “never had a single false start in his entire time here,” added Anderson.

Batie, who was a member on the US Olympic Training team, is now retired from a career with the Alabama Department of Corrections, and, as of 2015, he was living in Troy.

In a video interview shown at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Batie noted that several relatives of his also live or lived in Pike County.

In addition to being the world record-holder in the 50-yard dash, Batie once ran a 60-yard dash in 6 seconds flat and once recorded a time of 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash.

For many years, Batie held the school records in the 50, 60, 100 and 200-yard dashes, records that no doubt still stand today (although these events have been replaced by the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes).

Today, the 40-yard dash is emphasized for football players. One can only imagine what Batie’s time would have been in the 40 - certainly 4.2 seconds or lower, which would blow away the fastest players in the sport even today.

So, regarding the question of who was the fastest person to ever live in Troy, we now know the answer. It was James Batie, the fastest man (over a distance of 50 yards) on the planet!

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George Wallace’s meeting with Vivian Malone

Citizen subscriber and Pike County native Sam Adams (not Dr. Adam’s son, but Jon’s brother) shared a poignant Facebook article written by well-known political consultant David Azbell at his highly-entertaining Facebook Page, “The Art of Alabama Politics.”

The article recounts a 1996 meeting between former Alabama governor George C. Wallace and Vivian Malone, one of two black students at the University of Alabama who Wallace tried to block from entering the “school house door” at Foster Auditorium on June 11, 1963.

Azbell, then an aide for the former governor, was one of only four people at the meeting. Note: bold-faced text added by Bill Rice, Jr.

Top left photo shows Vivian Malone meeting Governor Wallace in much different circumstances than in June, 1963. Mr. Azbell also displayed the autographed books in his personal collection.

By David Azbell

On June 11, 1963 - 62 years ago (yesterday) - Gov. George Wallace made his “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” to prevent African-American students James Hood and Vivian Malone from registering at the University of Alabama and integrating the campus.

Like the vast majority of white Alabamians of his era, Gov. Wallace believed that racial segregation was in the best interests of both races, and just like that same majority, he later came to understand that those beliefs were completely wrong.

In October of 1996, Wallace invited Vivian Malone to Montgomery to receive the Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage, which was presented to “a woman who, through her actions, changed Alabama for the better.”

Because a court order had enjoined Gov. Wallace from crossing paths with Vivian in 1963, the two had never met or spoken.

The founder and creator of "The Art of Alabama Politics" Facebook page was working as Gov. Wallace’s personal aide and spokesman in 1996 and was next to him when Vivian entered and the two locked eyes for the first time. The three of us and a photographer were the only ones in the room. The air was electric with history.

I remember Vivian walked over to shake Gov. Wallace’s hand, smiled, and said, “It’s about time we met.” He, in turn, apologized to her for the events that took place in 1963, and she quickly said his public apology issued decades before had been enough.

With those words, a lingering chapter in Alabama’s civil rights saga closed. It was among the most moving moments of my life, and I can go to my grave knowing that I watched - and felt - history take place that night.

Malone later attended Wallace’s funeral …

While at Gov. Wallace’s state funeral just two years later, I was surprised to see Vivian standing quietly against a back wall so as not to draw attention to herself. She’d felt the need to travel from Atlanta and pay her last respects to the man who sought her forgiveness and received it.

Vivian Malone Jones passed away following a stroke in 2005.

Gov. Wallace was completely deaf at the time of his meeting with Vivian, and among my jobs was writing what she said on a legal pad so he could read her words and then verbally respond. I’ve kept the legal pad that you see in the photo as an important memento of the meeting.

One of my other prized possessions is a book about the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" that is signed by Gov. Wallace and both students.

Since Gov. Wallace typically did not sign items related to the event, it is believed to be the only item in existence with the autographs of all three participants.

Notice that Vivian added "Class of '65" underneath her signature.

Autherine Lucy, the first African-American student to register at the University of Alabama and attempt its integration, signed the book, as well.

In addition, Jame Hood, the other African-American student Wallace sought to block, returned to the University of Alabama and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1997.

Hood met with Wallace, gave him an invitation to the graduation ceremony, and asked the former governor to present him with his degree.

Wallace’s health at the time prevented him from attending the graduation, and he would pass away at little more than a year later, in September of 1998.

The graduation invitation that Hood gave Wallace also resides in our collection of memorabilia.

More information about Mr. Azbell’s excellent Facebook Page …

I was thrilled to discover Mr. Azbell’s website, which is “a Facebook page about the wild, weird, and wonderful history of Alabama politics.”

Anyone interested in Alabama political history will certainly enjoy the stories Azbell’s posted at his Facebook page, as well as his extensive photo gallery, which includes photos of the state’s leading political figures and memorabilia from numerous political campaigns.

David Azbell, who is the son of famous state journalist Joe Azbell, was previously the director of communications for Gov. Bob Riley and has worked as a political consultant, most recently for Tommy Tuberville. As has been featured in several feature stories, Azbell’s home is almost a museum of Alabama politics.

In one interview Azbell said politics in the state “is no longer as fun as it once was.”

The Facebook Page also includes archived video footage, including:

• A George Wallace Interview on “60 Minutes” in 1968.

• Footage of Ronald Reagan reacting to the George Wallace shooting.

• Actor Joe Don Baker (of “Walking Tall” fame) portraying former Alabama Governor James E “Big Jim” Folsom.

• Footage of Vietnam POW and future Alabama senator Jeremiah Denton blinking “T-O-R-T-U-R-E” in memorable video released by Denton’s North Vietnam captors.

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Troy baseball teams show talent at summer tournaments

May and June are tournament season for local baseball All-Stars. From the “Sports Chat Facebook Page of Neal and Wally,” I found several photos of Troy teams that won District Tournaments.

Troy 10U sluggers were District Champs.

Troy was also the Dixie Youth Baseball District 9 Ozone Champs.

The Troy 8-and-under Tournament Team also won their District Tournament.

Troy All-Star Jaylin Copeland batted .750 in the District Tournament and pitched a complete game 3-hitter in the Championship, giving up only 1 run.

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