Bedford County Post staff writer Mark McGee was invited to be part of the NINE Spring Training Conference in Tempe, Arizona for the second year in a row. McGee presented a program on Hank DeBerry, who was the personal catcher for National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dazzy Vance for the old Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers and was also the scout whose report on Willie Mays prompted the then New York Giants to promote him for their run to the 1954 National League pennant. The conference is affiliated with “NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture published twice a year by the University of Nebraska. McGee is a regular contributor in the book review section.
Former Major League All-Star Rick Dempsey and National Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount were part of the opening night opening night ceremonies for the 31st annual event. From left are Dr. David Pegram, co-editor of “NINE” and co-chairman of the conference, Dempsey, McGee and Yount.
Lipscomb University was well represented at the NINE conference. From left are McGee, an adjunct professor in the communications department, Dr. Autumn Marshall, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Dr. William Steele, professor of English. Marshall and McGee made presentations. Steele is co-editor of “NINE” and was co-chairman of the conference.
