Joe B. Fields

Joe B. Fields June 6, 1929 - January 25, 2001 was an American basketball coach.

For north Florida residents who are baby boomers, when the word basketball and LCCC are mentioned, the name, Joe Fields comes to mind. For 22 years, Coach Fields was the heart and soul of the program.

The Beginning

Joe B. Fields went to Lake City, Florida in 1960 as the basketball coach at Columbia High School. After three successful seasons for a 60-17 record and runner-up in the state tournament, he was hired to take over the Lake City Community College Timberwolves basketball program for their second season.

Fields built his program from the ground up, but he was more than a great basketball coach. Fields was a salesman of his program and a community leader, and he knew how to combine those skills to his team's advantage.

"He would find people to donate meals to the players, and he found others to help pay for coats and other things they needed to feel like a real college team when they went on the road," said Tommy Witt, who was Fields' first scholarship player in 1963. "There were a lot of things the school could not afford, but he believed in his program and he was out there building sponsorships in the community."

Fields basketball team was exciting, averaging 99.2 points per game in his first season. One lopsided victory stuck out in Witt’s mind from that season - a 132-38 win over Florida College of Tampa.

The Timberwolves finished third in their division in 1965, and Fields recruited players throughout the south and made the most of the talent he had.

"Joe always knew what his guys could do", Witt said. "Some guys would say 'this is my philosophy and you will play this way". He did not do that, though. He molded his offense and defense around what kind of team he had that year."

Community Support

The program was successful and big crowds turned out to watch Fields' team in action.

"We practiced in the old National Guard Armory, and we played in the high school gym (now Richardson Middle School)," Witt said.

"Sometimes, if there was a high school game the same night, we would not get started until 10 p.m. or later. Even so, that place was filled to standing room only. We took more people on the road than some schools had at their own gym."

With the community solidly behind him, Fields began a run of four consecutive years as conference coach of the year in 1965-66, and his team opened some eyes as Florida's JUCO runner-up in 1968. The success led to the construction of Howard Gym, the largest structure on campus to this day.

All the while, Fields was making an impact off the court as well. He recruited black players in the late 1960s, which preceded public school integration in Columbia County, and he brought the town together behind his team.

"I think Joe had a lot to do with Lake City escaping some of the racial strife back then," said Harvey Campbell, who coached briefly with Fields before broadcasting games on the radio for 14 years. "Joe's respect for people no matter their race and his success on the floor provided a safe haven against some of the issues of the time."

Mario Coppock played for Fields from 1976-78 and said he was fortunate to have been a part of the Timberwolves' basketball program.

"It was a great experience for me, and the program meant a lot to the community," Coppock said. "It was something people really got excited about, and it gave young African-Americans a chance to further their education. I am glad I benefited from that."

National JUCO

Lake City's finest season came in 1970, when the Timberwolves made a memorable run at a national championship.

Trouble

The 1983-84 season was the first time the basketball program faced trouble.

On January 6, 1984, Lake City basketball players Kirk Ward and Roland Johnson were arrested and charged in a Burger King robbery on December 11, 1983. The players were immediately suspended from classes and the team as per school policy, as required by the State Department of Education. That rule was originally intended to prevent drug dealers from making bail and returning to campus to continue their illegal activities. A front page article appeared in the school newspaper, the Timberchatter, shortly after their arrest, indicating the players were innocent. The arrests were made based on a woman's identification of the men from a team photo in the local newspaper, the Lake City Reporter, but the school paper insisted that the players could not have committed the crime. Johnson was in New Orleans, his hometown, at the time, and Ward’s presence on campus was corroborated by seven witnesses on the night of the robbery.

"There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence that said they didn't do this thing," Fields told the Lake City Reporter in 1984. "In my opinion, the sheriff's office didn't do their homework. They didn't have the facts."

It took four months for the investigation to play itself out, but Johnson and Ward were finally cleared of all charges within 10 days of each other in April. They lost an entire semester of basketball and schooling, and they opted not to return to the college.

"I would certainly invite them back, but I can very well see they would not want to come back," Fields said during the investigation. "I can see them wanting to stay as far away from Lake City Community College as possible."

The End

Fields was highly critical of the sheriff’s department and the school administration throughout the incident, and it may have been the first rift that eventually led to Fields' dismissal in 1985 after one more season.

"For 22 years, the basketball team was a rallying point for the community and the gym was overflowing with people," Campbell said. "It was never the same after Joe left."

Honors

Fields went 512-190 in 22 seasons with the Timberwolves, a winning percentage of nearly 73%. LCCC was runner-up at the state JUCO tournament in 1968. He garnered plenty of honors to go with the 1970 state championship and third place finish in the National tournament.

The coach was the state coach of the year in 1970 and conference coach of the year in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1979 and 1982. In 1990, has was added to the "Florida Community College Basketball Hall of Fame". He was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Last years

Fields later returned to coach Columbia High for three years and taught history at the school before retiring. He died in January 2001 at age 71.

References

External links

* [http://www.lakecitycc.edu/ Lake City Community College website]