2026 Inductees

The difference between the 1978 State Championship team and the 1980 State Championship team was in 1978 the team had a dream and thought they could win the State Championship, the 1980 team was on a mission and knew they could win the State Championship. The golf

team led by Senior Clay Uselton and Junior Scott Copeland, two of the top High School golfers in the state, were the dominate team in the state. Junior Brent Richardson and Freshman Billy Zebick, both solid players, rounded out the team.

After a disappointing 1979 season and not getting out of the region and back to the State Championship, the 1980 team was determined to right the ship this year. After winning the

Championship in 1978 and considered the best team in the state in 1980, the Tullahoma Golf team was now being invited to the biggest High School golf tournaments in the state and having matches against the best private schools in the Nashville and Chattanooga areas. Every school in the state knew Tullahoma was the team to beat and every school wanted their shot at Tullahoma. Tullahoma was not going to sneak up on any teams this year like 1978.

The season was full of big tournaments and big matches, and the team finished with an overall record of 67 – 3. The team would cruise through the District and Region championships,

winning the District Championship by 18 shots and winning the Region Championship by 9 shots.

From 1978 to 1980, the State Championship had increased the number of teams from 4 to 8.

Tullahoma would be going against MBA, Greenville, Germantown, Columbia Academy, Maryville, Memphis Bishop Byrne and Harriman. Once again, the small-town high school was going against the best Private Schools and larger schools from the big cities for the state title. And once again it would be no problem for the Tullahoma Golf Team. After the first day, THS would be leading by 1 shot over Greenville HS and 3 shots over MBA. On the final day, MBA would challenge Tullahoma and would move to within 2 shots after the front nine. But the Tullahoma golfers would have a great back nine and win by a comfortable margin of 7 shots over MBA for their second title in 3 years.

Some things in life really do come full circle.

Or, in baseball and softball terms, Gary Barfield, former Motlow softball coach and current Tullahoma High School head coach, will be taking a home run trot this Saturday,

when he’s inducted into the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. In 14 seasons at helm of the Motlow softball program, Barfield compiled an overall record of 526-233. Included in those marks was the program’s lone TCCAA Championship in 2009. That same season also saw the Lady Bucks make it into the National Junior College Athletic Association Softball Championship, the program’s only appearance in the tournament.

Barfield also served as athletic director at Motlow State Community College, before stepping down from both positions in 2011.

In November, Barfield learned he had been selected as a part of this year’s induction class into the TCCAA Hall of Fame. The call came from Dan McShea, then-Motlow athletic director and the Bucks’ head baseball coach.“I was pretty much speechless,” Barfield said. “I’m very humbled and I thanked him. I was speechless and didn’t know what to say or think. I’m just so honored and so blessed,” he added. “It’s a tribute to all of those players from 1997 on through. It’s a great tribute to them. Me getting this award goes to them as well for all of the hard work and what great students and great people that we had there for 14 years.” Barfield graduated from Tullahoma in 1987, where he was a three-year letterman in football, basketball and baseball. Following his time as a Wildcat, Barfield signed to Columbia State on a baseball and basketball scholarship. After one season in Columbia, he elected to transfer to Motlow to play baseball for then-head coach Don Rhoton. Following a year in Lynchburg and becoming a Motlow graduate, Barfield played his final two years of eligibility at the University of Tennessee

at Martin.

As a team captain at UT-Martin, Barfield helped lead the Skyhawks to one of the most successful years in school history. In fact, Barfield is still in the UT-Martin record books,

for hitting the most home runs in a single game, three, in a win against Christian Brothers in 1991.

After his playing days, Barfield came back to serve as an assistant coach for the Bucks’ baseball team, serving on Rhoton’s staff. In the summer of 1997, he was then hired to take over the Lady Bucks’ softball program.

In his time at Motlow, Barfield led the Lady Bucks to a regular-season TCCAA softball championships in 2003 and 2006. Those same seasons, he was selected at the

conference’s coach of the year. The Lady Bucks also finished as state runner-up in 10 other seasons and were consistently ranked in the NJCAA Top 20.

The 2001 Motlow squad set a school record with 58 wins on the year. That same team also led the NJCAA in home runs, hitting 109 on the season.

