Citizens ask to rename baseball field

By Christopher Oliver | Thursday, December 3, 2020

There are some pros and cons to being raised in a small-town community. Like most small-towns and neighborhoods, one person’s death can have a significant effect on the community. Manning is often defined by characteristics like a slower pace of life, family-oriented events, walkability, proximity to nature, and provides some views that are not evident in larger cities. Living in a small town will cause people to know you even when you don’t know them. But for Rick Coker, he knew most people in the community and was well-known as coach Coker to many. Many people in the Manning community think the Manning High School baseball field should be named after a person who has made a dominant and positive impact on the city; someone like “Coach Coker.”

“Not only was he a great coach, but he was also a great mentor and a genuine human being to everyone in the community,” stated Gibbons & Company’s accountant Nelson Gibbons.

Mr. Gibbons remembers being in Mr. Coker’s English class and remembers how well he treated all his students.

Guy Richard “Ricky” Coker, 61, died Tuesday, November 17, 2020, at his home. He is mostly remembered for how good he treated people and how he helped young boys transform into mature, responsible men. Coach Coker was born December 28, 1958, in Turbeville, SC; he was a son of the late Carlisle Raymond Coker and the late Edith Elizabeth Driggers Coker. Ricky was a graduate of Francis Marion University and earned his master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. He later retired from being a school teacher and coach with Clarendon School District Two.

People in the community have decided to sign the petition regarding the name change for the baseball field to Rick Coker. They feel the name should be changed because of the significant impact coach Coker had on the community. There are a few steps and procedures that need to follow for this to happen. So far, there are plenty of students on Facebook writing on Rick Coker’s wall telling him how much they missed him. “Our time coaching together was wonderful. He had helped a lot of young men get a chance to play baseball. He had enjoyed teaching and coaching. We also helped three young men get drafted to playing professional baseball,” stated Mr. Coker’s coaching partner, Todd Culclasure. If you are interested in signing this petition, you can find the link to it on Nelson Gibbons Facebook page.