By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville Baseball Association and Moody Youth Association have partnered to form the Doug Hutcheson Memorial Tournament, which will be held Oct. 16-19 at the Trussville Sports Complex.
Hutcheson was one of three men killed — including the shooter — in a workplace shooting at the UPS Customer Center in Birmingham on Sept. 23.
Games will be played Thursday, Oct. 16; Friday, Oct. 17; and Sunday, Oct. 19. The single-elimination tournament’s proceeds will all go to Hutcheson’s family. Hutcheson, a 1999 Clay-Chalkville High School graduate, as well as University of Phoenix graduate, was married to Tiffany and had twin sons, Braddock and Sawyer.
Hutcheson, who lived in Odenville, helped coach his sons’ baseball team at the Moody Youth Association.
“Doug loved sports and being involved with his boys was his No. 1 priority,” said Moody Youth Association board member Amber DeGrado. “He started helping coach with his boys T-ball team at Moody several years ago and was just as of recent helping coach with their first year in the 5/6 league.”
DeGrado said she’ll always remember Hutcheson as “Coach-a Doug,” as her 4-year-old would call him all the time.
“He always had a smile on his face and had such a way with the kids on the field that made baseball fun for them all,” she said.
DeGrado said that when news spread of Hutcheson’s death, the Moody park knew it wanted to do something to honor his family and memorialize the lives he touched. DeGrado said donations at the gate are appreciated and 100 percent of the donations and proceeds from the concession stand will go to the Hutcheson family.
Trussville Baseball Association Director of Commissioners Pat Smith said that the association wraps up fall baseball every year with a charity tournament. The board “immediately” chose the Hutcheson family this year because of a “tremendous relationship” with the Moody Youth Association, Smith said.
Smith said the Eastern Area Umpires Association has already pledged to give its fees from the tournament back to the family as well.
The entry fee to the tournament, for ages 5 through 12, is free. Coaches will be contacted the week prior to the tournament for brackets and tournament information.
For more information, contact Smith at patsmith@mindspring.com or Bobby Childs at bobby_childs@me.com.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.