From The Tribune staff reports
HUEYTOWN — Former Hueytown baseball coach Rick Patterson will long be remembered on the Alabama high school baseball scene.
According to an announcement from the school’s Twitter account, the Gophers’ longtime skipper, who passed away on Sept. 29, 2020 at the age of 62, has been honored by the Jefferson County Schools Baseball Coaches Association. The Monday post says the group voted unanimously to rename its coach of the year award after Patterson.
The annual honor will now be known as the Rick Patterson Coach of the Year Award. Patterson was voted Jefferson County Coach of the Year following the 2019 season, which ended in the Class 6A state semifinal round — his sixth semifinal push in 28 years at Hueytown.
In 41 years down the third-base line, Patterson won 893 games on his way to numerous area championships.