Sunday Interview with Coach Bobby Howard: 'We're proud of where we're at, but we're always challenging what we're doing'

At 64 years old, Columbus High baseball Coach Bobby Howard is at the seventh inning stretch of a legendary career.

His teams have won 12 Georgia High School Association state championships, as well as mythical high school national titles. He has been a national coach of the year.

Last July, he watched one of his former players, Frank Thomas, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

As another high school season starts, Howard sat down with Ledger-Enquirer reporter Chuck Williams, who has written about him for nearly 26 years.

Here are excerpts of the interview, with some of the questions edited for length and the order of some of the questions rearranged for clarity.

You've been doing this a long time. Is it still as enjoyable now as it was when you first took this job?

I still get something out of it. I think last year was a trying year for us, but more than anything else, I still enjoy it. It gives me a little bit of purpose since I am a retired teacher now versus having to do both. I just have to coach and I enjoy that part of it, too. It does give me something to do and it keeps me young being around the kids.

When did you decide that you were going to coach?

I think I just evolved into it. I remember Dan Trotter, who is still a good friend, went into education and he coached. He was a year or two ahead of me, so he kind of mentored me and told me, "You ought to do this," "You ought to do that," whatever.

And when you're playing, you always want to keep playing, but the game tells you -- like everybody else -- when to quit. But more than anything else, I think he had a real strong impact on me. I had some good role models as coaches like B.R. (Johnson) and Charles Ragsdale, who I played for. I played for B.R. at Jordan. He was head baseball coach my senior year.

How much of your style is patterned after B.R.?

I think I learned a lot from all of them. I think I'm a lot like him, but I try to be myself and not be him. But you know, a lot of people say we are a lot alike -- but not exactly alike.

What would an umpire say when he was comparing the two of you?

I don't know. You'd have to ask them. I can't answer that.

I've seen both of you go after umpires many times.

Yeah.

You played baseball at Columbus College, right?

Right.

Did you have any desire or aspirations to play pro ball? Was that your goal?

Yeah, it was. I was an all-conference player.

What position?

I played or stayed hurt most of the time. I was an outfielder, a third baseman, and I got hurt my last two years -- I was a DH my junior year, and in my senior year I wound up at first. I had the chance to play winter ball with the Mets, and I didn't get drafted. I thought I would be drafted my senior year, but I didn't, so I just moved on and went into coaching.

I was upset with the game a little bit because I played summer ball at Valdosta. We had seven players, three pitchers and four regular players and I led the team in hitting that year in 1973 and didn't get drafted. So, you never know.

As you came back home and started coaching, was Kendrick your first job?

No. I came here as an assistant to Frank Matthews in 1974-75. Then I went from here to Jordan for two years as the head coach. Then I went to CV (Chattahoochee Valley Community College), Kendrick, back to here. One year in 1997 at Middle Georgia (College) and then back to here.

When did you get your first team?

The first head coaching team was Jordan in 1976.

What was your record that year?

That's the only losing season we had. I think we were one game under .500, and the next year we were one game over .500. I think we went 12-13 -- something like that. And they had lost a bunch the year before, but anyway, we did have a losing record that year.

Is that the only year you've ever had a losing record in 33 years?

No, I've been coaching for 40 years, 37 as head coach. There was one year with B.R., and one year as an assistant under Frank.

You never had a losing season at Kendrick, did you?

No.

A couple of months ago I saw you at a ceremony at the Columbus Police Department where one of your former Kendrick players, Freddie Blackmon, was being promoted to major. You looked as proud there in that room as you did after winning a ball game.

We won the region championship in 1982 and 1983 at Kendrick. People don't realize the history of Kendrick, but in 1977 under Joe Pate they won the state. Then the next year in 1978 and 1979, I think they won the region under John Mallory. And then there was a year they didn't win it, and I came in 1980, and we went something like 14-9. They didn't have a good year in 1978. We played for the region. Hardaway beat us out in 1981, and then we won it in 1982 and 1983 -- we were tied with Hardaway the last day of season.

Freddie Blackmon. He was one of your original players there, right?

Yeah. He was a good player, real good player, great player -- and at football. His brother was player of the year. He was there in 1983. I had the player of the year in 1982 and 1983, both from Kendrick, and a lot of people don't realize that.

Can you look at a kid in high school, like this guy who is now in the command staff of the police department, and project that they are going to be successful in life?

I've seen it a lot of times, yes, but everybody is one decision away from being stupid. We talk about that. He had great parents, he was a high-character kid that made great grades, and he really, really worked at baseball and football. He just came from a quality family and he knew he was going to do good things.

So, you came over here and you've been here now 30 seasons, right?

Every year but 1997, since 1984.

How did you find baseball when you walked in here?

