When you come into the lobby at Perry County High School in Linden, there are retired jersey’s that take up most of the wall. There’s Albert Ellison’s #8 black jersey, the architect of the first two of three straight State Basketball Championships from 1955, 1956, and 1957. Then you have Mike Rhodes’ #20 gold jersey who won back-to-back State Championships in 1976 and 1977 and went on to Vanderbilt University in Nashville. A little further down the way you see current head basketball coach Kirk Haston’s #35 gold jersey, as he won a State Championship in 1997 and then went on to play three years at Indiana University under “The General” Bob Knight before going #16 overall to the Charlotte Hornets in the 2001 NBA Draft. However, if you go back to the second glass shelf of basketball jersey’s, there’s a gold #15 with a plaque that says “Jimmy Hinson: All-State Tournament 1976.” There are a lot of people that have asked me this during my life “Who is Jimmy Hinson?” “Whatever happened to him?” Well, do I have a story to tell you. This will be a roller coaster of a story but his legacy and the lives he touched will be around forever. This is the story of a man who had everything and went through so much tragedy but never gave up his faith in Jesus Christ or his optimistic mindset.

            It was September 9, 1958, when James Washington Hinson was born to Ralph and Marie Hinson of Lobelville in a little clinic in Waverly, TN. He was the third child as he had an older brother Hollis and sister Gayla (Bates). Three years later he became the older brother to Becky (Bobo). Jimmy loved going outside and doing things in the yard. He grew up in Lobelville where he would be seen on the porch of his grandparents, Bill and Lathel Long’s home (now where the pavilion for Lobelville School graduation and Music on Main is held today). One day when he was mowing his Grandaddy Bill’s lawn, he ran over a hornet’s nest and they stung him pretty bad, but Grandaddy Bill said, “You need to keep mowing!” However, Mammy (Lathel) told him, “Now Bill he was stung pretty bad, he will finish the yard when he feels better.”. When Jimmy was in elementary school, he always seemed to make friends. The Salhany’s (Kenneth, Kevin and Keith), The Barber’s (Carl and David), Darryl Westbrooks, Greg Hinson (cousin), Scooter Loveless, Ricky Duff, Ralph McCaig, Marty Hester and of course Mike Rhodes (we’ll get into that later) just to name a few. Jimmy’s father Ralph was a good man. A hard worker, he worked on the pipeline and did so much and is loved by the family to this day. But one day when he was training for the Korean War down in Georgia, he hurt his back being a paratrooper. To soothe the pain, Ralph would drink and sometimes a little too much. He never abused any of the kids or even his wife Marie. But one day, Marie was sitting in her chair at their house pretending to read the newspaper and Ralph just stared at her. Not looking mean or upset but with no expression almost. Then in August of 1966, Hollace Ralph Hinson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 36 years old. This was a hard pill for the family to swallow but his mother Marie was and still is tough as nails and did everything she could to keep food on the table and clothes on their backs. His mother might be where Jimmy got his determination and his desire to be the best.

 Jimmy was the type that would be outside from the time the sun came up until the streetlights came on. As he got older, Jimmy started really enjoying sports, particularly baseball. However, he was so competitive he could even make marbles fun to play and watch. When he was 12 years old, he broke the state record for most home runs with 14 in one season and three in one game. He had a .752 batting average during that season. Jimmy was always the catcher because he took pride in being the leader of the team as he wanted everyone to play their best. During one game, Jimmy slid into second base, but for a minute he didn’t get up and blood gushed from his knee. There was a broken beer bottle that he slid into, and he had a horrible gash in his leg. However, he went to the doctor and had stitches, and he was back playing the next game. That was the type of person Jimmy was. No matter what obstacles he had to go through, he always shrugged it off and got back out on the field.

            Coming into his freshman year at Perry County High School, Jimmy was very excited about the opportunity to play basketball and baseball. However, in the fall of 1972, Jimmy decided to play football. He had a great arm and was very athletic and the coaches thought he’d fit right in, so he did. He played sparingly mainly because he was a freshman and back then freshmen didn’t play as much as upper classmen. After the season, however, Perry County shut down their football program. So, from 1973 to 1995, PCHS did not have a football team. I got a little sidetracked, but I couldn’t help but say something about the history of the football program. His first two years at PCHS went by and his playing time wasn’t as much as he would have liked but Jimmy knew his time was coming. During the 1974-1975 basketball season, the Vikings had a lot going for them. They had Billy Ray Yarbro, Bobby Joe Tubbs, Mike Rhodes, Jimmy Hinson, and Barry Mackin. This team won their district and region tournaments to take on Tennessee Prep School at Columbia State for the TSSAA Class Small Sub-State. The Vikings would come out a little sluggish and trailed 32-23 at the half. In the second half, PCHS was able to knock down shots, Jimmy contributed 8 points in the game to help the Vikings come away with a 72-62 win and they punched their ticket to the TSSAA Small Class State Tournament in Murfreesboro.

