Softball field to be renamed to honor longtime coach News Staff Fri, 04/12/2024 - 4:36 pm
- (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Graham High School softball field will be officially renamed Hogan Field, in honor of the longtime educator and coach, Jimmy Hogan, who passed away in March. The school board voted unanimously in favor of the name change.
TC Gordon news@grahamleader.com
Graham High School’s softball field will officially be renamed to honor the program’s first head coach.
The field will be known as Hogan Field moving forward, in honor of the original coach of the softball team Jimmy Hogan, who recently passed away. At a school board meeting Wednesday, April 10, the board members voted unanimously in favor of the name change.
Hogan was a graduate of Graham High School and later spent the majority of his career teaching and coaching various sports programs in the athletic department. He was the school’s first softball coach when the program was founded in 1994 and remained in that position until his retirement in 2013.
“Being an employee of the district and graduate of Graham High School (who) started the program… it’s clear the impact that Coach Hogan had on so many lives,” Board President Andrea Lowery said.
Just days after Hogan’s passing March 5, support in the community swelled for the idea of renaming the stadium after the longtime coach. After hearing public comments and some discussion about facility naming policies, the board passed the motion.
“I think this is a unique situation, just considering that he was with the district for as long as he was, started the program (and) had success,” Board Vice-President Chris Blanton said.
“He even stayed on when he was done coaching,” Lowery said. “He stayed on and made sure the future softball coaches were successful.”
While Hogan retired at the end of the school year in 2013, he stuck with Graham’s sports programs and even came back as an assistant softball coach when he was able. His contributions were recognized all throughout the community, and the field will hold that memory of him moving forward.
Graham’s softball program was created in 1994 and it wasn’t long before Hogan’s teams found large amounts of success. One of his early teams, lovingly referred to as “Hogan’s Heroes,” made the state championship game in 1999. He continued to lead teams to the playoffs until the end of his coaching career.
Graham resident Debbie Robertson spoke during the public comments section of the school board meeting and voiced not only her support, but the support of members of the championship-runners up team and the community as a whole in favor of the name change.
“He was a great man, mentor, coach and friend,” Robertson said. “... They were always known as Hogan’s Heroes, that 1999 team, but really, he was the hero, and I think that (changing the field name) would be a very fitting thing to do for his family.”
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