(Football coach) Bob Nellums got the job, and they were looking for a baseball coach and he kind of recruited me. We had won the region both years, 1982 and 1983, but we had to beat Columbus High. We split with them. I knew there was some baseball talent here. I don't know if they were ready for me, but when I got here, we made it work. Those kids were hungry and were out to show me because my team had beaten them two years in a row on the last day of the region championship, so they wanted to show me that they could play too. They were not only hungry, but super, super competitive.

"I don't think they were ready for me." What do you mean by that?

The work and commitment we had that we were doing out at Kendrick at the time. But, they bought in. They did everything I asked them to do, and they were really, really talented. People don't realize it, but we won the championship that year in 1984. The highest classification was 4A that year. We threw back-to-back no hitters, and I don't know if that's ever been done before. We dominated the playoffs, so we didn't come close to losing a game in the playoffs, and we just steamrolled everybody.

And I think the team we would have played the next week would have been better than they were that week, which is hard to do to keep getting better. Sometimes you never can do that, but that team was so hungry and so focused, and had a purpose too, I think, to prove to me that they could play baseball.

Was that the best team you ever coached?

I don't like to compare the teams, but that was one of them, yes -- most definitely. The team had everything. I'm not saying it was the best, but there were no weaknesses on that team.

Why do you resist -- and you've always done this -- the temptation to compare teams and players?

I just don't think it's fair to them. I heard John Wooden say a long time ago that he never did. If he says it, then that's good enough for me.

When you got here in the 1984 season, if somebody had come up to you and said 12 State Championships, hundreds of kids to sign college scholarships, 35 or so in the pros, a Major League Hall of Famer would come out of this before you left here, what would you have said?

I would say they're probably smoking something. The main thing is you can't predict those things, but I've just been truly blessed more than anything else.

I just persevered and stayed here, and the parents bought in to the vision that I had. They equipped me and the rest of the staff with resources. We have had great administrators every year I've been here, and the principals have let me be myself. I've got a wife that lets me coach and be myself, and I've just surrounded myself with great people. We've had good players, but we've always had great people playing here. I think that's the key to anything.

Is the state championship like a drug: once you win one, do you want another, and another, and another?

I don't think so. Until you win that first one, you've always got to answer that question, and a lot of people have done that at all levels -- you know, they get close.

I don't think so. I think more than anything else, it's just a never-ending relentless effort to just keep getting better. You know, regardless if you're an outstanding lawyer or outstanding painter, you always want to do something better the next time. And that's all I've tried to do.

And as you've done that, the state championships have come.

Yeah, they have. That's been a byproduct. That's what we call "the definition of excellence." Just doing the best you can. We never talk about winning, we never talk about losing. Just do the best you can because you are going to be loved and supported by your parents and the coaching staff here. ... We try to prepare them, but we take a lot of pride on how we practice and how we prepare. That's all we talk about. We have a saying around here: "The practice sharpens your talent, and the preparation positions your talent." We prepare the same way, it doesn't matter who we're playing. If the team has won 28 in a row or 0-28, we still prepare the same way.

At what point did you realize you were building something special?

I don't think I need to get all of the credit.

At what point did you realize that y'all were building something that was special?

I think at any time you've got to be apprehensive or afraid that it could crumble at any moment. Look at the Joe Paternos and the Bobby Bowdens. They didn't actually go out when they wanted to, but the whole point is, I think it can happen to anybody. So, I don't really look back and say anything. We're proud of where we're at, but we're always challenging what we're doing and trying to make it better more than anything else. We talk about that. We challenge the process and everything we do.

How were people who never played under you, folks like Dan Amos at Aflac and Jim Blanchard, instrumental in this program's success?

They were graduates here and they take pride in our program. The Randy Jordans, who the field is named after. The Garrards. They were super. Dr. Shehane, myself and a guy named Doug Duncan went out and built and outfield fence. We had so many people who offered to give us money. They liked our product. We built a field and that wasn't even our goal. Doug, myself and Dr. Shehane had this money, that money and we started adding here and adding there. We just tore down the whole thing and started over. ... There were some parents who signed notes and made some courageous decisions. Frank (Thomas) made some donations, too.

In 1997, you went to Middle Georgia -- left here for one year, won a Georgia Junior College State Championship and came home.

The thing is, a lot of people don't know the background. My assistant coach, Ed Oliver at that time and one of my best friends, came down with cancer, so they kind of recruited me back. It wasn't like I was dissatisfied and left. It was happening before the season was even over, and Dr. (Ronnie) Shehane said if I would come back he would try to create a position for me. So, they were really nice, and he knew physically he wasn't going to be able to do it. And when he got sick, it was just a good fit and we decided to come back.

But, you go up one year and you win a state championship. Was it the same philosophy you took from here?

