Gene Pearce was 65 years old when he launched his first book, a comprehensive history of golf in Tennessee. He was just getting started, as it turned out.
The Village of Hadley resident now has 23 books under his belt, including a chronicle of a small-town basketball powerhouse, two other golf histories and a series of profiles of local notables.
“I never thought much about writing a book or anything like that until I stopped working for a living,” said Pearce, who worked as a young sportswriter for a few years before returning home to run his family’s office supplies and furniture store.
Golf, predictably, provided him with an outlet. Pearce’s family has been involved in golf since the day he met his wife at the state amateur, and he served on the Tennessee Golf Association board for three decades.
“If you’re going to write something, write about something you know about or are interested in,” he advised.
Pearce pitched the concept of compiling the state’s golf history into a single volume to the TGA’s director. Despite the fact that the association was unable to pay him in full, it decided to cover his expenses.
“I believe the costs were much higher than they expected,” Pearce said. “It took me about 15 months, and I travelled a lot during that period. “
The outcome is “The History of Tennessee Golf,” a 512-page coffee-table book that leads the reader on a journey through vignettes spanning more than a century of golf in the state. He also enlisted the help of Arnold Palmer to write the preface. Pearce gathered much of his information by filtering through newspapers in Tennessee’s state library. Many days, he said, he’d arrive at 8:30 a.m. for the archive’s opening and stay until closing time at 6 p.m.
“I’ve always said I couldn’t draft a poem if my life depended on it,” Pearce said. “I couldn’t think of a plot for a work of fiction. That’s just not how I’m wired. However, I’ve always enjoyed doing research. “
In some ways, Pearce was a perfect fit for the role. He married into one of Tennessee’s most prominent golf families, in addition to his job at the TGA. Beverly, his wife, is a 5 time state senior amateur champion, and Judy, her sister, has won the U.S. Girls’ Junior twice and was an All-American at the University of Miami. Gene and Beverly’s sons are both professional golfers.
His next task came as a result of the history book. The Tennessee Golf Records Almanac is a one-stop center for all of the state’s golf records. Someone would sometimes call the TGA offices to inquire whether someone’s tournament round was registered. Their standard response is to dial Mr. Pearce’s number.
“I had no idea, and they said, ‘Well, you wrote the book,'” Pearce recalled. “But it wasn’t really a record book; it was a history book. “
Over the past 15 years, the almanac has been revised and distributed annually. He was working on the original at the time. Pearce also indulged in high school athletics.
The film “Boys in Black” narrates the story of Linden High School, which won three state basketball titles in a row in the 1950s, defeating big-school rivals. The plot is close to that of the film “Hoosiers,” but with a longer run of achievement.
Pearce said during an interview with The Villages Daily Sun, “It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened in that town, and they’re still talking about it. I’ve received telegrams, emails and phone calls from people in 33 different states.”
Pearce remembered receiving his first shipment of “Boys in Black” in preparation for a book signing, and then hoping he could sell a few copies at a Linden basketball game ahead of time. That night, he was bought out.
It’s a good thing Pearce was able to get a second order shipped in time for the book signing.
He said, “It was the darnedest line you’ve ever seen. I recall one player in particular. He came all the way from Oklahoma for the book signing and purchased about ten to twenty books. “
Tiffany Woolsey later helped Tennessee to four Southeastern Conference championships and played in the WNBA, and Pearce later wrote a book about the Shelbyville Central girls’ basketball dynasty.
The book was also important in Pearce’s discovery of The Villages. Bobby Locke, who had moved down since retirement, won Shelbyville’s first two state championships.
Gene and Beverly spent a few days in The Villages while in Florida for a grandson’s baseball tournament and were sold.
Even though he now lives in Florida, Tennessee is still at the core of his novels. “Portraits of Jackson,” his most recent book, features 350 well-known people with ties to Jackson’s hometown.
Carl Perkins, longtime NBC News correspondent John Dancy, former NFL All-Pro Ed “Too Tall” Jones, and game-show host Wink Martindale are among others on the list.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun