William Gregg “Billy” Frierson, who’s remembered as a great baseball and basketball player, will now be known as a Hall of Famer.
Frierson was born Feb. 13, 1933 in High Point. NC. He was a member of the Clarendon Hall School Hall of Fame, the Summerton Athletic Club and the Block “C” Club.
“I’ve faced plenty of great pitchers in my life time with the New York Yankees,” Bobby Richardson once told Frierson’s family. “There was no one tougher than Billy Frierson to get a hit off of.”
The southpaw, who will be inducted posthumously, played baseball and basketball for Summerton High School from 1947-1951. He is remembered as a loving father, grandfather and husband.
“He came to all of our games. He’d drive from Summerton to Sumter sometimes twice a week to watch his girls play softball,” Frierson’s granddaughter Ann Marie Johansen said. “I’d steal glances over at him and could tell he was playing in spirit. It was hard for him to stand most day, but that didn’t stop him from standing on the fence and cheering on his girls.”
My sister and I still play softball, and thanks to him we’ve fallen in love with the sport. Everytime I take the mound to pitch I can’t help but look over to where he used to stand and say, “This game is from you.”’
Frierson led the Summerton High School basketball team to a 1948 State Championship. After graduating he played baseball for the University of South Carolina from 1952-1956.
The Cincinnati Reds showed interest in drafting Frierson after he graduated from South Carolina, but he declined to instead join the Army and fight in the Korean War.
Frierson later coached baseball at several different levels including: Little League, Pony League, Maywood High School and Clarendon Hall.
During that period of time he coached young men that grew up to be preachers, doctors, attorneys, judges and a member of the SC House of Representatives.
“Billy’s lifelong influence in sports certainly qualifies him for this special recognition,” William Rowe said. “He was always a great asset to his community.”
