George Whitfield book launch held at Parrott Academy

George Whitfield signs a book for sports fan Ed Rhem at his book launch event on May 3rd. Submitted photo.

Bethany Bradsher, author of Covering All the Bases: George Whitfield’s Extraordinary Life in Baseball, autographs a copy of the recently released book. Submitted photo.

A book launch event for Covering All the Bases: George Whitfield’s Extraordinary Life in Baseball was held at Ellis Simon Gymnasium on Parrott Academy’s campus May 3rd.  The just-released book was authored by Bethany Bradsher, a Greenville journalist and writer known for numerous North Carolina sports books including Coaching Third about ECU baseball coach Keith LeClair and The Classic about the Dixie Classic basketball tournament. 

Before the 3 p.m. event, Bradsher was interviewed by Patrick Johnson for his radio sports program.  Friends and former colleagues came by the gym to get Whitfield to autograph book copies, and via Zoom, the legendary baseball coach was congratulated by far away friends, including Dave Odom. 

Growing up in Kinston, Whitfield was a three- sport athlete at Grainger High School who went on to an outstanding baseball coaching career at Goldsboro High School, Hamlet High, and Richmond County Sr. High School.  He was elected to the NC American Legion Hall of Fame for his work with summer Legion teams and was inducted into the NC Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. In his final coaching stint in 2015, he led Parrott Academy’s baseball team to a state championship. 

The book recounts not only his many professional successes but his improbable early story as an “adopted” member of Grainger High Coach Amos Sexton’s family.  In an introduction, Leo Hart said, “George has done many wonderful things for so many in Kinston and beyond.  He is driven by the mission of guiding the people in his life, and he has proven himself an outstanding ambassador for our town and for the state of North Carolina.”