‘The little ball that started it all’: Trussville native hobby artist inspires Alabama Sports Hall of Fame exhibit

Trussville native and hobby artist Jerry Wilson was recently recognized as the inspiration for an exhibit at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. 

A neighbor of Wilson’s introduced him to Susie Bagwell, an art and music teacher at Priceville Elementary School. At the time, Wilson was painting softballs in Santa Claus and snowman motifs. After requesting a Yankees version for her son-in-law, Bagwell was inspired to develop a project for her students that tied to Alabama’s bicentennial celebration.

“I call it the little ball that started it all,” Bagwell said. 

With the help of Wilson and several others, enough softballs for each child were collected, cleaned and primed for painting. Each student then selected a baseball player inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as his or her subject. 

The research helped the students reconstruct the players’ facial features on the surface of the softball, as well as generate a brief essay on the history of each player. 

Once the children had familiarized themselves with their assigned players, Wilson traveled to Priceville to help train the students to paint on the softballs during their assigned art classes. 

“Mr. Wilson taught me that it’s important to keep your hand steady when you paint. He was really nice and helpful,” said Bailey Smyth, one of Bagwell’s art students.

Bagwell said the students enjoyed learning how to paint on a new surface. “They also learned about painting faces and how to judge their space for lettering on the side of the ball,” she said.

“What stands out most is the expressions of the players that reflect the personality of the students that painted them. It’s neat to see their personalities come through,” Bagwell said.

Ultimately, the painted softballs and essays came together as an exhibit entitled “Timeline for Alabamian Baseball Players,” which was on display at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. 

The final celebration of the Priceville students’ work was a field trip to Birmingham to visit the Negro Southern League Museum and their own exhibit on display at the Sports Hall of Fame. The children were also provided an opportunity to talk with Wilson and artist Daniel Moore, who was inducted into the Hall last year for his University of Alabama football artwork. 

“The kids were so excited,” said Wilson. “You could see their eyes were just as big as they could be. And I told them, ‘That ball you got is no longer a ball, but a work of art good enough to be in the Hall of Fame.’” 

“The hall of fame went all out. Those balls that the children painted were displayed just super,” Wilson said, adding that the kids had a scavenger hunt to find their creations.

Wilson said one of the most memorable parts of the trip occurred when the Hall of Fame presented a student with a ball signed by Clay Carroll, the athlete he chose for his project. 

“His daddy was standing behind him and grabbed his heart when they did that. The little boy looked up at his daddy and he almost had tears in his eyes. It was just a wonderful moment,” Wilson said. 

He also got to meet Alabamians who had professional baseball careers. 

“It was one of the best times of my life. It was just fantastic,” Wilson said.

As a graduate of Hewitt’s class of 1959, Wilson declared the day spent with the Priceville Elementary students to be his first and favorite field trip. 

“We didn’t have field trips when I was in school. And this was the field trip of a lifetime with a lot of hard work involved. We’ll never forget it — I know I never will and doubt the kids will either. And it all began because a school teacher took the initiative.”  

Wilson’s other artwork is on display and available for purchase inside DeDe’s Book Rack at 104 South Chalkville Road.