Lee GLAZE^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

• Name	Lee GLAZE
  Gender	Male
  HIST	of Sumter, South Carolina Sumter Item to reveal Top 125 Sports Figures with anniversary celebration Posted Saturday, October 12, 2019 6:00 am BY DENNIS BRUNSON In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item is going to select the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order starting on Wednesday with Nos. 125-111. The remaining lists will be contain 10 figures beginning on Friday. Those lists will appear every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. Coinciding with the list reveal, we'll be asking readers to reveal their Top 10 sports figures in Item history, and we'll be hosing Autograph Giveaway contests featuring our famous local sports figures. The Sumter Item's Top 125 Sports Figures 111-125 Posted Friday, October 18, 2019 11:01 am In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item has selected the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order, appearing every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. 125) Doll Eadon - Doll Eadon was a standout basketball player at Christian Academy in Manning and went on to start on two junior college championship teams at Anderson Junior College. She became the first woman ever to receive an athletic scholarship at Clemson University, playing her final two years there. She won a state title as the girls head coach at Laurence Manning Academy. 124) Greg Walker - Greg Walker was a standout offensive lineman for Sumter High School. Walker was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer at offensive tackle during his senior season at Clemson in 2003. He went on to play on season with the New York Giants in the NFL. 123) Anthony Rose - Anthony Rose was a standout football player at Mayewood High School, but his claim to fame came at Clemson. Rose was a starting cornerback for the Tigers during their 1981 national championship season. He had four interceptions during his Clemson career. 122) Brent Elmore - Brent Elmore won consecutive S.C. Golden Gloves Championships in 1978 and 1979 as a member of the Sumter Optimist Club boxing team. He fought in three national tournaments and was the first Sumterite to win a bout in an international competition as well. 121) Robert Rohner - Robert Rohner was a standout athlete in several sports at Wilson Hall, but he took it to a different level in college. During his sophomore season at Duke University in 2014, Rohner won the decathlon title in the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 120) Austin Francis - Austin Francis was one of the first promoters of both the swimming and the basketball programs with the Sumter Family YMCA, serving from 1930 to 1943. The YMCA's swimming facility is named the Austin Francis Aquatics Center. 119) Jerell Adams - Jerell Adams played tight end for the University of South Carolina from 2012-2015. He had 47 catches in his career for 977 yards and seven touchdowns. He was a sixth-round pick of the New York Giants in 2016 and is currentlly playing with the Houston Texans. He led Scott's Branch High School to a pair of 1A Division II state titles as well at quarterback. 118) Lee Glaze - Lee Glaze has been a part of the radio broadcasting crew for both Sumter High School football and Sumter P-15's baseball for the past several years. Also, he has helped the Sumter Touchdown Club develop into an organization that provides several scholarships each year. 117) Derrick Witherspoon - Derrick Witherspoon was a star running back at Sumter High School and went on to become a starter at Clemson as well, rushing for 971 yards in his career. He played three years in the National Football League with Philadelphia, returning 80 kickoffs for 1,901 yards and three touchdowns. 116) Connie Ballard - Connie Ballard was one of the top women golfers in the state of South Carolina in the 1980s. She won consectuive South Carolina Women's Open Golf Championships in 1986 and 1987. She also won several titles as a senior golfer. 115) Skeet James - W.B. "Skeet" James was a member of the first Sumter American Legion Post 15 baseball team formed in 1929. He was captain of both the baseball and basketball teams at USC, was the chairman of the Sumter Kids in Baseball program and the P-15's program. 114) Kevin Lingefelt - Kevin Lingefelt was a prolific scorer for the Sumter High School boys soccer team in helping lead it to state titles in both 1976 and 1977. Lingefelt scored 87 goals in his three season on the varsity. 