Remembering James Carroll Farrar

I did a lot of thinking about old friendships this morning as I read a long article in  The Times about James Carroll Farrar, long-time and successful baseball, basketball and football coach at several high schools  and baseball coach at Centenary College.  He capped off his career as a major league baseball scout for many years.  In fact I thought he and Mel Didier, another friend of long ago, would be scouts forever.

My favorite memory of James Carroll took place long before he won state championships or became well known in sports circles.  He was the basketball and baseball coach at the small school of Sibley, a village just south of Minden when he decided to install football.  He and his team were in Homer at the Purple Cow eating cheeseburgers and drinking milk shakes when I ran into him and asked him how his game had turned out.  His team had lost by some astronomical score.   I said, "James Carroll, didn't they consider this was the Sibley's first year and substitute, taking out the first team some to ease up on you?"  He responded, "No, they never took out the first team.  They would run eleven, rest eleven, run eleven and rest eleven.

James went on to coach two state baseball championships at Fair Park.  He coached at Northwood and other schools before coaching baseball at at Centenary for a number of years. He is now in assisted living, a man who has many friends.