Billy Charles Bolding

Billy Charles Bolding was born on July 15, 1936, in Grant, Alabama, to Claude and Mamie Warren Bolding. He was the sixth of eight children. His siblings were Paul, Martha Sue, Irving, Bonnie, James, Laura, and David. The Bolding family moved to Guntersville in the 1940s, and Billy Charles began playing little league baseball, a sport that he loved and in which he would later excel at the professional level. He went on to become one of the most outstanding all-around athletes at Marshall County High School, now Guntersville High School. He was a standout three-sport, three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball, playing for Hall of Fame coaches Joe Chorba and Percy Lee. He played alongside Hall of Fame members Don Fuell, Andy Finlay, Bob Roberts, Buddy Wood, J.B. Davis, and Mack Whitaker. At 6-7, Billy Charles was an outstanding punter and end for the Wildcat football team; played center in basketball; and was a pitcher and first baseman on the baseball team. He was selected to the All-County and All-District basketball teams in 1954 and 1955. Following his senior year, the University of Georgia signed Billy Charles to play for the Bulldogs basketball team, where he became the starting center as a freshman. He returned home after his first year at Georgia to help with the family finances and signed a full grant-in-aide to play basketball for Snead. Billy became the starting center for Hall of Fame Coach Emmett Plunkett in 1956.

In 1957, Billy Charles married his high school sweetheart, Judy Forester, and also started playing semi-pro baseball with the Guntersville Redbirds. His pitching attracted the attention of the Milwaukee Braves. He signed a contract in 1958 and reported to the Braves Spring Training camp in Florida. He was assigned to the Waycross, Georgia Braves in the Georgia-Florida League where he pitched in 13 games. During his time there, Billy was given jersey number 44, and wore the same uniform that was worn the previous year by Braves Hall of Fame center fielder and all-time home run champion, Hank Aaron. In 1959, he and GHS teammate Buddy Wood signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Billy played two years in their organization, first with Daytona Beach of the Florida League where Billy had 17 wins, a 2.54 ERA, and pitched a league-high 230 innings. He also made the Cardinal Blue Book by pitching his team to an 8-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader, then coming back to pitch the last two innings of a 6-0 shutout in the second game. In 1960, Billy played with the Billings, Montana Mustangs of the Pioneer League. After recording 30 minor league wins in 3 years, Billy developed knee problems which ended his career and led to three surgeries on one knee and arthritis in the other. After returning to Guntersville, Billy played several years with the Redbirds, including 1962 when the team played in the World Series in Wichita, Kansas. When he was no longer able to play, he continued to be involved in the game he loved. Billy coached several Little League teams, winning 5 championships, and helped Keith Swisher coach his beloved Wildcats to two Marshall County Championships. During this time, he worked at Reeves Rubber and Redstone Arsenal until his retirement in 1991. Billy Charles and Judy have three children: Mitchell, Lisa Israel, and Casey. They also have five grandchildren: Breanna Israel, Amanda Floyd, and Jordan, Cade, and Landon Bolding; and one great-grandchild, Layken Floyd. Sadly, Billy Charles passed away on July 30, 2009. However, the love of baseball that he passed on to others is still evident on the fields in Guntersville every spring and summer.