When Jim Worthington, University of Tennessee’s oldest letterman at the age of 98, threw out the first pitch at the school’s baseball match-up with the University of South Carolina last Saturday, Dunwoody was well-represented both on and off the field.
Worthington, who still lives independently in a townhome in Norcross, played for three seasons for the Vols as a catcher in the late 1940s until his job student teaching at Tyson Junior High School forced him to make the difficult decision to quit during his senior year.
But his love of sports never left him, and after graduation and several teaching stints, Worthington moved into coaching football at Baylor School in Chattanooga and later, UT-Chattanooga.
He is thought to be not only UT’s longest living player, but also the school’s as well, according to UT Historian Bud Ford.
On May 18, Worthington, after leaning in and “shaking off” a couple of signs, to the amusement of the crowd, fired the ball into the glove of Vol catcher Charlie Taylor, a redshirt junior who hails from Dunwoody and graduated from Wesleyan School in 2021.
Worthington’s son, Billy, said his father specifically asked that Taylor be his catcher for the ceremonial first pitch.
“He has always had a love for Wesleyan, which his grandchildren attended, and Dunwoody, where his children and grandchildren live,” Billy said. “The strategy of shaking off the called pitches was something that he and Charlie worked out in the dugout before the game.”
Worthington said more than 40 people attended the game to support the nonagenarian, including his sons, their wives, five grandchildren, and 10 of his great-grandchildren. One of the highlights was watching the interaction between the 98-year-old and Taylor.
“Charlie was so humbled to be chosen, and he felt like he was the one receiving a gift,” Billy said. “It was truly a great day.”
After the successful pre-game ceremonies, Worthington said his dad was the star of the show while walking up to his seat to join the well-wishers who came to the game. Several fans took selfies with the letterman, and even Smokey, the school’s mascot, made an appearance to pose for pictures.
“I felt like I was walking with a celebrity, and I guess that was exactly what I was doing,” Billy said. “The university couldn’t have been more welcoming and accommodating to us for the entire day.”
As far as Jim basking in the spotlight of possibly the greatest honor that has been bestowed upon him, Billy said his dad feels that “it’s much ado about nothing.”
“Here’s a man who hasn’t thrown a baseball in front of a crowd for 75 years, but he said, ‘I just walked onto the field and threw the baseball,’” his son said.
And, on a side note, Tennessee beat #23 ranked South Carolina 4-1 and clinched its fifth Southeastern Conference regular season title.