TYLER, Texas — Andy Malone no doubt lived the life of a local legend.
A graduate of Longview High School, Andy Malone coached high school baseball for 41 years, winning more than 800 of his games.
He passed his love for coaching to his son Scott Malone, a successful coach in his own right.
Andy Malone sadly passed away on March 20. Scott says the outpouring of support has been inspiring, particularly by New Diana High School. New Diana was one of the schools Andy Malone coached. To pay tribute, the school left the lights on at their baseball stadium for 24 hours.
"I don't believe that they turned [the lights] on for me or for my mom. I think they turned them on for everybody that my father touched," Scott Malone said. "It just made [me] realize the magnitude of the lives that he had an effect on and how far reaching his touch was."
Scott Malone says even in a football-crazed state, baseball was king in the Malone household. For father and son, it was a year-round job.
"If it was baseball season, we were probably mowing the field and chalking the lines," Scott remembered. Growing up in the field, whatever sport was in session, if it was football season, that meant I was probably washing towels and washing laundry."
Scott eventually got the opportunity to play on his father. He remembers his father did not go soft on his son.
"In coach's terms, he would bury me," Scott remembered. "He wanted the other players, the other parents at the high school level to know, 'Hey, if my son's going to be on this team, I'm going to get him just like I'm gong to get anybody else.'"
Despite his reputation as a fiery competitor, Andy Malone had a soft side, especially for his family.
"My dad inherited two of his younger brothers, and he coached those guys," Scott said. "When I read that, I yelled at my mom like, 'Hey, this can't be right.'"
Scott Malone, an alum of TCU's baseball, is currently the head coach of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.