Clyde King remembered
By From staff reports
Published in Sports on November 3, 2010 1:47 PM
A friend, father, husband and ambassador to life and the game of baseball, Clyde King touched many lives during travels and speeches. Here are just a few memories of King from area coaches and members of the baseball community:
* "Mr. Clyde King was a strong man of faith and family values. He was respected both as a man and for the many things he accomplished in baseball. Major League Baseball has lost a great person of character that was an inspiration to many of us in the game." -- Johnny Narron, hitting coach for the Texas Rangers.
* "Clyde was a good man and a great ambassador for the game of baseball. When Clyde was in the front office with the Yankees, my dad took our family to see them in New York. We got to sit in the third row right behind the duggout and watch them beat the Red Sox to win the pennant. It was a trip I will never forget." -- Spring Creek head baseball coach Heath Whitfield
* "Clyde was the most prominent baseball man in eastern North Carolina for a long time and he certainly will be missed. He was a class act in every way. Every time you heard him speak he had something positive to say about his faith and his love for helping kids. He was an unbelievable model for coaches and players of my generation. I will never forget the United Way clinic two years ago. The kids listened but they were a very, very young group. It was the parents who were in awe of him. The parents had never experienced a man like he was and they were glued in." -- Mount Olive College head baseball coach Carl Lancaster
* "He was one of the genuinely nicest men you could ever meet on a baseball field. Clyde was always the first guy that wanted to talk baseball. He was always willing to give some advice or simply share what he knew with players and coaches around the area." -- Southern Wayne head baseball coach Trae McKee
* "Clyde was a man who loved sharing his knowledge of baseball with anyone who wanted to learn We had a few camps here at Eastern Wayne some years back and Clyde would come down and participate. He loved the game so much, I honestly think he was just as tickled to be here as he would have been to be at Yankee Stadium." -- Eastern Wayne head coach Jabo Fulghum.
* "He was a huge part of baseball in eastern North Carolina. Not just for the professionals that have moved on to bigger and better things but also to the amateur players around the region." -- North Lenoir head baseball coach Jim Montague.
* "Clyde's boldness for faith was something that resonated with me as a player and as a Christian. Clyde was managing the Braves when I signed with New York in 1974, but he came over to the Yankees a year later. We rode to spring training together that year which was a great way for me to soak up a lot of his knowledge. One thing I appreciate was last year when Clyde took time with a young man from Goldsboro High School who was working on a school project about diversity in sports. I think a lot of times we get cought up in what we do and we let that define who we are, but Clyde never did that. He was himself, as a Christian first and a baseball man second." -- Former Cincinnati Reds manager Jerry Narron.
* "It would take me an hour to go over all the things Clyde meant to baseball around Wayne County. He showed that good people can go on to be successful in the sports world. In order to be put in a position like Clyde was with the Yankees, you have to be a great person first and show that you are capable when you get the opportunity." -- Rooster Narron.