Sports-complex dedication honors longtime coach, mentor
BATESVILLE — A life well lived came full circle recently with the dedication of the Terry Sims Diamond Sports Complex in Batesville.
Sims, 84, a longtime coach and mentor in the area, cut the ribbon at the official opening of the facility, joined by many of those he has influenced along the way.
The Sims Complex will be the home of the Batesville Parks and Recreation’s youth T-ball, baseball and softball leagues, as well as youth and adult softball and high school baseball and softball.
“If it’s played on a ball diamond, that’s it,” said Jeff Owens, Batesville’s parks director.
Sims didn’t speak at the dedication, but on the way there, he said, “I may not have made a mark on anything else, but if this name holds up, it’ll be something to be proud of for a long time.” That is a given. The facility was originally called the North Complex and included seven fields, which date from the 1980s, and abutted the Sims property, where Sims has lived since 1961 and where he raised his family. The expansion, completed after the Sims family sold 10 acres to the city, includes 10 new fields — all mini-replicas of Major League fields such as Yankee Stadium and Busch Stadium.
Curt Sims of Denver, Terry Sims’ son, said that when the city first approached family members about the property, they were a bit reluctant.
“It’s our home,” Curt said. “You don’t think about the future much, but the more we thought about it, it seemed like everything would be full circle. He started here; he played here; he coached baseball here; he was parks director. What a perfect way for it to wrap up.”
Before it does, though, Terry Sims’ influence will touch many more people.
During a 113-team baseball tournament that kicked off the complex in May, Sims gave permission for teams from Harrison and Mountain Home to pitch a tent in his backyard so they’d have a shady place to hang out between games.
“Afterward, I got the nicest letter from one of the mothers, thanking me,” he said.
Owens said although he had only known Sims for about three years, he quickly came to appreciate what Sims has meant to so many over the years.
“During that tournament, I went out and sat with Terry for a little bit and watched baseball,” Owens said. “He has touched the lives of so many kids. He’s been a major influence.”
Sims grew up in Batesville, where he played baseball, football and basketball, as well as running track, for the high school team. He went on to a football scholarship at what was then Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas), where as a freshman in 1947, he joined with a group of World War II veterans on a team that finished 8-1-1, completing an undefeated regular season before falling to Hardin College in the Kickapoo Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, 39-20. He was captain of the team his senior year and earned All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference honors in baseball.
While in the Air Force, Sims played and coached baseball before beginning his professional coaching career. He coached basketball at Mount Pleasant from 1955-58, when he returned to Batesville as an assistant football coach. He became the Pioneers’ head basketball coach in 1964 and helped start the city’s Little League baseball program. After leaving coaching, he ran a feed mill with his brothers, Keith and Curly. Sims directed the Batesville Parks and Recreation Department from 1989-98 and the city’s summer baseball program for 10 years.
En route to the dedication, Sims said, “I feel like I’m going to my funeral.”
There he was greeted by a crowd of about 80 well-wishers ranging in age from 7 to their mid-80s. Many were local, but some had driven in from Hot Springs Village, Little Rock, Searcy and Conway.
Curt Sims, who played basketball and baseball at UCA and North Arkansas College and still plays and coaches baseball in Denver, said sports was the Sims family’s communication, language and nurturing.
“It was so much more than fun,” he said. “It was our family, our community.”
His sister Teresa especially used the family’s horse arena, which he said “was also a good fence to stop line drives.”
“I pretended to be Pete Maravich in the backyard and Joe Namath in the front yard,” he remembered. “Everything we did was sports-related — everything related to the energy and feel of what sports do.
“We’ve been here half a century, and if that kind of atmosphere continues, I think you’re probably in pretty good shape. Over the years, millions of people will be able to enjoy this facility.”
Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh said Terry Sims has been a giver all of his life.
“When we were getting ready to name [the complex], there wasn’t any other choice,” Elumbaugh said.
Billy Sneed drove from Little Rock to honor his former coach. As a youth, he lived with the Sims family for some time.
“Coach Sims raised me,” Sneed said. “He’s everything Batesville.”
Bobby Altom of Hot Springs Village credited Sims for his choice to continue his education after high school.
“Terry Sims would not allow you to believe you would not be successful in college,” Altom said.
D anny James of Batesville played Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball, as well as football, under Sims and had him as a teacher in American history.
“He was an encourager,” said James, a former Batesville head football coach. “He always had a kind word to say.”
Ken Stephens of Conway was Sims’ teammate at ASTC from 1948-50.
“He was the most popular guy on the squad,” Stephens said. “Everybody loved him. You couldn’t have given this honor to anybody who deserves it more than he does.”
Elbert Lindsey said he met Sims in 1960 at the Little League park when he came out for the team. He called the older man “an inspiration.”
“If you ever played for him, he had a way of making you feel like you were the most special person,” Lindsey said. “He made a big difference in my life.”
Looking at his old coach, Lindsey said, “And I want to thank you.”
A life well lived, indeed.