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Pouring rain did not stop a large crowd from coming out to witness a historic day in Rockbridge County sports, as two legends were honored for their impact to the community on Saturday morning.
The baseball field at Rivermont School Rockbridge in Fairfield was officially renamed Mace Field, in honor of the late coach Jerry Mace, and the dugouts were rededicated in honor of the late Todd Bare, who was active in sports at Rockbridge High School in the mid-1980s.
During the ceremony to honor these men, Mace was described by his student and friend Herman Burch as a successful man, not just because of his wins, but because of the way he changed young people’s lives, whether in the classroom or on the ball field.
A longtime Fairfield resident, Mace taught Spanish, government and U.S. history and coached baseball, track, basketball and football at Rockbridge High School. He coached for 25 years and taught in the Rockbridge County schools for 31 years, and he was a member of Spring Valley Baptist Church and the Fairfield Ruritans. Mace, a graduate of Washington and Lee University, died in 2017.
The ceremony was held in the cafeteria at Rivermont, the location of the former Rockbridge High School. After the speeches, however, the rain started to let up, and the crowd followed the families of Mace and Bare to the field and dugouts and took photos outside. Organizing the event was the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization.
The ceremony started with a welcoming by Rockbridge County Public Schools Superintendent Phillip Thompson, a 1998 graduate of RHS. Thompson said he attributes “much of who I am today, whether it’s good bad or indifferent, to the relationships that were formed in this school, the people I met in this school, this community who raised me in so many ways.”
Thompson spoke about Bare, who was his classmate, teammate and friend. Bare played basketball and baseball at RHS before he was killed in a farming accident on Easter break in 1986, when he was a sophomore in high school. Not long after his death, the dugouts at the field were built.
“Todd was full of life, and he was taken from us far too soon,” said Thompson.
From elementary school to high school, Thompson said, “What I remember most about Todd was his love of sports.” Thompson said Bare loved baseball, basketball and auto racing, a Bare family tradition.
Thompson then spoke of Mace. “As wonderful a teacher as he was, he was an even better person,” said Thompson. “I remember his patience. I remember his willingness to work with me after class any time I needed help, to try and get me through.”
Thompson noted that he was not the best student, and Mace helped him accomplish his dream of being able to go to college.
Mace was known for his kind and calm demeanor, Thompson said, and he never remembered him ever getting upset. “While always kind, I think it’s fair to say Coach Mace was always a fierce competitor.”
Thompson said it was Mace’s passion for baseball that drove him to coach, guide and inspire athletes for 25 years on the field that was renamed for him.
After Thompson’s remarks, Scott Mason, a 1988 RHS graduate, spoke on behalf of his close friend, Todd Bare.
Mason recalled witnessing his first real rundown during his first time playing little league baseball at RHS, playing for Bustleburg against Fairfield. Bare had hit a hard grounder to the outfield, and Bare made it to third base just after the ball was picked up by the catcher. “Not to be denied his home run, he ignored the third-base coach, rounded third and headed for home,” recalled Mason. “Realizing that the catcher had him, he turned back. The throw from the catcher to the third baseman turned him again back for home, but the throw had been missed at the plate … In an explosion of dust and catcher’s gear, Todd had scored his home run.”
“From that play on, the word was out: protect the plate, but at your own risk,” said Mason, and laughter followed.
Mason said that Bare played ball the way he lived life. “He played to win, yet he was a natural athlete. If he lacked anything in ability, he made up for it in tenacity, and his loyalty to family, friends and teammates was never in doubt, and he took those relationships very seriously.”
Concluding his speech, Mason treated the audience to a quote from the movie “Field of Dreams”: “This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”
Speaking for Coach Mace was Herman Burch, a 1965 RHS graduate who took Spanish from Mace and eventually became a teacher.
In addition to being Mace’s student, Burch had a painting business with Mace. He said that, of all the stories he had, one of the most memorable ones was when they were painting outbuildings in Brownsburg. Burch and Mace were sitting up on the roof, and the wind blew the ladder down. The lady they were painting for wasn’t going to be back for a while, so Mace said he would lower Burch as far as he could before dropping him.
Burch also recalled how he and Mace liked to sing, and they sang while they were painting for a lady named Dorcus Goodman, who played the piano while they sang.
The two men also knew each other through The Gideons International and through Spring Valley Baptist Church, for which Mace was a trustee and a deacon. They also hunted, fished and went camping together.
Burch said Mace “wasn’t a man with a lot of words, but you knew where he stood on any topic.”
Integrity was one of Mace’s best qualities, Burch said, and he named five attributes of integrity that Mace had: dependability, loyalty, honesty, good judgment and respect.”
“Jerry was a role model to many ballplayers,” added Burch.
Burch then asked all of Mace’s players and students to raise their hands.
Following Burch’s speech, Joey Jones, chairman of the RARO board, explained the Mace Memorial Fund to the audience. Jones, a 1986 RHS graduate, explained that the funds being raised to help impoverished athletes purchase equipment to play sports, and also to assist with field needs. Jones noted that the funds will go toward helping the community, as Mace would have wanted, helping kids that are in need. Community members bought raffle tickets, with the money raised going to the Mace Memorial Fund, to be used in perpetuity.
After Jones’s remarks, the families of Mace and Bare took part in ceremonial signings.
The crowd then headed out for the unveiling of plaques at the baseball field and dugouts. Due to the weather, a planned RARO baseball game and softball game were canceled, but the audience enjoyed a reception and storytime with cake. RARO provided hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks, and Mountain View Barbecue provided barbecue, nachos, fries and drinks.
After the reception, testimony prolocutor Clay Burch, a 1984 RHS graduate, told the crowd, “Through the leadership of both Joey Jones and [RARO executive director] Chad Coffey, the legacy of Coach Jerry Mace will live on for young people who have the same dream and desire that Todd Bare had … to become an athlete.”
Burch also reminded the RARO staff there that “some of life’s most important lessons are taught in the classroom known as a ball field.”
On Saturday night, RARO posted this message on its Facebook page: “Not every day is like today! We were honored to be a part of this dedication ceremony. Coach Mace left a legacy through his commitment to youth. RARO is now linked with this legacy and rededicated its commitment to helping our local youth grow and develop. May each child learn to love the game and play with the competitive spirit that Todd Bare showed on the field.”
“As wonderful a teacher as he was, he was an even better person. I remember his patience. I remember his willingness to work with me after class any time I needed help, to try and get me through.” - Phillip Thompson “He played to win, yet he was a natural athlete. If he lacked anything in ability, he made up for it in tenacity, and his loyalty to family, friends and teammates was never in doubt, and he took those relationships very seriously.” - Scott Mason
