Meridian Brakemen Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

fathers and sons

There have been a fairly amazing number of father-son duos in major league history — more than 250, according to Baseball Almanac. The Griffeys and the Boones. The Bells and the Alous. More recently, the Guerreros, Witts and Hollidays. As you might figure, several of these father-son duos have had a Mississippi connection. Current Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of ex-big leaguer Charlie Hayes, a Mississippi native who starred at Forrest County AHS in the early 1980s. Harry Walker, Pascagoula native who played 11 years in the big leagues between 1940 and ’55, was the son of Ewart “Dixie” Walker, a Pennsylvania native who pitched in the majors from 1909-12. Crawford native Sam Hairston, one of the first black Mississippians to play in MLB, was the father of two big leaguers and the grandfather of two more. Former Ole Miss star and coach Don Kessinger, an All-Star shortstop in his day, is the father of ex-big leaguer Keith Kessinger, who also played at UM, and the grandfather of Grae Kessinger, an Oxford native and UM alum who was in The Show in 2023-24. Ex-big leaguer Steve Dillard, another former Ole Miss standout, is the father of Tim Dillard, who played at Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College before enjoying a four-year MLB career. Del Unser, who played at Mississippi State en route to a 15-year major league career, is the son of Al Unser, who played four seasons in The Show in the 1940s. (Worth noting is the Magnolia State connection of Boston pitcher Hunter Dobbins, who has been in the news a lot of late after “dissing” the New York Yankees and then beating them twice, including on Saturday. Dobbins’ father, Lance, never made The Show but did pitch for the independent Meridian Brakemen some 30 years ago.) P.S. Konnor Griffin, the ex-Jackson Prep star, hit his first homer in High-Class A on Saturday and is batting .435 in five games since his promotion. Overall, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect is batting .348 with 10 bombs, 41 RBIs and 31 steals in his first pro season. … Tim Elko, the former Ole Miss slugger, was sent back to Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. Elko was hitting just .155 in 58 at-bats, though four of his nine hits were homers.

blast from past

The Meridian Brakemen, a long defunct and largely forgotten independent team, were referenced today on the FS1 Game of the Week. Color analyst Tom Verducci mentioned that Boston starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins modeled his pitching motion after his father, Lance, who had pitched for the Brakemen and the Ohio Valley Redcoats during a brief pro career. The Meridian Brakemen franchise operated for two seasons, 1996 and ’97, in the Big South League, a small loop that also included the Greenville Bluesmen and the Tupelo Tornado. Dobbins pitched in Meridian — at Meridian Community College’s home field, which the Brakemen dubbed The Railyard — during both seasons, where his teammates included current East Central Community College coach Neal Holliman. Verducci and Kevin Kugler both wondered aloud about where the nickname Brakemen originated, speculating it had something to do with trains. Partly true. In fact, it derived from the nickname of Meridian native and country music legend Jimmie Rodgers, who was known as “The Singing Brakeman.” P.S. Ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull reportedly has signed with Toronto as a free agent. The veteran right-hander, 32, put up a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings for Philadelphia in 2024 and has a career ERA of 4.26 in 78 appearances, mostly as a starter. He would no doubt need some minor league work before joining the Blue Jays’ active roster.