113) David McInnis - David McInnis attended the University of North Carolina and was a member of its swimming and diving team. McInnis was good enough to be named the Most Valuable Diver in the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 1956-57 season and has an annual award at the school named after him. 112) Gary Nelson - Gary Nelson came to Sumter High School in 1984 as its first athletic trainer. Thirty-five years later, he's still the school's first athletic trainer. Because of his service, Nelson was recently inducted in the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association and is a member of the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame. 111) Helen Carroll - Though she spent the final 57 years of her 99-year life in the Gamecock City, Helen Carroll's athletic claim to fame happened when she was 17 years and old and had probably never heard of Sumter, South Carolina. However, when it involves winning a gold medal in the Olympics, it makes her more than worthy to be on the list. Carroll traveled from her home in Massachusetts to Los Angeles for the 1982 Summer Olympics. She swam a leg on the gold-medal winning 400-meter freestyle relay team. The team won in what was then a world record time of 4 minutes, 38 seconds, breakingthe record set in 1928 by 9.6 seconds. The team did not practice together one time. Carroll said she was recruited because she was one of the best swimmers and felt the team consisted of the four fastest individuals in the United States. "I thought we were the best," Caroll said in a 2012 interview with The Sumter Item. "We never practiced as a team, but as individuals, and when it was time to compete we just all did our best." Signing off: Ireland and Glaze retire from radio broadcasts with P-15's, Sumter football Lee Glaze, left, and Kevin Ireland shared the airwaves in Sumter for 25 years, first teaming up for Sumter High football in 2007. When the Gamecocks saw the 2021 season come to and end, Ireland and Glaze hung up their headphones for the last time in local radio. CAL CARY / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Saturday, August 6, 2022 6:00 am By EDDIE LITAKER Sports Contributor Sumter Post 15 American Legion baseball fans have heard their last scoreboard Yahtzee call, and Kevin Ireland's No. 1 fan gets her special greetings on a more personal level now. Ireland, a 37-year fixture on local sports radio, left the booth for the last time as Sumter High School's football season came to an end on Nov. 19 with a 49-21 home loss to Dutch Fork in the third round of the 5A state playoffs. Thirty-one of those 37 years saw Ireland in the booth for P-15's games. Lee Glaze, who has partnered with Ireland on football coverage since 2007 and baseball since 2008, has also stepped down from his local sports calling duties. Glaze, a member of The Citadel Athletic and Charleston Baseball halls of fame - which earned him the "Hall of Famer" tag from Ireland - will continue his duties as part of The Citadel's football radio broadcast team. Glaze said he and Ireland have had conversations after each season in recent years, with Glaze deciding to ride off into the sunset when Ireland made his final call. "You've been 'not coming back' for five years," Glaze said of Ireland. "I think we both knew that it was getting close to the time and I'm the one that actually said if we're going to do it, let's just both do it at the same time. It wouldn't be the same being up there without him and I just thought it would give somebody else an opportunity to come in and make a new mark." After confirming that he would not be covering P-15's baseball this summer, Glaze began making summer travel plans with his wife Fran. With Fran celebrating a milestone birthday, the couple took a 10-day cruise through Italy, Spain and France. "This summer is the first summer that we've been able to take a vacation not centered around when the P-15's would be playing, so it's been a nice summer," Fran said with a laugh. Aside from the birthday cruise, the Glazes are also preparing for an expanding family, with their first two grandchildren on the way. Fran stepped away from her teaching duties at Miss Libby's School of Dance in anticipation of spending time with the grands. A FAMILY AFFAIR The scoreboard Yahtzee and saying "hey" to his number-one fan, sister-in-law Sheri Green, became trademarks of an Ireland broadcast. "Scoreboard Yahtzee was my little quark," Ireland said. "It could be a small Yahtzee, like number 1 at bat, 1 ball, 1 strike, 1 out or a big Yahtzee with number 11 at bat. You can do the same thing with twos. Of course, our number one fan was my sister-in-law, Sheri Green, who was listening to the broadcast at home. If we hadn't said hey to her she would wait until we took a break and call to remind me she was listening so I could say 'hi.'" While Sheri was Ireland's most dedicated listener and fan, it was Ireland's wife and Sheri's sister April who was by Ireland's side many nights in the booth. April worked with local restaurants to provide food for the press box at both Sumter Memorial Stadium and Riley Park, also providing for a hospitality room whenever Riley would host state and Southeastern Regional tournaments or other special baseball events. "I'm like Kevin, I jumped in there when we got together and I wanted to do something to help," April said. "I mean, I couldn't help them (with the broadcasts) but I could help