Jimmy Guy McDonald
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- Year:
- 2020
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- Sport:
- Baseball
Jimmy Guy McDonald of Houlka has been selected as Itawamba Community College's inductee into the 2020 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges Sports Hall of Fame.
McDonald was inducted into ICC's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He was a pitcher for the Indians baseball team from 1966-67.
He spent 49 years in basketball, coaching all but four of those years at Houlka. He won a total of 1,772 games, 906 coaching girls and 866 with boys. The girls captured state titles in 1975 and 1977. The girls' team also won a Grand Slam title in 1975. The boys' team won a state title in 2000. He took his teams to state tournaments in Jackson 22 times, including his final season, when the boys reached the Class 1A semifinals.
A former semi-pro pitcher, McDonald excelled as a baseball coach, leading Houlka to a state title in 1973. He also coached softball at Houlka.
He began his career at Houlka in 1969, and in 1991, he left to coach boys basketball and baseball at Kossuth. McDonald returned home to Houlka in 1995.
His awards included Kellogg's Women's Basketball Coach of the Year (1977), Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame (2014), NEMS Basketball Coach Hall of Fame (2012-13) and NEMCABB Coaches Hall of Fame (2014).
McDonald retired following the 2017-18 season. He passed away unexpectedly at his home, Dec. 4, 2019.
He and his wife of 43 years, Debbie, were the parents of two children, Bradley Hubert (Lauren) McDonald and Jill Marie (Brad) Vance. They have five grandchildren, Jade Gunnells, Addie Kate Vance, Jace Tutor, Lily Tutor and Mary Haire.