One of the driving forces in establishing youth sports in Washington, Coach Bobby Andrews, passed away on Saturday at the age of 81.

Andrews retired from full-time work in 1998 after 43 years of service to the children and youth of Beaufort County, much of which was spent in the City of Washington’s Parks and Recreation Department. During his time with that department, Andrews was well known as a beloved coach and official of baseball, softball, football and basketball.

“I took a lot of pride in my officiating and umpiring,” Andrews said in a 2016 interview with the WDN. “(At banquets), I talk about, ‘If you haven’t heard anything I’ve said here tonight, it’s about your relationship with Jesus. Get in church and you will never go wrong.’ Athletics have been good to me. I have a lot of people that love me and care about me. The reward I’ve got from what I’ve done, one day I will be rewarded even more, I believe.”

According to a commemorative photo hanging in the lobby of the rec center that bears his name on Seventh Street, Andrews began his service to the community in 1955. The Bobby Andrews Recreation Center was dedicated in his honor 50 years later in 2005 following the circulation of a grassroots petition and a unanimous vote of the Washington City Council.

“I feel like I have touched children’s lives through athletics, not knowing how many I’ve touched,” Andrews said in the same 2016 interview. “My cousin brought it up at church one day and said, ‘Bobby, you will never know the lives you’ve touched in athletics.’ I had never thought that much about it, but I have really touched a lot of lives. Most of (my former players) are grown and come to me and say, ‘Mr. Bobby, thank you for what you did for me and what you taught me about sports and life and everything.’”

FOND MEMORIES SPAN GENERATIONS

For Yolanda Parker, who serves as President of the Washington Youth Basketball League, the impact Andrews had on her family is multi-generational. She remembers Andrews not only during her time playing youth sports, but also as a positive figure in her daughter’s life as well.

“Mr. Bobby Andrews is very well known in Washington in all of the sports,” Parker said. “When I came through, he was part of the Parks and Recreation Department, and then when my daughter came through, he was running the basketball league here. I remember her being a recipient of his softball scholarship.”

After Andrews retired in 1998, Parker and Wilson Edwards took up his mantle, bringing the youth basketball league into the new millennium.

“Mr. Bobby had the biggest heart,” Parker said. “He loved the kids, and I think that was kind of what kept him going; being able to be out and be around them.”

Parker remembers Andrews as devout man who was very active in his church. That Christian love showed through even after his retirement in the form of sponsorships for the league.

“My memories are him being here every year on opening ceremonies,” Parker said. “He would do his speech and say a prayer. It was his thing.”

‘LIKE A FATHER’

To Sam Crawford, who worked with Andrews in the Parks and Rec Department for the better part of 30 years, Andrews took on a significant role in his life as both a mentor and a friend. Speaking to the WDN on Saturday, Crawford recalled the many times he saw Andrews reach out and help a child in need.

“Sometimes, if a kid needed something, he would always help them out by buying a pair of shoes or a glove,” Crawford said. “Anything he could want a kid to have, he would always take it out and go do it himself. That made kids happy to know that he was a mentor to them. They looked up to that.”

Crawford shared memories of travelling with Andrews to sports tournaments in far away places. From these travels to just working with Andrews on a daily basis, Crawford says it brought him a lot of joy to spend time with his mentor.

“He’s going to be very missed,” Crawford said. “I’m going to miss him very much. He’s just like a father to me. It hurt me a little bit today when I heard it, but I’ve got to be strong for him, because that’s what he would want me to do.”

For Crawford, who still serves as a coach for youth basketball, the best way to carry on the legacy Andrews left behind is to pay it forward to the next generation.

“I hope that I can keep that role going by coaching all my sports that I coach,” Crawford said. “I’m going to keep it going until I can’t do it anymore. That’s the way he wants, and if I don’t, I can hear him saying ‘no, you don’t need to quit.’”