One of college baseball’s all-time greats is coming to Vicksburg for a visit.

Ron Polk, who led Mississippi State to more than 1,100 victories and six College World Series appearances in 29 seasons as its head coach, will be the featured speaker at a fundraiser for Porters Chapel Academy on Monday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the banquet are $30. They are available at the Porters Chapel Academy school office at 3460 Porters Chapel Road, during business hours, or by calling PCA football coach Blake Purvis at 601-218-1703.
Former PCA baseball star Michael Busby, who was part of Polk’s last recruiting class at Mississippi State and later played for him at Alabama-Birmingham, will also speak.

“I think it’s great. Our school has never done anything like this, and I haven’t heard of anybody in Vicksburg doing anything like this,” said Purvis, who is organizing the event. “To hear somebody that’s a Mississippi legend, and really a baseball legend, it’s a great opportunity. Whatever your school affiliation is, it’s going to be a night where everybody that comes is going to pick up something to take home with them.”

Polk coached at Mississippi State from 1976-97 and then again from 2002-08, with a two-year stint at Georgia in between. He guided Mississippi State to the College World Series six times, Georgia once, and Georgia Southern once before he took over at MSU.

In all, Polk had a 1,373-702-2 record as a head coach. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Mississippi State’s baseball stadium, Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium, bears his name.

Since leaving Mississippi State, Polk has stayed busy. He has written several books about baseball and is currently a volunteer assistant coach at UAB. He also travels the country for charity speaking engagements in the offseason. Polk does not charge an appearance fee or for expenses.

Purvis said that while Polk’s speech will center on baseball, it will also touch on other aspects of sports and life that carry a message for all audiences.

“He made no doubts it’s going to be a baseball talk,” Purvis said. “But from hearing other people who have heard him talk, it’s a motivational speech in general and good in hearing what he has to say. It should be a very good motivator for baseball players for sure, and for athletes in general.”

The fundraiser is the first of its kind for Porters Chapel Academy. If it goes well, Purvis said he hopes to make it an annual event.

“I would love to bring in someone every year, but this is our pilot event. We’ll see how it goes and evaluate it,” Purvis said. “These are definitely good opportunities for our kids, and our community, to have events like this brought in.”

POLK FUNDRAISER AT PCA
Former Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk will be the featured speaker at a fundraiser for Porters Chapel Academy’s athletics department on Monday, Feb. 27.

Tickets to the banquet are $30, and can be purchased at the Porters Chapel Academy school office at 3460 Porters Chapel Road, during business hours, or by calling PCA football coach Blake Purvis at 601-218-1703.