with the food." Fran's time in the booth with April and the guys was limited, but she still played a key role on game nights. "For me it was mainly having them on the radio listening when I was at home," Fran said. "Sometimes they would cut away, and they really wouldn't cut away. They'd be talking and I was afraid they would say, 'Well, that was a dumb play!' and I would start texting and say, "You're still on the air! You're still on the air!" They never said anything bad, so that was good. I've always been proud of them for what they did." Kevin and April married in 2008, on a football weekend that, as Glaze shared, saw Ireland in the booth calling a game on Friday night before his wedding that Saturday. "It should be noted that they got married on a Saturday, down in Charleston," Glaze said, "and on that Friday night he was in Conway doing a ball game with me, which I thought he was nuts for being there with me." "I left her with all of her family and all of my family," Ireland said. "That's dedication," April said of Kevin's choice to not leave the booth on his wedding weekend. THE ODDITIES OF LOCAL RADIO Ireland could be called an ironman for his dedication to the booth. Among his rare misses, Ireland took some time off with the passings of his parents and was out of the booth for four P-15's games in 2020 after having a total hip replacement. Ireland said his father's passing was particularly jarring because they would always talk on the phone after Ireland's broadcasts were done. Some of the most interesting stories from Ireland and Glaze involved life on the road. Ireland recalled calling a Wilson Hall game from a deer stand in the early days before he moved over to Sumter High games. Set-ups at venues with no press box or a smaller press box space could sometimes be monumental challenges. The duo have called games from tables in the stands, sitting on top of dugouts and would fight the elements at times to deliver coverage to their loyal listeners. "When we started this, there were no cellular telephones," Ireland said. "We literally had to carry a Marti (transmitter) unit, which is what you use at home remotes, to get back to the antenna up at the station. We would have to do it to a scanner in front of a telephone somewhere around by the ball field. Football wise you could get it done, but with baseball it is hard because the coaches are gone (and their offices are not available for setup)." Ireland recalled a night when he was working with the late John Quackenbush broadcasting a game in Bishopville where, in the days before the advent of cell phones, he had to "stand guard" with the Marti at a popular telephone booth near the field to send out the broadcast and had to inform people wishing to make calls that the booth would be in use for "probably about another hour-and-a-half or two hours." "Even with the technology that we've got now, the Skype would go out fairly regularly and we'd be sharing a phone, doing the game on the phone, calling back to the radio station," Glaze said. "You have to improvise." One of those improvisations involved Glaze jumping in to take over play-by-play duties unexpectedly when Ireland's voice failed him in the middle of a game. IRELAND'S ORIGIN AND THE P-15'S RETURN TO THE AIRWAVES For Ireland, it all began in 1984, serving as a color analyst to the late Bob Powell on Wilson Hall football games, which were being broadcast on WSSC 1340 AM. Ireland said Powell called games when Ireland was playing football at Sumter High and that connection resulted in Powell reaching out to the then 29-year-old Ireland for what could be termed a life-changing opportunity. "I thought, let me try it and see how it goes," Ireland said, recalling that his first Wilson Hall game saw senior Clay Lowder return the opening kickoff for a touchdown against St. Stephens. In the years since, Ireland has been on the mic for over 1,100 baseball games and over 1,000 football and basketball games. His hardwood calls came for both Wilson Hall and Sumter High games. Among those were nine P-15 baseball state championships and two Southeastern Regional titles that ended with World Series trips to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2006 and Shelby, North Carolina in 2008, all under the leadership of former head coach Wallie Jones. "When I put them back on the air in 1991, they were playing the state championship against Lancaster," Ireland said. "Of course, we were hosting the regionals that year, and that's kind of the reason I jumped on the bandwagon (for postseason coverage), thinking that this would be their one good chance with Wally Maynard and Vic Boykin and all of those guys on the '91 team. They had a good run in that, didn't win that regional, and I remember telling my wife at the time that I was thinking the next year of doing the entire season of kind of the new team since everybody had pretty much graduated off that state championship team." Already coaching football at Wilson Hall, as well