On Friday, March 18, I headed to Charles Wilson Field in Douglas to both witness and cover a special recognition. About half an hour before the first pitch of the Brunswick Pirates v. Coffee Trojans game, Coffee baseball honored the late Riccardo Ingram, the individual who I – and a lot of others – believe to be the greatest athlete ever to play at Coffee High School.
I wrote about Riccardo a year ago, right after he passed away from cancer. I’ll not rehash his accomplishments. Suffice it to say that no one has ever been more competitive, tenacious, or determined than the former Trojan, two-sport star at Georgia Tech, and Major League Baseball player.
I had forgotten many of the stories about Riccardo. There was the time when, as a sophomore, head football coach Bonwell Royal wanted all the football players to max out. The baseball team had a game that day against Bradwell Institute. The baseball and football guys didn’t want to lift hard. Coach Royal insisted. That afternoon, Riccardo benched 300 pounds for the first time. Then he went out and hit three home runs against Bradwell.
That was the day that the legend of Riccardo Ingram was born. There was also the time he pitched two complete games of a double-header against Jesup with the region championship on the line. The Trojans won both games and, eventually, the state championship. There was also the time when, as a defensive back at Georgia Tech, he knocked Auburn’s Bo Jackson out of a game. There were the All-American, All Conference, and Male Athlete of the Year awards. After all of that, the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft. He ended up playing 16 big-league games before becoming a coach in the Minnesota Twins organization. He was still coaching for the Twins when he succumbed to cancer on March 31, 2015.
As I stood there on the field that night, camera in hand, looking at Riccardo’s friends, family, and former teammates, I couldn’t help but think: Why? Why did we as a community wait so long to honor one of the area’s best athletes? Why did we have to wait until he passed away to relive those moments all over again? We often do that – wait until someone passes away before we honor their accomplishments and contributions.
It makes no sense. It didn’t then, and it still doesn’t today.
Each school this magazine covers has at least one elite-level athlete in the history books. Most have many, many more. Student-athletes with that kind of talent represent our communities in ways that others cannot. People remember what they’ve done for decades. They bring positive attention to their families, schools, counties, cities, and towns. They deserve to be recognized.
But they also deserve to be recognized while they’re still with us. If Riccardo had been in Douglas that Friday night, he would have smiled, deflected the attention, and tried to talk more about what the rest of his teammates did. But he would have been touched. The ceremony would have validated a career spent in sport, one that made a difference to the people he played with in high school and college, and to the prospects he coached in the minor leagues.
It was a mistake not to honor Riccardo Ingram while he was still alive. Don’t repeat that same mistake. Take the time to honor those athletes who contributed to the legacy and tradition of sport that we have here in South Georgia. But do it quickly, while they can be here to enjoy it. Time is ticking fast, and no one is guaranteed another day.
Besides, it would mean the world to those who are being honored.
Column/South Georgia/May 2016
Honoring greatness: Don’t wait until it’s too late
Robert Preston Jr.
Photo by Robert Preston Jr.
