October 4, 2005

LIVINGSTON, Ala.--Two Tiger football greats were added to the University of West Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame during last weekend’s Homecoming festivities. Andrew Fields and Jerry Pitts joined forty-six other former athletes in this distinguished group, established in 1981 by the National Alumni Association, and served as honorary team captains for the football game.

Andrew Fields, a native of Birmingham, Ala. and a 1986 graduate, was a standout wide receiver for the Tigers under Head Coaches Frank North (1983-84) and Sam McCorkle (1985). In his best season at West Alabama in 1984, Fields hauled in fifty-five receptions for 856 yards and eleven touchdowns on his way to earning First Team Kodak All-American honors.

In all, Fields caught 116 passes (third in UWA his­tory) for 1,837 yards (second in UWA history) over his career. He was an All-Gulf South Conference selection in 1983 and 1984, and his twenty-four touchdowns set a UWA record at the time and still stands tied for third in the record books.

In addition to being a standout receiver, Fields was also one of the most prolific punt returners in UWA history. His 550 punt return yards during his career remain third all-time, and 311 of those yards came on thirty-one returns in 1983, still the best mark in UWA history.

After his playing days, Mr. Fields spent three seasons as an assistant football coach at Miles College. He has spent the past twenty years working for the Partnership in Neighbor­hood Growth (PING) in the Birmingham area. PING oper­ates thirteen community centers in the area. Fields is engaged to Regina King of Birmingham. He is the father of three children, daughters Shana and Sharday Fields and son Andrew Fields V, and also has two grandchildren.

Jerry Pitts, a native of Sulligent, Ala. and a member of the class of 1976, played on UWA’s football team in 1971 and 1973-1975. He was a member of the 1971 NAIA National Championship team under legendary Head Coach Mickey Andrews.

He accumulated many football accolades, including being named First Team All-Gulf South Conference twice (1974 and 1975) and First Team NAIA All-American in 1975. He was also a two-time Birmingham Post-Herald All-Small College First Team Selection (1974-1975) and earned two selections to the NAIA All-District 27 First Team (1974-1975). In 1974, he earned UWA Defensive player of the Year honors and was a Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Week recipient.

During his senior season in 1975, Pitts helped lead the Tigers to an NCAA Division II Semifinal appearance, in addition to being named AP Honorable Mention All-Ameri­can and Permanent Defensive Team Captain. In 1980, he was named to the UWA Team of the Decade for the 1970s, and in 1989, Pitts was named to the Lamar County Sports Hall of Fame.

Since his playing days in Livingston, Pitts has spent nineteen seasons as a high school football coach and twenty-four years as a high school baseball coach. Some of his stops include Sulligent High School, South Lamar High School, Marion County High School, Cordova High School and Newnan, Georgia. He currently coaches at  Nettleton High School in Nettleton, Miss. His high school record boasts 335 wins as a head baseball coach, and he has taken eighteen teams to the playoffs and earned a State Runner-up finish in 2001 with Sulligent High School. Pitts is the father of two children, son Nathan and daughter Ashley.