as doing Wilson Hall basketball and football for radio, Ireland expected a quick 16-game season with the P-15's depleted roster. "Well, 38 games later, we're in Deland, Florida, for the first of those away Southeastern Regionals, and the night that the Jamboree is starting, football wise," Ireland said. "That started the whole entire seasons of covering P-15's baseball and, yes, it was the golden years. The disappointment was we'd never made it to a Southeastern Regional. Of course the biggest thing is nobody had ever won a Southeastern Regional over the history of P-15 baseball from 1940 on, even the '64 team that John Quackenbush covered." Quackenbush had moved to Florida in 1991, so it was Mike Hatfield working with Ireland in those early years of the radio comeback. "They had been off the air for a number of years, in the mid '70's and into the '80's, before we put them back on in '91," Ireland said. "That started the golden years, and if we weren't making it to a Southeastern Regional, something was wrong. It was very beneficial to the community. They supported it on the radio, we went to almost every away game that we could and we never missed a game. Even when we had technical difficulties, we would somehow, someway get them on the air." Quackenbush had returned to the booth with Ireland and finished his P-15's broadcasting run with the World Series appearance in Cedar Rapids. In 2008, the regional and World Series were both held in Shelby, with Ireland and Glaze spending 13 of 14 days there as the P-15's fell just short of winning it all. "That team was loaded and won its first two, was up (with a big lead) in a game against Las Vegas and then lost that one in a tight ball game," Ireland said. "They came back and won another and then lost a chance to get into the final playoff for the World Series (title). That was just kind of a shocker, but that team with Matt Price, Matt Talley and Tyler Christmon on the mound was just kind of something else. It was the team to beat." Ireland moved to Sumter from New Mexico as a member of a military family, attending Sumter High for his senior year and starring on the football field. From there, Ireland moved on to the University of Tennessee-Martin, where he played football for one season on an athletic scholarship. He also coached at Wilson Hall before his work in radio for the school. In recent years, Ireland had fun teasing the radio audience about whether or not he would return to the booth the next season. "The joke was, sort of a joke, we'd say after the end of the ball game when I signed off at the end of the season there's a possibility we'll be back, or something like that," Ireland said. "(Former P-15's head coach) Wallie and Marcia (Jones) were always listening for what I would say, or how much of a percentage. I would go with the radio station and say probably a 93.3 percent (for baseball's Old School 93.3) that we're not coming back or a 95.5 percent for football (representing Z-95 WIBZ)." THE HALL OF FAMER Before joining Ireland, Glaze, a James Island native and football and baseball star at The Citadel, worked on Citadel baseball broadcasts. Glaze, who came to Sumter in 2004, has pulled double duty during football season. On weekends that The Citadel traveled, he would have to give up Sumter broadcasts, with Ireland calling on a group of capable replacements to substitute. "It's not easy," said Glaze, who has covered road games at Army and Wisconsin in recent years, along with trips to Lexington, Va., every other year for the big rivalry game with Virginia Military Institute. "I did it for a six-year stint and then I gave it up because of the travel. It was just ridiculous. They came back to me two years later and kind of re-negotiated, so I'm doing it again now, but the first commitment is to there, obviously, because it's my alma mater." Glaze said his partnership with Ireland has blossomed into a wonderful friendship that will continue well beyond the radio booth. "Kevin is one of the most generous and loyal people I have ever met," Glaze said. "We started as good acquaintances many years ago and quickly became great friends. We have spent countless hours riding the backroads of South Carolina and the southeast covering the P-15's and Sumter High School and I can't ever remember a cross word between us. There is a lot to be said about that considering both of our strong personalities. The amount of time, effort, love and energy that he has given to everything that he's done and everyone he's touched in Sumter is really impressive and always will be to me."  