            As always, the State Tournament is where Perry County wants to be at the end of the year. Jimmy looked up to Coach Albert Ellison, who coached his first three years of high school. Coach Ellison was the architect that helped start the tradition of Perry County basketball, helping Linden High School to back-to-back state championships and the year after he graduated Linden won again for a three peat. Jimmy was excited and the entire community was excited to be back in the State Tournament for the first time since 1969. Coming into their game against Denmark West out of Jackson. The Tigers were very athletic and loved to get up and down the floor just like the Vikings. However, in the first quarter, Perry County led 21-8 and then 43-29 at the half. In the third quarter, the Vikings led 53-35 and had the game won. However, Denmark West came right back and was down 62-51 going to the fourth. They outscored the Vikings 21-9 in the final quarter and Jimmy scored 12 points for Perry County, but it wasn’t enough as their first state tournament in six years came up short in the quarterfinals 72-71.

            After basketball season, Jimmy went back to work with baseball and had a good year. There was a catcher for Lewis County named Bobby Sharp and Jimmy was the only player to ever steal a bag on him not only going to second but to third. Some of the Panthers players called Jimmy “pretty boy” to try to get him off his game. The only thing it did was motivate him and he played harder and better. Jimmy wasn’t a showboat, he didn’t smack talk, he let his play do the talking for him. So, any time Lewis County and Perry County got together it was always a battle. After Jimmy’s junior season it wasn’t rare to see him running down highway 13 from his grandparents’ house in Lobelville to Linden (which is 11 miles). Jimmy always stayed in shape and never wanted to be anything but the best.

            In the summer of 1975, Jimmy and Mike Rhodes were always in the gym at Perry County High School. They would be there for hours doing jump shots, fast break drills, sprints, free throws and whatever else they could do to get better. Mike would be ready to go home but Jimmy would always make him stay a little while longer so that they could continue to get better. At the start of the 1975-1976 basketball season, there was so much excitement around the community. Mike Rhodes was back, Jimmy was coming into his senior year, and a host of other really good players came back.

            The season went well as Perry County went (18-4) overall and did not lose a district game. Going into the District Tournament in Waynesboro, Perry County beat Mt. Pleasant 65-51 and Campbellsville 84-55 for the District Championship. In the Region Tournament, they defeated Elkton 73-65, Blanche 73-48, Campbellsville 36-23, and lost the Region Championship to Elkton 66-58. They took on Jo Byrns in the Class A Sub-State game at Columbia State and a chance at returning to the State Tournament. It was a rough game but towards the end of the first half, Jimmy dove after a loose ball and there were chairs sitting on the sidelines because of how packed the stands were and he hit his head on a chair and made a gash above his eyebrow. He got up with blood dripping as he went to the locker room. However, at the half he got his eye stitched up and he played the second half as Perry County beat Jo Byrns 77-55 to punch their ticket to the State Tournament. Once again, Jimmy showed his determination and don’t-quit attitude.

            Going into the 1976 State Tournament the Perry County Vikings team was ranked #1 in the state. Everyone believed that they would bring home their fourth title and first in 19 years. Their first game was against the Indians of Sneedville (Hancock County). The Vikings took down the Indians with a 73-60 win as Jimmy had 12 points and PCHS were heading to the State Semi-Finals against Middleton. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed as Middleton turned a 15-point deficit into a 3-point deficit with just over a minute to play. However, free throws were key, and Mike knocked down a big shot and Jimmy had 16 points as PCHS punched their ticket to the Class A State Championship game with a 62-59 win against Middleton.

            In the Championship game, they took on a really good team in the Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish. Their star player Chris Gettelfinger, who played for the University of Tennessee, was going to be a problem for PCHS but the Vikings came out ready to go. This game, Jimmy always said he didn’t play as good as he should have and he missed a lot of shots, only going 3-for-10 from the field but he made it up at the free throw line going 7-for-8 and in his hustle as he got steals, rebounds, and assists. One time he took a big charge and slammed his hand on the floor and got a big cheer from his teammates and the fans. Jimmy ended the game with 13 points and the Vikings won the Class A State Championship 68-59 over Knoxville Catholic for their first State Championship since 1957. This was a dream come true for Jimmy and all his teammates. They talked about this from their freshman year in 1972 and they ended their career with a State Title.

Part II will be out next Thursday, July 31st.