Elder (Upper) Statesmen: Blue Ridge baseball leans on past for inspiration

Blue Ridge baseball celebrated the 50th anniversary of its 1974 upper state championship team before the Tigers’ game against Broome on March 27.

Johnny Kemp nearly came to tears recalling the game.

As a nervous freshman in 1974, Kemp remembered feeling the shaking of his legs as he stepped to the plate. 

With Blue Ridge trailing Mid-Carolina 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh in the Upper State Championship, it was on the shoulders of Kemp—the undersized first-year first baseman—to keep the Tigers’ hopes alive.

“I was absolutely scared to death,” said Kemp. “I’ll never forget it. But I was bound and determined to hit the baseball. I was going to get on base.”

Kemp remembered the packed-out stands at Laurens High School—the neutral site for the third and decisive game of the series—screaming his name. Dozens of fans screaming “Come on, Johnny,” is hard to forget, he admits.

But Kemp remembered something else special about that moment, too.

“That was one of the only games my dad came to watch me play,” said Kemp. “His job didn’t allow him to see too many of my games. But I remember seeing him in the stands at that one.”

Kemp lined a fastball up the middle and got on base, loading the rubber with one out. Mid-Carolina walked a runner in to tie the game before Eddie Rollins delivered the walk-off base hit.

Blue Ridge took down Mid-Carolina 4-3, winning the upper state title and advancing to the state championship series.

The Tigers lost to Bamberg Ehrhardt—led by future MLB star Mookie Wilson—in the state championship, but the memory of the legendary run lives on.

It still stands as the only upper-state title in program history.

“It’s hard to make it to a championship,” said then-assistant coach Joe Bruce. “We tried and tried and tried again for 12 years after and couldn’t do it. You’ve just got to have a lot of things fall your way.”

The 1974 Blue Ridge Tigers upper state championship team is still the only team in Blue Ridge history to make it to a state championship. They hope that changes this year.

“We take tremendous pride in being the only team to make it that far,” said Kemp. “But deep down, we’ve always wanted that to be broken. We’ve wanted another team to make it after us.”

THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS

Now 50 years since the Tigers’ storied run to the state championship, the 1974 team was honored before a Blue Ridge baseball game three weeks ago. Six players from the 1974 squad joined the celebration, along with then-assistant coach Joe Bruce and head coach Jerry Henson.

“We got the chance to talk to each other again and share memories from that season with one another,” said Henson. “We even got to share some stories with the current team, too. You can’t put a price on that.”

Most all the members of the 1974 team agree: If there’s ever been a Blue Ridge team with a chance of matching—and potentially eclipsing—their mark, it’s this one.

The bats are hot, but what might make the biggest difference for this year’s team, the old-timers say, are the arms.

“Pitching is what makes the difference for this team,” said Kemp. “One hundred percent. This team has four really good starting pitchers. Back in 1974, we only had one really great starter, and that was Ansel Gilreath.”

Gilreath was the Tigers’ ace in 1974, collecting 11 wins and tossing two no-hitters. 

Henson laughed, thinking about the games Gilreath wasn’t on the mound.

“If Ansel wasn’t out there for us, we knew it was going to be a shootout,” he said, smiling. “Our bats were going to have to win the game for us.”

It’s different at the Ridge nowadays.

Led by starting pitchers AJ Cammarota and Mason Tompkins—both Division 1 college-commits—the Tigers look near impossible to beat when the pair throw their best.

Both starters paid respects to the team that paved the road before them.

“It was cool to see them and how close they still are,” said Tompkins. “I mean, they remembered all the key plays from that season like it was just yesterday.”

“Seeing [the 1974 team] and knowing what they were able to accomplish, it hits hard right here,” said Cammarota, pointing to his heart. “We want to do it for all the teams that weren’t able to make it all the way. If we do, we know we’ll be remembered in this community forever like them.”

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Should someone be familiar with Jerry Henson’s name, it’s likely for good reason. It’s visible in bold black letters by the scoreboard at every Blue Ridge home game. 

Blue Ridge renamed its baseball field in Henson’s honor in 2017.

For his accomplishments within the program and community, the renaming was a no-brainer. Now, Henson gets to watch as his son, Travis, takes charge of the Tiger program and leads it to potential new heights.

“I’m very proud of my son,” said Jerry. “He’s such an inspiration to me. He and I have such a good time here during the baseball season.”

“Papa” Henson spends much of his time with the current Tigers—both in the dugout and on the field.

Current BR head coach Travis Henson (left) smiles with mother Linda and father Jerry Henson, former BR coach.

“He has me throw batting practice every day,” said Jerry. “I pitch to JV and Varsity.”

The Hensons, father and son, are often seen palling around and enjoying each other’s company on game days and at practice. The sport has kept them close and bonded for most of Travis’ life.

“My dad, he loves baseball more than almost anything in the world, besides his family,” Travis said. “Baseball has been a part of the Henson family forever.”

It was Travis’ idea to honor Jerry and his 1974 team this season. Coincidentally, Travis was born later that year.

“Most of the older guys, when I pitched the idea to them, they said ’50 years? We thought our record would’ve been broken by now.’” said Travis, laughing. “And I told them, ‘I’ll be honest with you, I hope this is the year we do it.’

Blue Ridge wraps up region play this week with a two-game set vs. Carolina. They’ll set off on the road back to state when the 3-A playoffs begin on April 30.

“I looked at my current team, and I asked them ‘You know how cool it would be if you were here celebrating 50 years later, too?’ Hopefully, we can make another run happen,” said Travis. 

“We want to make history of our own.”