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  HIST	of Sumter, South Carolina Sumter Item to reveal Top 125 Sports Figures with anniversary celebration Posted Saturday, October 12, 2019 6:00 am BY DENNIS BRUNSON In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item is going to select the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order starting on Wednesday with Nos. 125-111. The remaining lists will be contain 10 figures beginning on Friday. Those lists will appear every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. Coinciding with the list reveal, we'll be asking readers to reveal their Top 10 sports figures in Item history, and we'll be hosing Autograph Giveaway contests featuring our famous local sports figures. The Sumter Item's Top 125 Sports Figures 111-125 Posted Friday, October 18, 2019 11:01 am In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item has selected the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order, appearing every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. 125) Doll Eadon - Doll Eadon was a standout basketball player at Christian Academy in Manning and went on to start on two junior college championship teams at Anderson Junior College. She became the first woman ever to receive an athletic scholarship at Clemson University, playing her final two years there. She won a state title as the girls head coach at Laurence Manning Academy. 124) Greg Walker - Greg Walker was a standout offensive lineman for Sumter High School. Walker was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer at offensive tackle during his senior season at Clemson in 2003. He went on to play on season with the New York Giants in the NFL. 123) Anthony Rose - Anthony Rose was a standout football player at Mayewood High School, but his claim to fame came at Clemson. Rose was a starting cornerback for the Tigers during their 1981 national championship season. He had four interceptions during his Clemson career. 122) Brent Elmore - Brent Elmore won consecutive S.C. Golden Gloves Championships in 1978 and 1979 as a member of the Sumter Optimist Club boxing team. He fought in three national tournaments and was the first Sumterite to win a bout in an international competition as well. 121) Robert Rohner - Robert Rohner was a standout athlete in several sports at Wilson Hall, but he took it to a different level in college. During his sophomore season at Duke University in 2014, Rohner won the decathlon title in the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 120) Austin Francis - Austin Francis was one of the first promoters of both the swimming and the basketball programs with the Sumter Family YMCA, serving from 1930 to 1943. The YMCA's swimming facility is named the Austin Francis Aquatics Center. 119) Jerell Adams - Jerell Adams played tight end for the University of South Carolina from 2012-2015. He had 47 catches in his career for 977 yards and seven touchdowns. He was a sixth-round pick of the New York Giants in 2016 and is currentlly playing with the Houston Texans. He led Scott's Branch High School to a pair of 1A Division II state titles as well at quarterback. 118) Lee Glaze - Lee Glaze has been a part of the radio broadcasting crew for both Sumter High School football and Sumter P-15's baseball for the past several years. Also, he has helped the Sumter Touchdown Club develop into an organization that provides several scholarships each year. 117) Derrick Witherspoon - Derrick Witherspoon was a star running back at Sumter High School and went on to become a starter at Clemson as well, rushing for 971 yards in his career. He played three years in the National Football League with Philadelphia, returning 80 kickoffs for 1,901 yards and three touchdowns. 116) Connie Ballard - Connie Ballard was one of the top women golfers in the state of South Carolina in the 1980s. She won consectuive South Carolina Women's Open Golf Championships in 1986 and 1987. She also won several titles as a senior golfer. 115) Skeet James - W.B. "Skeet" James was a member of the first Sumter American Legion Post 15 baseball team formed in 1929. He was captain of both the baseball and basketball teams at USC, was the chairman of the Sumter Kids in Baseball program and the P-15's program. 114) Kevin Lingefelt - Kevin Lingefelt was a prolific scorer for the Sumter High School boys soccer team in helping lead it to state titles in both 1976 and 1977. Lingefelt scored 87 goals in his three season on the varsity. 113) David McInnis - David McInnis attended the University of North Carolina and was a member of its swimming and diving team. McInnis was good enough to be named the Most Valuable Diver in the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 1956-57 season and has an annual award at the school named after him. 112) Gary Nelson - Gary Nelson came to Sumter High School in 1984 as its first athletic trainer. Thirty-five years later, he's still the school's first athletic trainer. Because of his service, Nelson was recently inducted in the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association and is a member of the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame. 111) Helen Carroll - Though she spent the final 57 years of her 99-year life in the Gamecock City, Helen Carroll's athletic claim to fame happened when she was 17 years and old and had probably never heard of Sumter, South