Even before taking over, Barfield had a connection to the Lady Bucks softball program. His father, George Barfield, a former grounds department employee at Motlow, built the

Lady Bucks’ field in the early 1990s. According to Barfield, that close-knit relationship is what made the Motlow program

unique. Barfield and his wife, Tracy, have two daughters, Aly and Katie, both of whom spent an ample amount of time around the Lady Bucks softball players. “There were so many great memories and so many great players,” Barfield said. “The great part about it, is that there was such a family atmosphere out there at Motlow. Those girls were around Aly and Katie when they were born and as they grew up,

because they would be in the bullpen or in the dirt playing. They were so good to them and to my wife Tracy and me. That’s the special part.“

After stepping down from Motlow in 2011, Barfield took over coaching duties in Tullahoma in 2013. While serving as head coach for Tullahoma, Barfield also got to coach his daughter Aly,who graduated from THS in 2017. Barfield called that, “One of the most important things in my coaching career.” Barfield said he’s proud of the work that he’s put into the Tullahoma program over the past six years. “We started from scratch when we got here to Tullahoma,” Barfield said. “For the first three or four years, we were starting three or four freshmen every year, trying to build program. We’ve got it to the point now where we are recognized – not only in the midstate area, but across the state – as a program that is good and legit and here to stay.”

Milner Russell Carden was called "coach" by the many generations of student athletes he mentored in the Tullahoma City Schools System.

He died on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 at the age of 85.

Carden was born on Aug. 28, 1930 in Noah to the late John Russell and Miriam Milner Carden. He joined the Navy in the middle of his college career at Middle Tennessee State College. Upon his honorable discharge, he obtained both

bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Middle Tennessee State College in 1957. After graduating, he and his wife Martha moved to Tullahoma, where they began

long and distinguished careers in education at East Junior High School, East Middle School and Tullahoma High School.

Carden was employed from 1957 to 1987 with the Tullahoma City Schools. He coached the football teams at East Middle School (then East Junior High) and the track and cross country teams at Tullahoma High School. He was also an

economics and history teacher at Tullahoma High School.

He is survived by his wife, Martha; one daughter, Beth Watson; two granddaughters, Savannah Watson and Paris Watson; one sister, Arlena Nickle; two brothers, Bill Carden of Noah, and John Emory Carden of Manchester; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Charles Thomas Carden and James Render Carden.

Love of coaching

Martha Carden, who taught physical education and home economics at East Junior High School, said her husband's passion was the school system's sports program.

"He loved coaching and taught for 30 years. And he coached just about everything," she said. "He really enjoyed the successes of his students, and appreciated that his students did well with everything they were involved in."

Aldermen Mike Stanton said Carden was a "wonderful coach and teacher.""Milner taught economics and history while coaching. Not only was he successful at the local level, but at the state level as well," said Stanton. "He had strong

discipline and demanded a lot of his students. And he got a lot from them." Stanton also said that Carden was a 'prankster.' He said, "Even though he played practical jokes, he could take them as well." "I'm going to miss him. He enjoyed life, and always had a story to tell," said Stanton. "He was very likeable and excellent in everything he put his mind to. He expected excellence out of students, teachers and principals. If you were involved with Tullahoma City Schools, he expected excellence."

TCS Athletic Director Jerry Mathis said while Carden coached the East Junior High football team, he went undefeated for the six years he was there. John Rickman, Tullahoma Noon Rotary Club member, taught physical education at East Junior High when he met Carden in 1969. "I coached after him at East Junior High," said Rickman. "He built quite a

reputation in football and track. He was quite a character. I'm going to miss him. "You can't forget Milner. He was confident in his abilities," he said. "And he succeeded at any task, although some might not agree with his methods." Rickman said he and Carden were involved with the Tullahoma Noon Rotary Club, and was a delight to work with. "Milner told me and Pat Welsh back when he was 81 that, 'If something

happened to me I wouldn't have any regrets. I've had a good life.'"

Carden was also influential in bringing Grider Stadium to Tullahoma.Milner Carden (1931 - 2015) Milner Carden was born on a farm in rural Coffee County in the Noah

community in 1931. He was the second son of Russell and Miriam Carden and one of six children -5 boys and 1 girl. The whole family were hard workers and that hard farm work is what probably translated for Milner into the competitive,

hard working coach and teacher that he was. Following graduation from Central High School in Manchester in 1948, he attended Middle TN State University,

then Middle TN State College, for two years before joining the US Navy, serving for 4 years during the Korean War, most of which was spent on a destroyer. He returned to MTSU after the war and earned his BS degree in social studies and

physical education and his master's degree in education and administration.

