The legacy of Al Blades

LAURINBURG — Known for its rich Scottish heritage, charming small-town atmosphere and vibrant cultural scene, Laurinburg is the heart and history of rural North Carolina. It’s where tradition and community remain strong.

Few people embody that Laurinburg spirit more than Al Blades. A lifelong member of the community, Blades is one of the pioneers of the town’s sports scene, from a Little League Baseball player to a Little League coach and Parks & Recreation leader. Blades has left a mark on generations deeply rooted in sports, service and pride, something that has never faded.

“I’m just a simple guy that loves sports,” Blades said, smiling.

From the Diamond to the Sideline

For a man whose dream was to become the second baseman for the New York Yankees, Blades still managed to leave a mark on sports, just not the way he envisioned.

“It all started in Scotland County when I was nine years old, playing Little League baseball. My dream was to become the second baseman for the New York Yankees. When I got to 12 years old, I figured out my baseball average; it was .097, and I knew I wasn’t going to play for the Yankees.”

Even though he began to acknowledge his limitations, sometimes your calling card might be closer than you think.

“I kept playing baseball until I was 15, when I stopped. I didn’t have a lot to do,” Blades stated. “Once I got to ninth grade at Laurinburg High School, I would hear the football and baseball teams practicing from my house, and I would go watch them practice alongside the basketball team.”

Until one day, a coach said something to him that would change his life.

“One day, the coach for the basketball team asked me during P.E. class if I would be interested in being a manager.” Blades was confused.

“What is that? He said I would keep up with the basketballs, timekeeping, making sure the gym stayed clean, keeping the uniforms clean and putting them inside lockers. Once I started, I enjoyed doing it and continued to do this throughout high school.”

This sudden interest in team management was a twist from his typical routine. From his days on the baseball field to transitioning to the sideline, it was not easy, but it ignited a new journey.

“Next year, I was at Scotland High School, and Coach Jenkins, my P.E. coach in 10th grade asked me to be the manager for the football team.”

By the end of his sophomore year, Blades managed both the basketball and football teams; though he reaped the benefits of these opportunities, it would also bring negatives alongside it.

“I felt the privilege of a star athlete; however, that’s the reason I’m so dumb, once I started managing these coaches who were teachers. Whenever I would walk into their classrooms, they would ask if I had studied for their test. Once I said yes, they would make me run errands while everyone else inside the class took the test.”

Life After School

After graduating high school, Blades was stuck at a crossroads. “When I finished high school, I had no plan of what I wanted to do,” he recalled. That fun of managing teams was now finished; he would now step into the real world and see where he could find his footing.

“I didn’t want to attend college because I wasn’t that smart and my grades were not that great,” Blades said. He got his big break when he saw an ad in the sports newspaper to become a sportscaster.

“My dad, for Christmas, would bring me the Sporting News subscription every year. One day, there was an ad named Career Academy to become a sportscaster. I thought this should be easy. I love sports, so I packed up and headed to Atlanta, GA, to be a sportscaster.”

From wanting to become a second baseman for the Yankees to managing his high school teams to now stepping into a new role in sports casting. Blades’ sports career was a roller coaster ride.

“The first week went pretty good, once they started giving me the script to read off of. Those words started to look like Beethoven and Bach music notes because I couldn’t understand or pronounce anything on that paper.”

“The instructor told me I had a heavy accent; he gave me a pencil and said to talk with it in my mouth to change my accent. That didn’t work either, so I just decided to go back home, and my parents were not too happy with me; they told me I would have to get a job.”

Finding His Footing

The harsh reality of having a passion for sports yet being unable to succeed leaves you with the unsettling necessity of taking jobs just to make ends meet.

“I began working at the J.P. Stevens warehouse. Things didn’t quite work out there; I didn’t care to do that. I was coaching Little League baseball and would always hang out around the Parks & Recreation.”

During this time, Blades connected with Bill Scott, the Parks & Recreation director. Scott played a significant role in shaping Blades’ career as we know it today.

“After I got laid off from the warehouse, Bill Scott offered me a job at Parks & Recreation; however, he said the position was a grant-funded program, probably no more than three days, three months or three years. I said, I’ll take my chances.”

This was a big risk on Blade’s part, after being laid off from your warehouse job. Now he was at risk of working for a job that was working on a limited duration.

“The program ran out in three years. Mr. Scott went to the county commissioner and tried to get a position available for me at Parks & Recreation. They approved it, and it was one of the best moments of my life.”

Impact

The recent opening transformed Blades’ career. “This was my dream job,” Blades claimed. During his 42 years of work, Blades worked with the basketball, football and cheerleading programs. When it comes to the sports scene in Laurinburg, Blades has seen it all.

At Legion Park, he has put together a collection that features Laurinburg, NC’s finest sports memorabilia. From the Original 4-Man Softball Club in Laurinburg, a 1920s football leather helmet from Laurinburg High School, the original Laurinburg baseball and football teams and vintage photos of Cotton Sutherland and more.

Al Blades is a walking sports archive of Laurinburg sports history.

“I know a lot of sports history; it’s because of my age. I’ve been here for a long time. A lot of the stuff that’s in this room was at the John Blue house. We moved it over to the Scotland County Museum and moved it again because most of the stuff there was agriculture. People are just excited to see everything from pictures to artifacts, which shows our history.”

“One of the most humbling and proudest things I love about my work is kids who played Park & Recreation ball 30 years ago. They come back, and we reminisce on the good days, and it was a joy working for all those years. Most of the time, I didn’t think anything of it. I was working seven days a week, but I loved doing what I wanted to do.”

On Aug. 16, Scotland County will be hosting its first-ever Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Seven nominees will be inducted into the ceremony to honor the legends in Scotland County’s long, rich history, one of whom is Al Blades.

“I was surprised about being a nominee,” Blades said laughingly. “But I am excited and grateful that people know what I did in the past. I always looked at this as my job. I never really looked for recognition; this is an honor to be inducted into the first Scotland County Hall of Fame.”

So if you ever see Al Blades around the town, at a Highland Hooligans game or at Legion Park, take the time to speak. You are in the presence of a Laurinburg legend; his legacy is carved inside of the history books of Scotland County Sports.