TOP PHOTO: Brown-Archer Field remains one of the nicest high school baseball fields in the region.

Brown-Archer Field was dedicated in November 1997 named for Jerry Brown and Bill Archer. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S MATTHEW MOORE)

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – “The infield was sand, very hard, and the grass was terrible. The perimeter for the school grounds, with barbed wire on top, served as our home run fence. Oh, and we had mix-n-max uniforms,” said former Cougar Jason Brown. However, Brown was quick to note that from his freshman year at Campbell High to his senior year in 1992, everything about Cougar Baseball and its facility changed.

Connect HERE to see WLAF’s tribute to Bill Archer.

Bill Archer, who passed away on Friday, was instrumental in that turn-a-round. “If Bill couldn’t do it, he could get it done. He always knew who to call,” said Jerry Brown. Yes, that Brown as in Brown-Archer Field. Jerry Brown calls it a community effort, and adds that more improvement has come in the years that have followed.

“Players helped lay sod on Saturdays. Lots of changes came about from a new fence to dugouts and new equipment and more,” said Jason Brown. He goes on to say that a scoreboard and lights followed plus dugouts.

Jerry Brown laughed when recalling how deep left field once went down a hill and players would always come back up the hill holding the ball letting the umpire know they’d made the catch.

“Bill was always so diplomatic. He was a good one. He played a key role in getting the City (La Follette) and the county in on the improvements,” said Jerry Brown.

Here, more than 30 years later, Brown-Archer Field continues being kept in tip top shape. It’s arguably still one of the nicest high school baseball fields in the region. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/28/2023-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S MATTHEW MOORE)

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