By John Davis
Community Relations Director
Over the past 42 years, if you needed to find Eddie Earl Christman, it was a pretty safe bet you could locate him at one of the ballfields where an Oxford Park Commission youth game was taking place. The same statement could be made for Adam Brown, with the only difference being that Brown has been keeping score at OPC games for 25 years and not 42.
Christman and Brown have been two of the most reliable and dedicated scorekeepers for OPC athletics during their respective tenures. Both love all sports, and both really enjoy giving back to the community.
“I love being around the people. I’ve watched people I’ve gone to school with that have raised kids and played out here,” Christman said as to why he still keeps score at games. “It’s been a lot of fun. I love sports; I have always have loved sports. Basketball, baseball, football, I love it all.”
Christman started scorekeeping baseball for the Oxford Park Commission in May of 1980, less than 6 months after he turned 18. His first field to work on was located at Avent Park. The nights he didn’t keep score, he was playing adult softball for the Ewing Mobile Home team. He kept score at the old Hank Aaron Tri-Plex, including when the tournaments that were hosted there. He was also at the scoring table when the youth played basketball in the Oxford Activity Center. On weekends, Christman was at the softball fields next to the airport where he helped coach softball teams. Christman remembers transitioning to mTrade Park in 2008, and being amazed at how the complex turned out.
“This is an awesome atmosphere. I’ve heard a lot of people compliment on it and how great it looks out here and how it’s run,” he said. “It’s been great to watch the kids grow up and then go on and play high school and college sports and some go on into the pros.”
Another cool tidbit for Christman was scorekeeping games in the new Ulysses “Coach” Howell Center. Christman said he knew Howell and followed the Oxford Chargers when he was the head coach of the baseball team.
“He was great to me and I know his wife and daughter,” Christman said. “I watched her play high school basketball at Oxford and Ole Miss. It’s been awesome to see all the sports I’ve watched.”
Brown’s first scorekeeping experience took place at the Hank Aaron Tri-Plex. There are a lot of memories associated to his tenure, but one particular night really stands out. Not long after first pitch, Brown remembers looking to his right to see former Ole Miss football coach Ed Orgeron sitting in a chair, ready to watch his son play. When Brown looked on the other side of him, current Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco was seated, ready to do the same thing.
“It was really cool to have the head football coach and baseball coach at Ole Miss right next to you at the fields. That’s something you don’t have happen all the time,” Brown said.
Having all the fields together has been a welcomed thing for Brown, who was so dedicated to the OPC, he drove up from Starkville while attending Mississippi State three nights a week.
“It’s so much easier to have everyone in one location,” said Brown, who added he never thought there would be 600 kids playing recreational ball and still have another 30-plus travel/select teams using the fields for practices as well. “If you had told me that when I was playing, I would have said that Oxford has changed so much. It’s been a lot of fun to watch the Kessinger’s and the Bianco’s before they went to high school and then cover them in college. It’s unreal to see the progression that they’ve had.”
Both Brown and Christman hope to keep score at games for many years to come. Both said it’s been “very rewarding” to be able to give back to their home community. They also have enjoyed watching athletes like DK Metcalf play football or Brad Freeman, who is in charge of mTrade Park, play baseball.