Carolina. However, when it involves winning a gold medal in the Olympics, it makes her more than worthy to be on the list. Carroll traveled from her home in Massachusetts to Los Angeles for the 1982 Summer Olympics. She swam a leg on the gold-medal winning 400-meter freestyle relay team. The team won in what was then a world record time of 4 minutes, 38 seconds, breakingthe record set in 1928 by 9.6 seconds. The team did not practice together one time. Carroll said she was recruited because she was one of the best swimmers and felt the team consisted of the four fastest individuals in the United States. "I thought we were the best," Caroll said in a 2012 interview with The Sumter Item. "We never practiced as a team, but as individuals, and when it was time to compete we just all did our best." Signing off: Ireland and Glaze retire from radio broadcasts with P-15's, Sumter football Lee Glaze, left, and Kevin Ireland shared the airwaves in Sumter for 25 years, first teaming up for Sumter High football in 2007. When the Gamecocks saw the 2021 season come to and end, Ireland and Glaze hung up their headphones for the last time in local radio. CAL CARY / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Saturday, August 6, 2022 6:00 am By EDDIE LITAKER Sports Contributor Sumter Post 15 American Legion baseball fans have heard their last scoreboard Yahtzee call, and Kevin Ireland's No. 1 fan gets her special greetings on a more personal level now. Ireland, a 37-year fixture on local sports radio, left the booth for the last time as Sumter High School's football season came to an end on Nov. 19 with a 49-21 home loss to Dutch Fork in the third round of the 5A state playoffs. Thirty-one of those 37 years saw Ireland in the booth for P-15's games. Lee Glaze, who has partnered with Ireland on football coverage since 2007 and baseball since 2008, has also stepped down from his local sports calling duties. Glaze, a member of The Citadel Athletic and Charleston Baseball halls of fame - which earned him the "Hall of Famer" tag from Ireland - will continue his duties as part of The Citadel's football radio broadcast team. Glaze said he and Ireland have had conversations after each season in recent years, with Glaze deciding to ride off into the sunset when Ireland made his final call. "You've been 'not coming back' for five years," Glaze said of Ireland. "I think we both knew that it was getting close to the time and I'm the one that actually said if we're going to do it, let's just both do it at the same time. It wouldn't be the same being up there without him and I just thought it would give somebody else an opportunity to come in and make a new mark." After confirming that he would not be covering P-15's baseball this summer, Glaze began making summer travel plans with his wife Fran. With Fran celebrating a milestone birthday, the couple took a 10-day cruise through Italy, Spain and France. "This summer is the first summer that we've been able to take a vacation not centered around when the P-15's would be playing, so it's been a nice summer," Fran said with a laugh. Aside from the birthday cruise, the Glazes are also preparing for an expanding family, with their first two grandchildren on the way. Fran stepped away from her teaching duties at Miss Libby's School of Dance in anticipation of spending time with the grands. A FAMILY AFFAIR The scoreboard Yahtzee and saying "hey" to his number-one fan, sister-in-law Sheri Green, became trademarks of an Ireland broadcast. "Scoreboard Yahtzee was my little quark," Ireland said. "It could be a small Yahtzee, like number 1 at bat, 1 ball, 1 strike, 1 out or a big Yahtzee with number 11 at bat. You can do the same thing with twos. Of course, our number one fan was my sister-in-law, Sheri Green, who was listening to the broadcast at home. If we hadn't said hey to her she would wait until we took a break and call to remind me she was listening so I could say 'hi.'" While Sheri was Ireland's most dedicated listener and fan, it was Ireland's wife and Sheri's sister April who was by Ireland's side many nights in the booth. April worked with local restaurants to provide food for the press box at both Sumter Memorial Stadium and Riley Park, also providing for a hospitality room whenever Riley would host state and Southeastern Regional tournaments or other special baseball events. "I'm like Kevin, I jumped in there when we got together and I wanted to do something to help," April said. "I mean, I couldn't help them (with the broadcasts) but I could help with the food." Fran's time in the booth with April and the guys was limited, but she still played a key role on game nights. "For me it was mainly having them on the radio listening when I was at home," Fran said. "Sometimes they would cut away, and they really wouldn't cut away. They'd be talking and I was afraid they would say, 'Well, that was a dumb play!' and I would start texting and say, "You're still on the air! You're still on the air!" They never