Photos By Trena Jones
Earlier this summer, Class of 2018 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee and Munford’s own Johnnie Jones welcomed in W.S. “Babe” Howard and his family into the special group. On July 20, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame hosted its induction ceremony, presented by the Tennessee Titans, at the Omni Nashville Downtown. Howard was inducted during an Olympic year because of his contributions to Team USA Baseball and the sport in the Volunteer State. Howard was best known in Millington as the president of Millington Phone Company, Howard built Millington Legion Field in 1982. His goal was to give more visibility to North Shelby County and Tipton County baseball players by giving them a facility to utilize. That stadium would begin to host the Team USA Olympic Baseball Team as a training facility in 1986 and was renamed to USA Stadium. Team USA called Millington home from 1986-1996. During that time, the 1988 team captured gold, and the 1996 team won the bronze medal. More than 500 future Major League Baseball players have played at USA Stadium over its lifespan. Joining Howard in the Class of 2024 were Paul Annacone, Charlie Bayless, Chris Burke, Thay Butchee, Scott Hamilton, Chris Johnson, Jean Patton Latimer, Larry Liles, Dave Loos, Pekka Rinne and Fred Warren.
