Jim Holland: “I can tell you with no hesitation the investment was worth every minute I deposited into chasing this dream of mine!” (p. 364), My Fortunate Detour: Making a Right Turn into a Baseball Career among the Mountains of West Virginia.
Jim Holland, honored at a Hall of Fame ceremony in Princeton, WV
The photo below was taken during a ceremony honoring Jim for being enshrined in the Appalachian League Hall of Fame for his leadership/management contributions as a club general manager.
My interest in Jim’s story extends well beyond the baseball diamond. Jim’s approach to life and profession and how he engaged community residents in the teams he oversaw grabbed my attention, as did his commitment to people and relationships.
People and relationships are why I chose to entitle this podcast: “The investment was worth every minute.” Those are Jim’s words, written at the end of his new book, My Fortunate Detour.
It’s a great read, available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback options. We talked about the book and more in our 40-minute conversation. Give it a listen and meet Jim Holland.
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About Frank Fear
I’m a Columnist at The Sports Column. My specialty is sports commentary with emphasis on sports reform, and I also serve as TSC’s Managing Editor. In the ME role I coordinate the daily flow of submissions from across the country and around the world, including editing and posting articles. I’m especially interested in enabling the development of young, aspiring writers. I can relate to them. I began covering sports in high school for my local newspaper, but then decided to pursue an academic career. For thirty-five-plus years I worked as a professor and administrator at Michigan State University. Now retired, it’s time to write again about sports. In 2023, I published “Band of Brothers, Then and Now: The Inspiring Story of the 1966-70 West Virginia University Football Mountaineers,” and I also produce a weekly YouTube program available on the Voice of College Football Network, “Mountaineer Locker Room, Then & Now.”