said anything bad, so that was good. I've always been proud of them for what they did." Kevin and April married in 2008, on a football weekend that, as Glaze shared, saw Ireland in the booth calling a game on Friday night before his wedding that Saturday. "It should be noted that they got married on a Saturday, down in Charleston," Glaze said, "and on that Friday night he was in Conway doing a ball game with me, which I thought he was nuts for being there with me." "I left her with all of her family and all of my family," Ireland said. "That's dedication," April said of Kevin's choice to not leave the booth on his wedding weekend. THE ODDITIES OF LOCAL RADIO Ireland could be called an ironman for his dedication to the booth. Among his rare misses, Ireland took some time off with the passings of his parents and was out of the booth for four P-15's games in 2020 after having a total hip replacement. Ireland said his father's passing was particularly jarring because they would always talk on the phone after Ireland's broadcasts were done. Some of the most interesting stories from Ireland and Glaze involved life on the road. Ireland recalled calling a Wilson Hall game from a deer stand in the early days before he moved over to Sumter High games. Set-ups at venues with no press box or a smaller press box space could sometimes be monumental challenges. The duo have called games from tables in the stands, sitting on top of dugouts and would fight the elements at times to deliver coverage to their loyal listeners. "When we started this, there were no cellular telephones," Ireland said. "We literally had to carry a Marti (transmitter) unit, which is what you use at home remotes, to get back to the antenna up at the station. We would have to do it to a scanner in front of a telephone somewhere around by the ball field. Football wise you could get it done, but with baseball it is hard because the coaches are gone (and their offices are not available for setup)." Ireland recalled a night when he was working with the late John Quackenbush broadcasting a game in Bishopville where, in the days before the advent of cell phones, he had to "stand guard" with the Marti at a popular telephone booth near the field to send out the broadcast and had to inform people wishing to make calls that the booth would be in use for "probably about another hour-and-a-half or two hours." "Even with the technology that we've got now, the Skype would go out fairly regularly and we'd be sharing a phone, doing the game on the phone, calling back to the radio station," Glaze said. "You have to improvise." One of those improvisations involved Glaze jumping in to take over play-by-play duties unexpectedly when Ireland's voice failed him in the middle of a game. IRELAND'S ORIGIN AND THE P-15'S RETURN TO THE AIRWAVES For Ireland, it all began in 1984, serving as a color analyst to the late Bob Powell on Wilson Hall football games, which were being broadcast on WSSC 1340 AM. Ireland said Powell called games when Ireland was playing football at Sumter High and that connection resulted in Powell reaching out to the then 29-year-old Ireland for what could be termed a life-changing opportunity. "I thought, let me try it and see how it goes," Ireland said, recalling that his first Wilson Hall game saw senior Clay Lowder return the opening kickoff for a touchdown against St. Stephens. In the years since, Ireland has been on the mic for over 1,100 baseball games and over 1,000 football and basketball games. His hardwood calls came for both Wilson Hall and Sumter High games. Among those were nine P-15 baseball state championships and two Southeastern Regional titles that ended with World Series trips to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2006 and Shelby, North Carolina in 2008, all under the leadership of former head coach Wallie Jones. "When I put them back on the air in 1991, they were playing the state championship against Lancaster," Ireland said. "Of course, we were hosting the regionals that year, and that's kind of the reason I jumped on the bandwagon (for postseason coverage), thinking that this would be their one good chance with Wally Maynard and Vic Boykin and all of those guys on the '91 team. They had a good run in that, didn't win that regional, and I remember telling my wife at the time that I was thinking the next year of doing the entire season of kind of the new team since everybody had pretty much graduated off that state championship team." Already coaching football at Wilson Hall, as well as doing Wilson Hall basketball and football for radio, Ireland expected a quick 16-game season with the P-15's depleted roster. "Well, 38 games later, we're in Deland, Florida, for the first of those away Southeastern Regionals, and the night that the Jamboree is starting, football wise," Ireland said. "That started the whole entire seasons of covering P-15's baseball and, yes, it was the golden years. The disappointment was we'd never made it to a Southeastern