Black History Month: Keeping up the Pace from Olney to Oklahoma
Shortly after the Civil War ended, African-American baseball players played the first public baseball game between all African-American teams. This in turn opened the door to form more than 200 African-American teams throughout the U.S., according to a PBS documentary. In some cases, African-American players were integrated with white players, but Jim Crow laws coupled with racism prevented them from benefiting from maximum exposure and playtime. Eventually, the Negro League was started and began to disband in the late 1940s when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays are three of the most impressive African-American baseball players who paved the way for aspiring ballers who grew up collecting baseball cards and searching for their opportunity for greatness. One little boy who was inspired by these men is our own Mike Pace.
Growing up in the small town of Olney, Pace was naturally drawn to sports, excelling in football, basketball and track. Because baseball was not part of the sports program in Olney schools at the time, Pace played baseball only during the summer months, which enable him to build skills that led him from Little League to professional baseball.
Outside of playing sports from 1969-1973 at Olney High School, Pace was a popular student who participated in Spanish Club and Student Council. He was elected best all-around of OHS as a junior, and as a senior he was selected as Mr. Olney High School alongside Miss Olney High School, Janet Horn.
After graduating from Olney High School as a star athlete, Pace was accepted to Texas Tech University in Lubbock and secured a walk-on spot. He played in only one game while he was a freshman. After losing his spot on the team, Pace leaped for the opportunity to pay for an equally fierce baseball team and landed a spot at Oklahoma University in 1975, not making his first official appearance with the Sooners until 1977 in the game against New Mexico. In 24 games with the Oklahoma Sooners in 1977, Pace had a 349 batting average, .429 on-base percentage, and four home runs to go along with nine runs batted in.
Paces’ journey in baseball climaxed when the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in June 1977. In three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system, Pace had 208 hits and 144 walks in 239 games. As a 23-year-old player for the Phillies Single-A affiliate, Spartansburg, Pace had 111 hits with a .396 onbase percentage in 122 games and 37 stolen bases.
Mike Pace, son of Alfred and Arstine Pace, inherited his stellar work ethic from his parents. Alfred moved to Olney in 1934 and married Arstine Washington in 1944 in Fort Worth. Before owning and operating the Pace Conoco Service Station from 1968–1993, he worked for various businesses in Olney, including Shirey’s Shoe Shop, the Senior Cub Center and W.W. Price Lumber, where he worked for 25 years. Arstine was committed to the Lord and raised her children in a loving environment. During the time schools were segregated in Olney, she played an integral role in driving six children to school in Wichita Falls for two years, without missing a day, before securing a bus hauling 20 children in grades 1-12. For more than 15 years, Arstine worked at Haggar Slacks in Olney. As an avid hometown sports fan, she supported her children in all school activities. Mike’s sister, Brenda Joyce Pratt, still resides in Olney and is employed at Interbank. His first cousin Anna Washington Golden, whom he considers a sister, lives in Olney and is the first lady of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church.
Pace secured a career as an account executive with Sysco Corporation, a multinational food distribution company. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Amanda and daughter Dr. Lauren Pace Chatham, her husband Anthony Chatham, and their 1-yearold son, Brixton Chatham. Although retired, Pace is writing an autobiography that he hopes to publish soon.
Pace recently returned to Olney as one of the speakers for the Eagle Scout monument dedication. Pace was certified as an Eagle Scout (in Troop 584) by the Boy Scouts of America in 1970. He takes pride in his involvement with the Eagle Scouts and credits his go-getter attitude to the troop leaders, Freddy Dunagan and E.C. Red Wainscott.
Pace said, “With hard work and perseverance, you can accomplish whatever you choose. It would be best if you never allowed obstacles or setbacks to hold you down.
Sports is a good metaphor for conquering adverse circumstances and pushing for the win not only on the field but also in life.”