Toros retire Akins’ No 6

• Late SF coach/teacher’s memory honored, enshrined in stadium ceremony

Tony Whitehead, GCM Sports
Posted 3/7/17

Spanish Fort High School and community paid tribute to Thad Akins and his memory Monday night. The Toros enshrined the late coach’s No. 6 in a jersey-retirement ceremony before the Alma Bryant game on The Hill.

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Toros retire Akins’ No 6

• Late SF coach/teacher’s memory honored, enshrined in stadium ceremony

Posted

SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Spanish Fort High School and community paid tribute to Thad Akins and his memory Monday night.

The Toros enshrined the late coach’s No. 6 in a jersey-retirement ceremony before the Alma Bryant game on The Hill. The team also installed a replica of his pinstriped jersey number on the right-field wall beneath the scoreboard. Akins was the varsity outfield coach and the head coach of the Lady Toros basketball team when he died in January.

“This is where he would be warming up the outfielders at practices or before a game,” said Toros head baseball coach Brent Boyd standing near the marker after a 7-1 SFHS victory. “We thought this was the proper thing to do and this was the best place to put it. We kept asking ourselves, ‘What would he want?’

“And this — making sure he always has a place right here with us. And, where he was happy to be and is appreciated and loved and missed so much. It’s not just a memorial, it’s a way to remember him everyday and everything he did here at Spanish Fort. He was a great role model.”

Akins’ No. 6 is the first jersey to be retired in the program’s varsity history.

“And by being the first, it shows even more how special he was," Boyd said. "Not only to the baseball and basketball players, but all of his students and the whole Spanish Fort community. It really is like a tight-knit family here and we lost a dear, dear member of that family when we lost Thad.”

Akins, 43, was on his way to a preseason baseball meeting when his car collided with a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 65 near Fort Deposit. Boyd said the retirement event was also good for the players.

“I know he would be proud of how well they have handled it, but it was hard for all of us. Overall, the kids have come through in stride and I wanted them to always appreciate that we should all make the most of every day we have, like he did.”

The Toros went on to defeat the ABHS Hurricanes 7-1. Hayden Ellis picked up the win on the mound. He scattered four hits and gave up one run in six innings. At the plate, Chase White was 3-for-3 with an RBI and scored twice. Thomas Johnston went 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Tyler Miller and Colt Steiner each had two RBIs while Von Seibert added two hits. Spanish Fort improved to 9-1 with the win and jumps into the Class 6A Area 2 season Thursday, March 9, with a (6:30 p.m.) game at Daphne High. The Trojans then go to SFHS Friday night for the series doubleheader set to start at 4:30 p.m.