By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

(EDITORS NOTE: Some of the following was first published in The Mississippi Press newspaper in May of 2014 in a story by veteran journalist Creg Stephenson. Those portions are reproduced with his permission.)

This is the third of a three part series.

By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — Forty years later, and you can hear in his voice that it still bothers Johnny Olsen a bit.

This month marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most strange and bizarre endings to a prep baseball season ever in the state of Mississippi. And Olsen and his Pascagoula Panthers were right there in the thick of it.

There is still, to this day, no state champion listed in Class AA, which in 1984 was the largest classification in the state of Mississippi. And the reason why dates back to what happened on an otherwise non-descript Tuesday afternoon at Ingalls Field in Pascagoula.

“It was just really crazy. An unfortunate series of events that could have all been prevented,” Olsen told SouthMiss6 Sports Wednesday, in an exclusive interview. “In the end, the kids were the ones that got hurt the most. And high school sports is all about kids, that’s the most ridiculous part of it all.”

There was no official state champion for that year in 1984 by order of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

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Timeline of the 1984 AA state baseball championship controversy

Tuesday, May 15 — During the fifth inning of a South State tournament game against Wingfield (which was leading 10-3 at the time), Hattiesburg head coach Jimmy Pierce is ejected after an argument with umpire Robert Phillips. Pierce refuses to leave the field and the game is declared a forfeit. Hattiesburg then beats McComb 5-0 in an elimination game, but because of the forfeit in the earlier game, the Mississippi High School Activities Association places Hattiesburg on probation and declares the Tigers ineligible for the remainder of the South State tournament as well as the upcoming state tournament. Meanwhile, defending state champion Pascagoula had beaten McComb 16-1 earlier in the day to advance to the championship round.

Thursday, May 17 — Several parents of Hattiesburg players, including one who is an attorney, pursue and are awarded an injunction for the Tigers to be restored to the tournament.

Friday/Saturday, May 18-19 — Pascagoula wins the South State championship, beating McComb 8-3 in the semifinals and Hattiesburg 17-1 in the finals. At that time, the top two teams from North and South advanced to the state tournament, meaning both Pascagoula and Hattiesburg will play for the state title the following week against North qualifiers Starkville and Tupelo.

Monday, May 21 — Several parents of Wingfield players pursue and are awarded a temporary restraining order by a Hinds County judge, who rules that the state tournament not continue until a court hearing regarding Hattiesburg’s injunction be resolved.

Tuesday, May 22 — The MHSAA postpones the state tournament, which was to begin that day on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton, until an appeal of the Hattiesburg court ruling can be heard the following week. Pascagoula was already en route to Clinton when informed of the news, with the Panthers’ team bus turning around in Magee and returning to campus. Starkville, Pascagoula’s opponent that day, had already arrived in Clinton when informed of the tournament’s postponement.

Thursday, May 31 — Forrest County Chancery Court Judge Robert Taylor Jr. hears nearly 12 hours of testimony from Pierce, MHSAA officials, umpires Turner Jones and Robert Phillips and parties representing parents of three Hattiesburg players. He promises to make a ruling in the coming days.

Monday, June 4 — Taylor rules in Hattiesburg’s favor, stating that the Hattiesburg players should not be penalized for an argument between their coach and an official. Hattiesburg is re-instated to the state tournament, which is subsequently set to begin June 11 at St. Andrew’s High School in Ridgeland.

Friday, June 8 — Pascagoula, Tupelo and Starkville mutually agree to withdraw from the state tournament. Pierce vows that Hattiesburg will show up to participate in the state tournament, even if no other team does.

Monday, June 11 — Hattiesburg is declared AA state champion by default, because the other state tournament participants refused to play. MHSAA executive secretary Woodrow Marsh promises to seek a reversal in the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Jan. 14, 1987 — The Mississippi Supreme Court reverses the ruling of the Forrest County court, finding that the Hattiesburg players’ parents had no right to pursue legal action against the MHSAA without the cooperation of Hattiesburg High School. Hattiesburg is subsequently stripped of its 1984 state baseball championship, and the AA state championship for that year remains vacant.