Bibb County athletics staple Eddie Ashley dies

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Barney Hester, Spoon Risper, Eddie Ashley, and Joseph Dupree.

Photo: Spoon Risper

          Eddie Ashley spent a lifetime involved in all sorts of sports on all sorts of levels in Bibb County, from a successful baseball coaching career to administration.

          Friends, former players and colleagues and rivals are mourning the death Friday afternoon of Ashley, a victim of the COVID-19 virus.

          Ashley, in his early 70s, started feeling symptoms a little more than two weeks ago and tested positive for the virus. He entered a hospital in Savannah, where he’d moved to be closer to grandchildren, and began battling breathing problems that digressed and were joined by a blood clot in his leg and lung. He was put on a CPAP machine, and then a ventilator early this week.

          The Lanier and Georgia grad coached baseball, football, and basketball at Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast, helping to start the Southeast program when the school opened in 1989 (it closed in 2003).

          He was 333-165 as head baseball coach at Southwest and Southeast, and never had a losing season in more than 40 years of coaching.

          Ashley was a two-time region coach of the year, and had five region titles as well as trips to the state quarterfinals and semifinals. Ashley also coached a variety of all-star teams, and helped grow the Georgia Dugout Club into a statewide organization.

          He is a member of the Georgia Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Georgia Dugout Club Hall in 2004, and the Macon Sports Hall of Fame.

          Ashley went into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He was given the Executive Directors award in 2018 for his work as president of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association in 2017-18. He was awarded the latter in June 2018 at the same event where longtime close friend and former co-worker Edgar Hatcher was given a GACA lifetime membership award.

Eddie Ashley, third from right, went into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

          Ashley, who served as Bibb County’s public school athletics director for seven years, was a mentor to scores of Bibb County coaches and athletes throughout the years. He also spent years working with the GHSA state basketball tournament events at the Macon Coliseum. He was also part of the growth locally of the Macon RBI – now Braves RBI – program.

          He was a longtime member of the Macon Touchdown Club, and returned from Savannah each Monday for the weekly gathering this year.

The Sports Report will post information on services when available.