Leroy Bryant’s lasting legacy on Pike County

It’s an annual tradition these days for Troy Parks and Recreation to send an All-Star team to a Dixie World Series but before Troy native Leroy Bryant came along, that was not the case.

Bryant led a youth team from Troy to its first World Series appearance in 1991 and those players also became the first team from Troy to win a World Series. While earlier this month Bryant passed away at the age of 74, the legacy that he left on baseball in Pike County, as well as the lives he touched, will be remembered for years.

“He meant everything to me,” Marcus Bryant – Leroy Bryant’s son – said. “He’s what made me want to get into coaching kids. He meant so much to me.”

Bryant began coaching at Pike County High School in 1987 and coached at his alma mater for more than 30 years, coaching girls basketball, baseball, junior varsity football and varsity football. Before that, though, he began coaching youth baseball. In 1991, his group of 14-year-old athletes became the first team from Troy to capture a Dixie Boys World Series. Troy native Al Renfroe was a part of that team.

“I don’t think at that point anyone from Troy had ever won a State Championship in youth sports and no one had ever gone to a World Series,” Al Renfroe remembered. “It was pretty cool that he was able to put together a team to be able to accomplish those things. He believed in you and made you feel like that even at 14 you had talent, you could play and that we could go and do something really special.”

Renfroe said that Bryant treated all of his players like family.

“He was really about us being a tight knit team and we all felt like a family,” Renfroe said. “I think a lot of that was due to him and the way he approached coaching and how he handled coaching. When he told you that we were family, you believed it and felt that. He had a big impact on my life.”

Marcus Bryant was also a member of that team, playing for his father. He said the way he treated his players is the biggest part of his legacy that will be remembered.

“I think people will talk about him for years to come because he left a big impact and had a big impact on a lot of people,” Marcus Bryant emphasized. “They’ll talk about how he coached but especially how he didn’t show any favoritism to anyone, even his own kids. He taught us all the same and treated us all the same.”

Bryant coaches during Troy’s run to the Dixie Boys World Series in 1991. (Messenger file photo)

Troy Parks and Recreation Director Dan Smith said to see the impact Bryant had, you need not look any farther than the success that youth teams now enjoy in Troy.

“As Troy has a team in the Dixie Boys World Series as we speak, we have to think of Leroy Bryant,” Smith said. “That team in 1991 was the first World Series Troy had won in either baseball or softball. He had a style of coaching and leadership that all of the parents, players and fellow coaches bought into. He was a great teacher, a great leader and a great coach.”

Renfroe remembered back to returning to Troy after winning the World Series in 1991 and the way it brought the community together.

“I still remember coming home and how many people were there to greet us,” he said. “We had a little ceremony at the field and just seeing 100s of people show up, meant so much. I think it really brought the community together and gave the community something to be proud of.”

“I think that helped put Troy Parks and Rec on the map and then Dan (Smith) and those guys were able to jump it off from there. I think Coach Bryant had a huge factor in that. It was huge for the city and the community and Troy Parks and Recreation.”

While Bryant’s impact on baseball in Troy is still being felt to this day, his son pointed to the impact he had on the numerous players and students he mentored outside of the game.

“The impact he had goes further than baseball. He loved kids and loved coaching them and teaching them to be great young men and women,” Marcus Bryant said. “He just loved being around the kids, even when he was driving the school bus. A lot of those kids he impacted come up to us now and tell us about the impact he had on their lives. They’ll say, ‘There’s no telling where I would be without Coach Bryant.’ I think that really says it all.”

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