Eddie Isbell

Baseball was Eddie Isbell’s sport from his earliest days. Growingup in Anniston, he played on age-group teams at every level. Heattended Anniston High School as a sophomore and was a baseball Bulldog. He transferred to Jacksonville High School prior to his junior year. The Golden Eagles did not field a baseball team thenbut Isbell continued to play the sport through the American Legion baseball program, coached by Rudy Abbott.

In the spring of 1968, his senior year, he was invited to play inregional tryout games in Talladega for the East-West Classic, a highschool baseball all-star charity event at Birmingham’s RickwoodField sponsored by the Lions Clubs of Alabama. He was one of twoplayers from the Talladega regional selected to play and one of 16 tomake the statewide team. In Birmingham, he helped his team to an8-1 win.

From high school, Isbell advanced to the Jacksonville State baseballteam where he played for three seasons from 1969 through 1971. The Gamecocks played in the Alabama Collegiate Conference (ACC) then and Isbell was an all-conference player all three seasons.

In his second year at JSU, Isbell was reunited with Abbott, who was named Jax State’s head coach. Late in the 1970 season, he injured his right shoulder diving back toward first base to avoid being picked off. The injury could not be repaired surgically at the

time and he moved to first base. Despite his injury, Isbell batted an astounding .500. In 1971, he continued at first base and hit .371.

After the 1971 season, gave up baseball and joined the National Guard where he remained for six years. After retiring from coaching at Jacksonville State, Abbott named an All-Time Gamecock team from his 32 years as head coach. Isbell was one of the players Abbott included on this honorary team. “I’ve never coached a better player or had the privilege of being around a finer person than you,” Abbott said in a letter to Isbell at the time.

article written by Joe Estep.