Yeah, no doubt. There's no doubt about that. I didn't change, and we just had kids a little bit bigger and stronger, a little bit more physical, a little bit older and a bit more mature -- that's about it. They wanted the same thing.

Matter of fact, we had Willie Harris, who played in the big leagues, on that team. He played about 10 years; we still stay in contact. There was some talent on the field, and matter of fact, we were second in the conference, down by four games. I think we got in the regionals and got beat in the finals. We were one game away from going to Grand Junction.

Does the talent follow you or do you find the talent?

I don't know. You've got to watch us this year. I don't know how talented we are. There's a lot of talent in this area. All you've got to do is think about Tim Hudson, the Rasmus boys, Edwin Jackson, and those guys, and a lot of kids that have played at the next level and the big leagues all over, so some of the times that we came out of here and got in the playoffs, the best competition was right here in our backyard.

One thing that I owe to a lot of the baseball coaches here is they made me better. I would like to think that I made them better. I don't know, but I know they made me better.

Coaches like who?

Everybody I played against, like Joe Pate, Coach Johnson and Coach Ragsdale as mentors, but there have been some outstanding coaches all around like Anthony Dimitri and Tracy Powell, those kind of guys. Donnie Branch, right up the road. Tony Rasmus at Russell County.

Coach Flowers won a state championship.

Yeah, I forgot about Charles. Absolutely. We played them twice in the finals and played Hardaway with Tracy in the finals, so those guys all not only had good players, but they knew what the heck they were doing -- they had great teams. And they beat us too -- they knocked us out a couple of times. We won more than we lost, but they definitely made me better as a coach and a person.

Does it start with Little League in Columbus?

Yeah, it does. I think it starts before that. The youth leagues are here and those are just a super-motivated culture here among the parents. The Colby Rasmuses, the Tim Hudsons, the Frank Thomases, the Edwin Jacksons -- you know, that's reality. Those guys played in the big leagues and have an impact -- Corey Rasmus and some of those guys. They see that so they know that there's a chance.

Then you go back to the outstanding programs here. I'm not talking about just high school, but Chattahoochee Valley State and Columbus State over the years, and you had the minor leaguers who met Columbus girls and stayed here, like Glenn Davis, Joe Pittman and all those guys, and they are out in the community doing great things athletically and in a civil situation. Jim Beauchamp, he was the dugout coach for the Braves. He married a girl from Phenix City. I used to take my team over there and let him talk to them, or he'd come over here.

The Little Leaguers see those guys so they really, really work at it. It's not realistic, some of their expectations, but the main thing is they really, really work at baseball here -- good and bad.

Have you seen parents get more involved in the game over the years?

No doubt.

In what ways?

Coming to practice and things like that. When I played, I don't think my dad ever saw me practice -- ever -- and I played three sports. Sometimes we've got just as many people at practice that we had back in the '80s at games. That's good. It's a commitment from my parents for fundraising and being involved.

How do you help parents manage their expectations and their sons' expectations?

I wish I had the answer to that. The main thing is that you try to educate them to realize there are no guarantees. I talk to my parents and I talk to my players especially. Since you brought that up, that's a definition of disappointment when the reality and expectations meet. Sometimes it's not exactly what they want. And I've been through it with my son. My son was a real good player here, he was a good player at a D-I school, drafted, and in two years he was out of there.

The whole point is we all go through it. It's tough. I don't know the answer to your question, but we try to just basically educate them and make sure they try and keep things in perspective. Some of them really can and some of them really have a hard time, but the main thing is nobody knows their kid better than they do and nobody loves them more than they do, so you've got to be sensitive to that because we can only put nine out there and we're going to try to put the nine best and sometimes it's not their child.

The world has changed since you got here in 1984.

No kidding.

Kids used to go out and play basketball and stuff. They are now inside playing video games and stuff. Has that produced a different kink of kid?

No doubt. A lot of scouts call them "showcase athletes" because they don't play like they used to. They just go to tryouts and try to play with travel ball, but the main thing is kids are stronger, faster, more athletic because they have trainers who start working with baseball people at a young age, whether it be pitching coaches, hitting coaches, whatever, but they don't have functional strength.

They don't go out like we did and climb trees, monkey bars and ride bikes, and just stay in shape year round. It's seasonal, and they don't really know the game as far as instincts on the bases. ... To answer your question, the functional strength and the instincts and the competitiveness is not there as it used to be. They're stronger, faster, more athletic as far as being able to run, throw and maybe hit, but the aspect of base running and being able to judge fly balls and things like that is not the same.

Do pro scouts look at them differently today than they did 30 years ago?

There's a lot of platforms for kids to get on now like Baseball America. They have their own all-star game. Under Armor has theirs, Perfect Game has theirs. So, the three big tournaments like East Cobb, Fort Myers, Jupiter -- it's national. They bring in teams from all over the country and Puerto Rico. If you're on a team, there will be 50-60 scouts out there.