During college he also was a member of the baseball and track teams in 1956 and 1957. While at MTSC, he was the Ohio Valley Conference champion in the 2 mile run in 1956, setting an MTSU record of 10:23. At the same time, he held the title of MTSU Batting Champion with a batting average of .372. Milner graduated on a Friday in 1957, married Martha Whitehurst Carden the next day and they both began teaching at East Junior High School on Monday, Milner in Physical Education and Martha in Home Economics. Milner taught there for 9 years with additional duties coaching football, basketball for four years and track. His first East Junior High football team had a record of 3-4 but tied West 0-0 in the annual city championship game. His first football team was his last loser at East. He won the Tullahoma City Junior High Championship in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 holding West Jr. High scoreless in all those years. He had a record at East of 59-13-5 in those nine years. Twenty nine of those wins were consecutive (some sources told me the winning streak was 33 games). He also coached basketball at East for 4 years and had district championships in both boys' and girls' divisions. His track teams at East lost only one dual meet in 9

seasons. When his East track teams had no uniforms, he called on his brother, Jim, who worked for NASA in Huntsville, to help. Jim obtained Redstone Arsenal uniforms, shoes, shorts for use by East track athletes. According to

Everett Hatfield, Coach Carden helped a lot of kids at East, keeping them out of trouble, busy, and disciplined. Everett said, if you played one sport at East, Coach insisted you play them all. In 1965, he moved to Tullahoma High School and started the track program for both boys and girls at THS and later the cross country team, coaching thoseteams for 22 years. His teams were the best in the Midstate for several years. He brought the regional track meet here in 1970. His track team won the regional competition for 3 consecutive years in 1968-70. In those days, high schools in TN were not divided into "classes" so his track and cross country programs competed with large schools all across the region and state. According to Dr. Bill Sanders, he started the Mid-State Invitational track meet which was a huge track

event in the area. His track teams' accolades include the 1973 State Champion 2 Mile Relay, the Nashville Optimist Track Meet Champion in 1969 and 1970, the 1969 TSSAA Regional Champions, the 1969 Regional Team Runner Up, 1970 Regional Team Champions. Notable athletes he coached include Rick Moore who won the high hurdle state championship in 1968, Dr. Bill Sanders, Larry Nee

with a state championship in the mile in 1970, Phyllis Hines who won the state cross country title in 1973. He won 3 Regional tiles, five district titles, six Midstate Invitational Championships and 2 Optimist Meet Championships.

He was also one of the men who was instrumental in assisting Fred Grider in finding what is now Grider stadium, that served an Alabama minor league team at one time, raising the money, going to AL to break it down, get it put on trucks,

hauled to Tullahoma, reassembled and serves us to this day. Grider Stadium has been the home to many Major League baseball players. Coach also played ball for the Tullahoma Braves, a team that was in a local municipal league.

David James Hess (born July 10, 1993 to Jim and Charlotte Hess)) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Hess played baseball at Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma, Tennessee. As a senior, he had a 8–1 win–loss record with a 1.91 earned run average (ERA) along with batting.393 with eight home runs. After high school, he enrolled at Tennessee Technological University and played college baseball for the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. In 2014, his junior year, he pitched to a 9-3 record with a 3.24 ERA in 16 starts.

Baltimore Orioles

After the season, Hess was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds and also spent time with the Delmarva Shorebirds; in ten total games between the two teams, he pitched to a 2–1 record and 3.24 ERA. He started 2015 with the Frederick Keys and was promoted to Bowie Baysox during the season. In 28 games (27 starts) between both clubs, he posted a 10–5 record and a 3.64 ERA. He returned to Bowie in 2016, going 5–13 with a 5.37 ERA in 25 games (24 starts). In 2017, he once

again returned to Bowie, pitching to an 11–9 record with a 3.85 ERA with 123 strikeouts in a career high 154.1 innings pitched. The Orioles added Hess to their 40-man roster

after the 2017 season.

Hess made his major league debut on May 12, 2018 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs on six

hits, three strikeouts, and zero walks. He remained in the Orioles rotation, totaling 21 appearances, 19 of them starts. He went 3-10 in 103+1⁄3 innings.

