All in the family

Alan Ford
alanford@shelbystar.com
For many involved in baseball, there's a hand-me-down effect.

A father passes the love of the game on to his son, then it's given to the next generation.

That American rite of passage certainly manifested itself in the Floyd household.

"I have a picture of him when he wasn't even a year old yet and he had an Atlanta Braves' Dale Murphy outfit on with a plastic baseball in his hand looking up at the camera," Al Floyd said of his son Adam.

Al Floyd played baseball for Burns High and the Shelby Post 82 American Legion team in 1980-81. His son Adam did the same 2000-2002.

"I can remember him throwing whiffle balls to me in the front yard," said Adam, who became an infielder. "It (baseball) was always a big thing. A lot of the guys on the teams I played for always liked to come by our house."

Al Floyd had the same memories involving his father.

"My dad passed away over a month ago and he was always in the front yard with me. He told me about being in high school in Polkville and pitching all those years ago.

"I think baseball gets a bad rap sometimes," Al added, "that it's not as exciting or as fast-paced. But yet I can remember so much about the conversations you had with other people during the games. There are a lot of memories about that time that you keep."

A strong bond
Even now the family bond is strengthened by the association with friends and parents met through baseball.

"Several of the guys from 2001 (Post 82's last state championship team) were at Jason Gold's wedding last year," Adam Floyd said. "We all looked at each other and we each had our (championship) rings with us. That's something we still haven't grown out of."
As a parent, Al Floyd appreciates the opportunity his son and so many of his friends enjoyed playing legion baseball together.

"That group of parents (in 2000-02) were pulling for all the kids to get the big hit, it didn't have to be their own son," he said. "I can remember all of us huddling around the radio listening to an interview after the game. I thought of all of that group as much as my own children and were happy when they did well.

"That was a group of kids right then who gave the American Legion program and this town a shot in the arm right then it really needed."

Proud
Adam looked at some of the new additions Keeter Stadium and Veterans Field are getting for the World Series in August and is proud of the part he and his friends played in building some of the momentum in the sport.

"I can remember fielding ground balls from (Coach) Grayson over at Holly Oak Park three times a week at night during the winter," Adam said. "Sometimes we'd hit until he (coach) couldn't lift his arm any more."

Part of the baseball journey that Adam and Al shared is the painful transition that most athletes go through.

"I can still remember the last pitch I threw when I was in college," Al said. "And I remember that feeling when I saw Adam play in his last game in the (Southeast) Regionals here in 2002.

"Everybody loves to see their child achieve their greatest dream and for Adam it was to play in the major leagues. At the same you realize that just doesn't happen for a lot of folks. You deal with it and you move on."