They've got three or four fields and they just go from field to the other. A lot of times the GM's and people like that are on golf carts going back and forth, back and forth. So, you'll be seen. And what happens is the real good ones like Al (Jones, senior shortstop), he played in Wrigley Field in Under Armor and played Perfect Game, and at Petco Park in San Diego.

... Travel ball has really changed that dynamic. Used to be the coaches kept their teams together, but now the coaches cannot get them exposed as much as they can in travel ball in the summertime at our level.

So, high school coaches have lost some of that control?

Yes.

Good or bad?

Both. It's good and bad. I think if the coaches are really good and got the best interest of the kid, but sometimes they manipulate them from a money standpoint. But I think overall it's good.

Has this created an unrealistic expectation for parents?

Some of them, yeah. Some of them can really put out lots of money and don't get anything in return. And that's not the bad thing. The bad thing is that maybe they were misled and told they were going to get something in return. There's no guarantees in anything -- in the game. If the coaches are up front and work them hard and get them in sync and get them in fold, it's a very positive experience.

Let's talk a little bit about where you are now -- 64 years old. You can retire at any moment, right?

I retired from teaching, but I can retire from baseball, yes.

Are you one of those guys that will coach until they bury you?

(Laughter) I don't know. I have a lot of old players that come around and cut up with me by bringing me a walker and a wheelchair, and all that stuff. But I still throw BP and I feel like I'm active and engaged in the team process.

But I can't answer that question. I go year-to-year and I still enjoy it, but I'm still engaged. The players can tell you that.

When you say "engaged," what do you mean?

I'm on the field and if I see something, I'm not going to just let it slide. The coaches can tell you. What I mean is, in the everyday process of going through a practice, a routine practice, I know what's going on and I'm out on the field with them.

What did last summer do to you -- going to Cooperstown and watching Frank Thomas go into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

It just told me how lucky I am and how blessed I am because you can coach forever and not have a player like that. ...

But more than anything, I think it's just a realization that you're just fortunate and blessed. It's not an honor when you have somebody like that -- it's a privilege because you don't have a lot to do with it once he leaves here. He said some good positive things about the program and our staff, but more than anything else, he had to put up the numbers and he had to do what he had to do.

He's one of those guys who stayed healthy, and not only was he super-talented, he stayed healthy and made a lot of right decisions. When I introduced him, I said he impressed me the first day and he continues to impress me, when he does the TV commentaries on Fox.

Do you watch when he's talking?

Sure I do. And I'll talk to him and I'll say, "I don't know about that, but you did a great job in doing that." He's very articulate and knows what he's doing. He could be a heck of a coach. I don't know if he wants to put the time in. You know, he's got so many kids now, but he's very sharp in the baseball circles. When he talks, it has substance.

You won't say which was your best team. He was the best player you ever coached, right?

Oh yeah. You can't deny that. ... But like I said, it's a blessing and you're just fortunate. Whether it's hitting the lottery or whatever, you can't control that. You can't control the championships. I know some great coaches who are a lot smarter and put in a lot more time that have come close but never won one. That's not a big deal to me.

Is this a percentage game?

I think certain parts of it, yeah. We talk about actuarial tables and things like that, cybernetics. Baseball is just a game where you try to tilt the field to get as many runners to second and third and hope you get them in.

It's the law of averages, but I don't know if the whole thing is. If you can pitch and you can play defense, and if you can play well early and if you can play well late, and stay away from the big inning, you have a chance against anybody.

Do you still have the fire you had 30 years ago?

Yeah, I think so. I don't think it's so much to win. It's all about competition more than anything else. Going out there and trying to put a team together. Every team is different, trying to create a formula: Get them to have good baseball habits, teach them, put in your philosophy, your systems, your terminology and then come up with some type of lineup and then you come up with a rotation or formula.

It's no different than basketball, football or anything else. You're just trying to highlight the skills of the people you've got, and every year they're different.

Every year the goal is the same -- state championship?

We never talk about state championship, We talk about our success is going to be based on how long we play, and we want to be the best we can be -- that's all we talk about.

But you don't have to talk about it when you've got all those balls out there. (Pointing to markers for the 12 state titles on the left-field fence.)

That was last year, whatever. We don't go backwards. We're trying to pursue and do the best we can. It's a never-ending relentless effort to get better in everything we do.

When will you know when it's time to go?

I've asked some people that and they said you'll know when you become to feel that the fire or the passion isn't there like it used to be.

But it's probably not going to be this year, right?

I'm in for the long haul, yeah. It's like Josey Wales -- I've already took the money.

This story was originally published February 21, 2015 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Sunday Interview with Coach Bobby Howard: 'We're proud of where we're at, but we're always challenging what we're doing'."