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Longtime Florence
Mayor Eddie Frost left a legacy that won't soon be forgotten.
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His achievements as
a five-term mayor are noticeable throughout the city and the Shoals
area. From improved infrastructure to business development and
renovation of the city's landscape, his fingerprints will be long
lasting.
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The same can be said for his contributions as a school
administrator and basketball coach. As former Bradshaw High School
principal Joe Brewer put it, "there's no way you can count or measure
the accomplishments Eddie Frost has
made."
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The renewal of
the annual
Alabama-Mississippi All-Star basketball game is another part
of that legacy Frost leaves following his death in March 2000. Frost, 62,
died following a courageous fight with leukemia.
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Long before Frost
was diagnosed with cancer, he helped put together an effort that brought
the all-star game back to life in 1991.
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"We wouldn't have
this game had Eddie Frost not gotten involved," said Larry McCoy, chairman of the Florence committee that
organized the game when it was played in Alabama during the
first 12 years of its revival. "His involvement and desire to do something
for our community and the kids made it
happen."
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Frost's
interest in basketball traces back to his high school and college days.
He played point guard at Florence State, which is now known as the
University of North Alabama, and was best know for his assists and
ball-handling skills. He also lettered four times in baseball at
UNA.
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After a highly
successful coaching stint at Appleby Junior High in Florence, Frost was
asked to start the basketball program at Bradshaw High School when the
school was opened during the mid-1960s.
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He quickly built a
quality program that would become a solid contender in the old and
highly competitive Tennessee Valley Conference. The conference included
all of the powerful Huntsville and Decatur schools.
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Frost, inducted into the Alabama High School
Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, also carried his teams up against the
best competition available at other points during the season,
particularly during holiday tournaments.
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"The only way you
can find out exactly where you are is by playing the best," Frost said
often. "You become somebody by beating somebody."
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The philosophy
obviously paid off. Bradshaw, in 1976, won the state championship in
Alabama's largest classification.
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"Other teams might
have had better players, but no one got more out of his players' ability
than Eddie Frost," Brewer said.
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Frost kept his hand
in athletics even after becoming Florence's mayor in 1983. He helped
bring the NCAA Division II Championship football game to the Shoals in
1986, and then came up with the idea to put together the
Alabama-Mississippi All-Star basketball game.
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Alabama's
involvement in an all-star game, which featured state all-stars from the
South facing state all-stars from the North, ended in 1984.
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Frost mentioned his
idea to revamp the game in 1990 while he and former Alabama High School
Athletic Association Executive Director Bubba Scott were watching the
state basketball tournament in Tuscaloosa. Scott gave his approval and
Frost began seeking help on the project.
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"Eddie came to me
because he and I had coached in the old all-star games," said McCoy, who
was a successful high school football coach in Huntsville and Athens.
"Eddie and I talked about having the game in north Alabama, and Eddie
really wanted to have it in the Shoals.
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"So, we met with the Alabama and Mississippi coaching
associations and sold them on the idea. We made the decision then to
have the games on alternate sites."
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McCoy
said Frost deserves credit for the game's success.
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As a
token of his efforts in starting the game, the most valuable player in
each game will now be known as the Eddie Frost
Award.
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"It's
the right thing to do for everything Eddie Frost did to make this game
happen," McCoy said.
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