a golden arm

If you had a time machine, wouldn’t it be fun to go back to the early 1970s and watch Ray Guy pitch for Southern Miss? Yes, pitch. As good as the newly minted Pro Football Hall of Famer was on the football field as both a punter and defensive back, you can probably find some old-timers around Hattiesburg who would swear that Guy is also the best pitcher the school ever had. Baseball didn’t get much emphasis or hype at USM when Guy was there — the team never played more than 28 games during any of his three seasons (1970-72) and went 39-39 overall — but scouts made it a point to know when Guy was pitching. He was drafted three times by MLB clubs (including Atlanta) while at USM, in addition to being picked after his senior year of high school at Thomson, Ga. Guy posted a 2.94 ERA for his career with the Golden Eagles, struck out 266 batters in 220 2/3 innings, registered a 16-strikeout game and tossed a no-hitter against William Carey. If you had that time machine, it sure would be fun to watch the athlete known for the thunder in his foot put on a show with the lightning in his arm.