In his first start of the 2019 season in a 6–5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 1, Hess had a no-hit bid through 6 1/3 innings before being removed by

manager Brandon Hyde in favor of Pedro Araújo. With his record at 1–10 by the end of the campaign, he and Gabriel Ynoa became the first pair of teammates with double-digit

losses and no more than one win since Jack Nabors and Tom Sheehan of the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.

Hess only appeared in 3 games for the Orioles in 2020, and gave up 5 runs over 7 innings pitched. On October 29, 2020, Hess was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Norfolk Tides. He elected free agency on November 2.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 3, 2020, Hess signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Hess posted a 2.81 ERA through 13 appearances with the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

Miami Marlins

On July 3, 2021, the Rays traded Hess to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Justin Sterner and cash considerations. The Marlins selected Hess' contract to the active roster following his acquisition. On August 14, 2021, Hess was designated for

assignment by the Marlins. On August 18, Hess rejected his outright assignment and elected free agency.

Tampa Bay Rays (second stint)

On August 19, 2021, Hess signed a minor league deal to return to the Tampa Bay Rays and was assigned to Triple-A Durham. On August 21, the Rays selected Hess' contract.The following day, Hess was designated for assignment without appearing in a game. On August 24, Hess cleared waivers and was assigned outright back to Triple-A Durham. Hess's contract was selected on September 6. Hess made 1

appearance for the Rays, recording a 27.00 ERA with 2 strikeouts before he was designated for assignment on September 8. On October 14, Hess elected free agency, before re-signing with the Rays on a minor league deal on November 11.

He was released on July 11, 2022.

Personal life

Hess is a Christian. Hess and his wife, Devin, married in 2016. On October 13, 2021, Hess announced via Twitter that he will undergo chemotherapy after doctors discovered a cancerous germ cell tumor in his chest. On January 28, 2022, Hess

was 'cured' and cleared for baseball activities. However, on May 27, 2023, Hess announced that his cancer had returned and that he would begin chemotherapy again.

David Hess took to social media on Feb. 27 to announce that his last PET scan showed no signs of cancer.

“The devil can scrap but the lord has won,” said Hess on his X social media account.“We got scan results showing no evidence of disease and for the first time since this

whole journey started we can officially say currently I’m cancer-free!”

Son of Wayne and Cynthia Shaw. Brother Wayne, sisters Shaunna Shaw

Doss and Tia Shaw. Children Kanaesha Shaw and Quavarus Northcutt.

After playing football for “Ole Miss” at the University of Mississippi, the entire nation was open to Maurice Shaw, but he returned home to his old stomping grounds to invest in the community he loves.

“I wanted to be a professional football player, but God had a different plan for me,” said Shaw, referring to being drafted for military service. As a football team and track coach, his biggest dream on and off the field is to teach his players to always choose to do the right thing. “I want to keep motivating kids to become student-athletes. I want to enroll kids in the program and get them to work hard every day.”

Coach Shaw said God had been the one to bring him success in this life, and he is also grateful to his parents, Wayne and Cynthia Shaw, for their encouragement, along with the rest of his family. “I’d like to thank Coach Winningham and Coach Olive for trusting me and allowing me to be a part of this great high school program.” Shaw isn’t the type of man to brag about himself, but he can spend hours telling you stories about the star athletes he has coached over the last

two decades. “Sports help you really get to know a person once you have bled and sweated with that person,” said Shaw. He also offers advice to the parents of potential athletes: “They must want it badly for themselves, not the parents wanting it more. This is important. Why? Because the athlete has to really want to be here, work hard, and do a great job for you.”

In his senior season at Tullahoma, Maurice carried 349 times for 2,380 yards and 31 touchdowns. He played in the Tennessee-Kentucky All-Star game. For his career, he carried it 800 times for 5,469 yards and 67 touchdowns. During his career, he scored multiple 2-point conversions and scored rushing, receiving, punt returning, and kickoff returning.

Every number is a school record, and I've included some of my references. I've also included three categories of TSSAA records that Maurice should be listed with. I'm going to submit a request to the TSSAA.

In his Junior baseball season for Tullahoma, Maurice led the Wildcats with a .500 batting average, 50 hits, 11 doubles, 12 stolen bases, 45 RBI’s and was a star third baseman. He hit

.450 in his senior season. He was all-district in baseball in his junior and senior year.

More Information to Come