From Northshore to Cooperstown — & back
Hall of Famer Helton honored with FB naming, recalls Farragut youth ball days
“When we moved back here 11 years ago, we lived right down there in Choto. Every time we passed these fields, I would say to my daughters, ‘guess who went deep on that field right there?’ It became a running joke,” Helton said during his brief address to a gathering of FB, Inc. and Knox County Parks & Recreation officials, family and many fans clad in either a replica of Helton’s Colorado Rockies No. 17 jersey or UT Vols orange while alongside those very fields Friday afternoon, Oct. 25.
Those fields are now named in his honor.
The occasion was unveiling the sign declaring the fields as Todd Helton Baseball Complex in honor of the Rockies’ all-leader in several career offensive marks while considered by most that organization’s greatest player of all time.
As for bodily functions, Helton explained that after the ceremony, speaking to media between autograph sessions and chats with old friends.
Pointing to Field 1 (the sign is located between Fields 1 and 2), he said, “I was playing on that field and I had to pee real bad. The first pitch I saw, I hit it out, rounded the bases and then ran right up in the woods.” Helton said. “There were no bathroom facilities down here at the time. The park had just opened.”
As for helping him develop into a Major League Baseball star and immortalization in Cooperstown, “a lot of memories were made here,” the Hall of Famer said. “It’s where I learned how to play the game of baseball.
“I can vividly remember coming here one Saturday morning, and it had rained the night before. I remember how defeated I felt not being able to play the game that day,” he added. “It was like losing a loved one; I loved the game so much.
“A couple of these fields weren’t here, but I grew up as a hitter here.”
Living close by, “Me and my dad and my mom (Jerry and Martha Helton), we’d come over here and take batting practice all the time,” Helton said. “It was the closest park to us.
“So not only did I play my Little League games here, I practiced here all through those years. ... Until I got to college, basically.”
Those years included Helton helping Knox Central High win the 1990 Class AAA state title.
This Hall of Famer wasn’t just a two-sport athlete as a UT Vol — also a back-up quarterback who, as a starter, led Phil Fulmer’s UT team to victory against Georgia in Athens in 1994 before leading the Baseball Vols to the College World Series in 1995 as a key relief pitcher/first baseman.
“My dad would take me crappie fishing out on the lake here (Fort Loudoun), and me wearing my baseball uniform,” he said about fitting in both sports back-to-back.
Having his name attached to the FB, Inc. complex is not just window dressing.
“We have big plans for this place,” Helton said without giving any details. “I want to make it a lot nicer just for the local kids. It could be a place where a lot of big tournaments are held.
“I’d like the facility to get in the right shape first,” he added. “And that’s what I plan on helping out with.”
