Greenwood native Willie Young Jr. is being inducted into Mississippi Valley State’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the R.W. Harrison Complex.
A 1976 graduate of Greenwood High, Young went on to become a Second Team All-SWAC selection for the Delta Devils in 1980 and semi-pro MVP for the Greenwood Sluggers in 1981 and 1983. He was inducted into the Mississippi Semi-Pro Hall of Fame in 1986. At both GHS and MVSU, Young won the team MVP honor as a senior.
Young recalled plenty of great memories playing in Itta Bena, including hitting a 385-foot home run off of future MLB pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, who was later drafted by the Red Sox. He also crushed three home runs during a doubleheader against one of the top teams in the region at the time, William Carey.
In 2003, Young won the Commonwealth’s Coach of the Year award for his work at GHS. He served as MVSU’s director of alumni relations until 2018. Now Young is in charge of the Delta Devils’ baseball alumni group, where the 63-year-old has enjoyed watching their recent turnaround.
“One thing I learned about this bunch is they fear nobody,” Young said of this year’s baseball team at MVSU, led by first-year head coach Stanley Stubbs. “They’re a fun group to be around.”
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com.
