The Colonel Al Byrne Award recognizes local individuals who share the late Colonel’s belief that all youth should be provided the facilities and adult leadership to experience athletic training and competitive individual and/or team sports. They also believe, as the Colonel did, that those youth that participate will learn skills and obtain values that will help them succeed in their later life endeavors. The award recipient has also demonstrated a commitment to these beliefs by sharing his or her time, talents and, in many cases, personal resources with no recognition required or desired. The award is voted on by the past presidents of the association and is a tightly held secret until the winner is revealed the night of the annual All Sports Association Awards Dinner each February.
Colonel Al Byrne Award Nomination Form (click here for form)
Please submit nominations to: Rube Manasco (phone 850-420-7624), Col. Al Byrne Award Chairman, reubman@cox.net, or mail to: All Sports Association, P.O. Box 2591, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549
2018 Colonel Al Byrne Award Winner – Ray Chavez
Ray Chavez, this year’s Col. Al Byrne Award recipient, has taught numerous young and teenage athletes skills, etiquette, sportsmanship, values, team work, and perseverance over his 35-plus years of coaching baseball and softball.
In his early baseball coaching years, he was coveted in local leagues as a coach who could win 90% of his games with any players on his roster any year. Thus, his success on the field translated to winning over a lot of parents who wanted more for their kids in terms of athletic advantages and good baseball coaching.
Coach Chavez raised three boys, two of which played college baseball. After his sons left to college, he was able to devote more time to coaching other local high school baseball athletes. His reputation in the local Niceville/FWB/Crestview area is well-known. In later years of coaching at the high school level he was known to mentor athletes with their mental thoughts, problems, slumps and lives, often providing sincere caring love to begin the rebuilding process.
He has coached several athletes who moved on to play in MLB, and numerous college baseball players (Juco through DI). If you ask him, he will tell you “he’s learned more from the players than he ever taught.”
Past Col. Al Byrne Award Winners
2017 Todd Gatlin
2016 Sherman Moon
2015 John Watts
2014 Brian and Kathy Haugen
2013 Bill Shirah
2012 Rev. James T. Ross
2011 Ralph Duncan
2010 Fred Carley
2009 Bob Lynn
2008 Tom Brassell, Don Pattison
2007 Rube Manasco
2006 Sam Brunson
2005 Paul Martin
2004 James C. “Jimmy” Campbell
2003 Mary Jane Ross
2002 Huburt “Rocky” Bates
2001 Bull Cochran
2000 James Campbell
1999 Bruce Ravan
1998 Charles Morgan, John Shortall
1997 Judge Alfred Ben Gordon, Jr., Kathleen A Ravan
1996 Ralph Frangioni
1995 Al Beedie
1994 Hiram Cook
1993 Leven Lord
1992 Bill Roberts, Jr., Pud Hutcheson, Robert Taylor
1991 Ray Deal, George Palmer
1990 Buddy O’Neal, H.A. Bruner, Jay Farris, Arthur Mikel
1989 Julius Rice, M.L. Hayden
1988 Michael Woodham
1987 Louis Woodham, H.P. Pat Campbell, Bill Preston, Sr., Gene Thomas
1986 Grady Smith
1985 Dr. Eddie Zant
1984 Ron Balicki
1983 O.R. Bailey
1982 Joe Etheridge
1981 Houston Harrison
1980 Jerry Brigante
1979 Rev. Talmadge Smith
1978 Buddy Elliott
1977 Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth
1976 Bettye Campbell
1975 Hal Wyatt
1974 Buck Smith