Regional. Of course the biggest thing is nobody had ever won a Southeastern Regional over the history of P-15 baseball from 1940 on, even the '64 team that John Quackenbush covered." Quackenbush had moved to Florida in 1991, so it was Mike Hatfield working with Ireland in those early years of the radio comeback. "They had been off the air for a number of years, in the mid '70's and into the '80's, before we put them back on in '91," Ireland said. "That started the golden years, and if we weren't making it to a Southeastern Regional, something was wrong. It was very beneficial to the community. They supported it on the radio, we went to almost every away game that we could and we never missed a game. Even when we had technical difficulties, we would somehow, someway get them on the air." Quackenbush had returned to the booth with Ireland and finished his P-15's broadcasting run with the World Series appearance in Cedar Rapids. In 2008, the regional and World Series were both held in Shelby, with Ireland and Glaze spending 13 of 14 days there as the P-15's fell just short of winning it all. "That team was loaded and won its first two, was up (with a big lead) in a game against Las Vegas and then lost that one in a tight ball game," Ireland said. "They came back and won another and then lost a chance to get into the final playoff for the World Series (title). That was just kind of a shocker, but that team with Matt Price, Matt Talley and Tyler Christmon on the mound was just kind of something else. It was the team to beat." Ireland moved to Sumter from New Mexico as a member of a military family, attending Sumter High for his senior year and starring on the football field. From there, Ireland moved on to the University of Tennessee-Martin, where he played football for one season on an athletic scholarship. He also coached at Wilson Hall before his work in radio for the school. In recent years, Ireland had fun teasing the radio audience about whether or not he would return to the booth the next season. "The joke was, sort of a joke, we'd say after the end of the ball game when I signed off at the end of the season there's a possibility we'll be back, or something like that," Ireland said. "(Former P-15's head coach) Wallie and Marcia (Jones) were always listening for what I would say, or how much of a percentage. I would go with the radio station and say probably a 93.3 percent (for baseball's Old School 93.3) that we're not coming back or a 95.5 percent for football (representing Z-95 WIBZ)." THE HALL OF FAMER Before joining Ireland, Glaze, a James Island native and football and baseball star at The Citadel, worked on Citadel baseball broadcasts. Glaze, who came to Sumter in 2004, has pulled double duty during football season. On weekends that The Citadel traveled, he would have to give up Sumter broadcasts, with Ireland calling on a group of capable replacements to substitute. "It's not easy," said Glaze, who has covered road games at Army and Wisconsin in recent years, along with trips to Lexington, Va., every other year for the big rivalry game with Virginia Military Institute. "I did it for a six-year stint and then I gave it up because of the travel. It was just ridiculous. They came back to me two years later and kind of re-negotiated, so I'm doing it again now, but the first commitment is to there, obviously, because it's my alma mater." Glaze said his partnership with Ireland has blossomed into a wonderful friendship that will continue well beyond the radio booth. "Kevin is one of the most generous and loyal people I have ever met," Glaze said. "We started as good acquaintances many years ago and quickly became great friends. We have spent countless hours riding the backroads of South Carolina and the southeast covering the P-15's and Sumter High School and I can't ever remember a cross word between us. There is a lot to be said about that considering both of our strong personalities. The amount of time, effort, love and energy that he has given to everything that he's done and everyone he's touched in Sumter is really impressive and always will be to me."
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  _UID	F3C79919549C4EA5B9CE215E7BC7A8E01F70
  Person ID	I325083	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	21 Aug 2022

  
  

  Mother	Brenda GLAZE
  _UID	60349F8A480C4F679E172183FBABA670DCE8
  _UID	60349F8A480C4F679E172183FBABA670DCE8
  Family ID	F217351	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Fran THACKSTON
  _UID	0825BCEB6E2C41729E752C8A762C378447A5
  _UID	0825BCEB6E2C41729E752C8A762C378447A5
  Children	1. Sally GLAZE   2. Scott GLAZE
  Family ID	F217348	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Jan 2021

  
  

• Sources

  [S27151] TOP 125 Sports Figures (#125-#111). [S27152] Sumter Item to reveal Top 125 Sports Figures with anniversary celebration. [S27845] Blaze-Burr. [S28553] Glaze-Burr. [S30152] Ireland and Glaze retire from radio broadcasts with P-15’s, Sumter football.