Barney Wilson

Barney Wilson had athletic successes in football, basketball and baseball during his athletic career but what he accomplished on a warm May day in 1973 put Jacksonville State’s baseball team into an NCAA college baseball world series for the first time in the program’s history.

Wilson was a senior that year, a part of Coach Rudy Abbott’s first recruiting class in the spring of 1969. Wilson, who earned All-Gulf South Conference recognition in 1970 as a freshman and again in 1973 as a senior, entered the final qualifying game between Jacksonville State and LSU-New Orleans in relief in the seventh inning and fanned eight of the final nine batters he faced to preserve Jacksonville State’s win. The ninth popped up to second base.

Wilson was a three-sport athlete at Oxford High School before graduating in 1969. “Big Barney” started at both linebacker and center as a senior for coach Jack Grizzard’s 1968 Yellow Jackets. Oxford finished the regular-season 7-2 then defeated Cobb Avenue of Anniston 12-6 in the Anniston Quarterback Club’s Crippled Children’s charity game.

The Yellow Jackets lost to Gadsden and Saks but opened the season with a 19-0 shutout of rival Anniston on Oxford’s home turf then shut out Jacksonville 27-0 on the road.

Oxford defeated Emma Sansom, Wellborn, Talladega, Alexandria and Albertville before edging Cobb Avenue and earning the mythical Calhoun County championship. In the win over Talladega, Wilson intercepted a pass at midfield and returned the pick for a touchdown. He said Oxford’s coaches had noticed when Talladega’s quarterback rolled out he tended to throw to the middle of the field. On this occasion, Wilson was waiting and the pass came right to him.

When the county coaches met to name the 1968 all-county team, Wilson was one vote short of being a unanimous selection at center. He had earned a starting role at center in preseason practice as a junior.

He was also a two-year starter in basketball for Gene Bussey and regularly scored in double figures. As a senior, he was the only Oxford player named to the all-tournament team at the Calhoun County tournament.

Wilson excelled in baseball from the start of his high school days. He belted 16 career home runs and had a career won-loss record of 15-3.

Wilson played professional baseball for four seasons. He retired after the 1976 season even though he had pitched to a 1.16 ERA over 31 innings.