Greg James: Vidalia High School

James was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2008.

Hometown hero Greg James spent his entire playing and coaching career in Vidalia before retiring after the 2016 season. He was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2008.

James had a role in 12 of Vidalia's region titles, including nine as the Indians' head coach. The longtime coach played left field and helped Vidalia to a state runner-up finish as a sophomore.

After graduating in 1972, James played baseball at Brewton Parker College in nearby Mount Vernon. After two seasons, he left and finished his degree at Georgia Southern where he graduated in 1976. After graduation, he taught elementary physical education and worked in the Vidalia Recreation Department for 10 years, helping develop hundreds of players in Little League.

James took over as Vidalia's head baseball coach in 1987 and coached until retiring in 2016. He finished with a 489-287-2 record, winning two state baseball titles in 1995 and 2003. James also guided the program to four state semifinal appearances, nine quarterfinal appearances and 19 state playoff appearances. In addition to his nine region titles, he led the program to six subregion titles.

The longtime coach was named Georgia Dugout Club Coach of the Year twice (1995, 2003) and he was a nine-time region Coach of the Year. He coached the GACA South All-Star team in 1995 and he coached the Georgia Dugout Club Southeast All-Stars in 1998 as an assistant and 2004 as head coach. He was an assistant coach on Team Georgia's staff in the Sunbelt Classic in 2005.

In 2007, Vidalia named its baseball field "Greg James Field" after the longtime coach. His No. 12 jersey is retired on the outfield fence.

He sent 44 players to college, five were drafted and three signed professional contracts.

James also was an assistant football coach for five seasons and assistant boys basketball coach for 13 years. He served as head boys basketball coach for one season in 1998-1999.

"I've always said when you get awards like this, it's a reflection of what kind of team and players you have," James said. "We've had a lot of good players. I appreciate the recognition we received as a program."

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