By Mark H. Stowers
MDCC Hall of Fame Inductee James "Bubba" Harrist
The West Monroe, Louisiana native made his way to Moorhead to compete in the toughest JUCO baseball conference. James "Bubba" Harrist was recruited by legendary coach Jimmy Bellipanni but retired before he came to campus. His career blossomed under Head Coach Terry Thompson as Harrist a member of the 1986 and 1987 Trojan baseball teams.
"During the summer, Coach Bellipanni decided to retire. I didn't even meet Coach Thompson until I came to school," Harrist said.
Harrist was a member of the team that was ranked as high as #2 and won the Regional and was runner-up. In the Eastern District Playoff. The Louisiana native originally signed with a Division III Arkansas college but a high school teammate, Al Hamby, had signed to play football at MDCC. He tried out and impressed Coach Bellipanni and became a Trojan.
"I reached out to Coach Bellipanni, rode over there with my friend who was coming to play football. I came over and did a little tryout," Harrist said. "I wanted to go to a Junior College because I wanted to play Division I. The school I signed with in Arkansas was Division III."
Harrist remembered the team doing quite well.
"We actually lost on a two-out walk-off grand slam or we would have gone to the World Series. We had nine guys who went on to sign and play at Division I and two guys who went onto the Major League," Harrist said. "And we had some guys play in the minors."
At Moorhead, Harrist played outfield and off the field and has plenty of great memories during his two years at MDJC.
"I had barely turned 17 years old and came from a small town and loaded up a couple of duffel bags in the back of a 1974 El Camino," he said. "It was quite an experience to show up in Mississippi in the middle of nowhere and think, 'What have I done?'"
But Harrist soon found out, he'd made the right choice to become a Trojan.
"Moorhead was a big family. We had a team that had a lot of family there but I remember how involved the people of Moorhead were in that program. Everybody was invested in it. Catfish farming was booming at that time and all those guys came out on a regular basis and had catfish cooks for us, they were always there and really supported us," he said. "I will always remember that atmosphere at Moorhead. We ate Double Quick Chicken every night, burgers at the pool hall and the Yellow Dog (restaurant) on Sunday. It was close-knit and special to me. If I had to compare my baseball careers at Moorhead and Louisiana Tech, Moorhead was far more special by far. A much better experience at Moorhead. The small town atmosphere and small school and I came from a small town so I was much better suited as a Trojan. When you were at Moorhead you helped the coach mow the field and pick weeds and take care of things. It was ours. That's what makes being part of something be of more value to you."
Other special memories included traveling to road games "on a beat-up yellow school bus where half the windows didn't even come down and one of our players drove the bus. Coach would drive for a little while and he'd get sleepy and then our 18-year old first baseman would drive us all over Mississippi."
Harrist noted that one of his teachers, Dr. Dwight Spencer taught math and physics, stood out and was beneficial to his career.
"I liked science and he taught us some things that I've never forgotten. Dr. Warnock was close to us. Steve Oswalt was close to us and Betty Aden was there.
At Louisiana Tech, Harrist's teams played well and his teammates included Charlie Montoya who coached for the Milwaukee Brewers and David Segui who played for the Baltimore Orioles and seven other MLB teams.
His career continued at Louisiana Tech University his junior and senior seasons. Upon graduation, Harrist worked in banking and then changed careers becoming a Registered Nurse and works in administration.