It was a long time coming, but Doug Chapman finally got his letterman’s jacket.
After nearly 60 years on the sidelines as part of the chain crew at Fort Mill football games and almost 25 years in the dugout keeping the scorebook for baseball games, Chapman, known as “Mr. Yellow Jacket”, was presented a letterman’s jacket by Fort Mill High School on Thursday, March 13 before the Catawba Ridge-Fort Mill baseball game.
At the presentation, Chapman, 82, said he knew something was up, but wasn’t sure what was going to be happening. Chapman said he was flattered and honored.
“They caught me off guard,” he said. “It was a total surprise. I don’t know whether I deserve it or not.”
The school had something planned back during basketball season, but the timing of the presentation didn’t work out.
“I didn’t know what it was, and I had forgotten about it,” he said.
The jacket itself has a baseball and football on one of the gold sleeves. The other sleeve has 1961 and the old-school Yellow Jacket logo on it. The big FM letters cross one part of the jacket on the front of it and is the same style letterman’s jacket the school has used for decades for its finest athletes.
A 1961 graduate of Fort Mill High, Chapman has worked the chain crew at Fort Mill High for the past 59 seasons and been bookkeeper for the baseball team the past 24 seasons. During his time on the sidelines at football games, Chapman has worked close to 550 games.
“I have seen one baseball championship and we have played in two more,” he said. “I plan on trying to make 60 (years) on the chain crew and we will play it by ear then. As long as I am able to get out here, I want to do it.”
Chapman didn’t get a chance to letter when he was in high school because he said that during his senior year, four freshmen made the varsity baseball team, which went on to win the state championship.
“The bunch playing right then was a whole lot better than me,” he said. “The core of that ’61 team I played with from fifth grade up.”
Chapman said he feels like he has put in his time at Fort Mill to make up for anything he missed out on when he was a student.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
