Just the mention of Corky Palmer’s name makes me smile.

We first crossed paths — well it was more like me sitting in the bleachers and watching him play baseball — in the spring of 1977. I was a wide-eyed and most definitely wild-haired freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi and he was a senior catcher for the Golden Eagles’ baseball team.

Since Corky’s spirit left this earth on August 10 to go play on the true “Field of Dreams” there have been many articles written about him, his unique personality, work ethic, love of baseball, friends, and family, and the imprint he has left on the lives and in the hearts of many.

Being the sports editor of The Meridian Star, and eventually the radio play-by-play voice of the MCC baseball team, I was blessed to be there for his entire tenure as head coach of the Eagles from 1987 through 1996. He later went on to become the head coach of the USM baseball team leading, the Golden Eagles to the College World Series in 2009, which would be his final season.

His legendary status with those who knew him was cemented long before he became a member of the USM Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Nothing I could write would do justice to Coach Palmer and who he was, so I really won’t even try. I could recount story after story that he and I shared during his tenure in Meridian. I could could also tell you about the deep love he had for his wife Debbie, how much he cared for the players, of the relationship he had with then MCC President Dr. Bill Scaggs (a man who had an unrelenting love for baseball, MCC, and Coach Palmer), and how much he believed in his players and assistant coaches. But those are stories that have been told and will be told over and over.

What I want to share with you is the baseball season of 1987.

When Corky took over at Meridian Community College the baseball facility was basically a well-kept field, a couple dugouts, a backstop, an outfield fence, and some bleachers. What you see now was built on the backs of Palmer, his assistant coaches, ballplayers, and the administration that believed in the program.

I covered most of MCC’s home games that first season. After I sat out in the bleachers for a game or two, Corky invited me to come sit next to him in front of the dugout, where there were a couple plastic chairs like you would see behind a school desk in the 1970s — hard, and as the weather turned toward summer, very hot.

From that perch I got a chance to see a show I will never forget.

He was the only coach that year and handled all aspects of the practices and games. Coach Palmer is truly one of the greatest baseball coaches I’ve ever known, but I must be honest, watching him coach third base was a show, and beyond hilarious.

There are two stories I remember clearly that basically define that season, which was the beginning of his head coaching career on the collegiate level.

There were two runners on base and one of the Eagles hit the ball into the outfield gap, so he had three runners to direct at one time. He was trying to wave one home and at the same time stop another at second. He had one hand going one way and the other hand going another, and got caught up in the moment and switched what he was doing from one had to the other. At least one of the runners got thrown out, at which point Palmer’s voice reached that high pitch that only he could attain, as he stomped down the baseline, yanked his hat off, ran his hand across his head and said “that was terrible.” I’m not really sure he was talking to, but I was trying not to let him see me rolling in laughter as I sat there on my little plastic chair.

That year he had a shortstop from Louisiana who had transferred in.

At least twice in the same inning a ball was hit to the shortstop’s right and he attempted to make a fancy back-hand pick on a short hop and both efforts resulted in errors. Corky was fuming in the dugout, but when the inning had finally ended he marched out to meet the player at the third base line as has he was coming off the field headed to the home dugout. He stood toe-to-toe with the player and went into a short, but effective, shrill-voiced rant. “Who do you think you are, Chris Speier? Do you think you’re Chris Speier? You ARE NOT Chris Speier!” The player just stood their respectfully, with the look on his face of “there is no way I’m going to disagree with coach Palmer” and said, “No Sir.”

A couple of days later I was laughing with Coach Palmer about it, and said “Coach, you do realize he has no idea who Chris Speier is, right? But there was no way he was going to ask.” He just laughed and said, he guessed he was going to have to come up with the names of some players his guys knew.

Palmer went on to lead MCC to the NJCAA World Series in 1993, 1994, and 1996. That 1996 squad finished second in the nation, as Palmer concluded his career with the Eagles with a 409-160 mark.

There were a lot of special games, seasons, and memories during Corky’s nine years at MCC, but to me, nothing will ever be quite like 1987.

Austin Bishop, AKA The Old Sports Dude, has been covering high school, college, amateur, and professional sports since 1975 and is an ordained Assemblies of God minister. He may be contacted by email at starsportsboss@yahoo.com or by phone at 601-938-2471.