Wednesday,Aug.29,1984
The Austin Chronicle
&The Scott County Journal
Potts Shots
by
John Potts

When I heard some time back that Junior had cancer, and that the future didn't look real promising,I have to confess that I was somewhat shocked.

I figured that if there was one indestructible human being in Scott County, it had to be Junior West.

Junior may have been a little rough around the edges, but nobody ever had any trouble figuring out just where they stood with him. When you asked him a question, you got Junior's honest opinion, and not some answer that he figured might make you feel good or that might get you off his back.

There have to be a Couple of Thousand Junior West Stories floating around, many of them having to do with bar fights which suddenly quieted down when he came through the door.

One of my favorites was told by the big fella himself.

We were at an accident scene one day, and a much smaller guy was among the crowd watching, and Junior leaned over and whispered, "There's the first man who ever kicked my tail."

I couldn't believe it , of course, and I asked Junior if he was kidding. He swore it was the truth, so I ask him when it happened.

"I think I was ten and he was about 13," he said.

Another story involved the time a suspect decited to run from Junior after running his car into a ditch on the north edge of Scottsburg, figuring that he could easily outdistance him on foot, and knowing that Junior wasn't going to shoot him over a traffic ticket.

"Go on, run,"Junior yelled ,"Remember that I know where you live!"

The kid thought better of the whole idea and did a quick U-turn.

There are also a lot of Junior West Stories which concern softball,at which he was something ofA Legend in these parts.Once in Vincennes, I'm told, a group of fans were telling some Scott County players How Nobody had EVER Hit One Out of Their Ball Park.Junior looked back over his shoulder at the fence, then said, "Don't look that far to me."They said it was true,and it was until Junior's first time at bat.

After the ball had taken a ride like nobody in Knox County had seen before, Junior trotted by those folks and said, "Like I said, don't look that far to me.

"Junior's hitting was more than just power, however. I wouldn't have believed anybody could place a softball with the accuracy he showed me one day.I was down at Beachwood Park taking some pictures, and I had the camera on a tripod with a Big telephoto lens on it, about 300 feet from the plate and just in foul territory over the left field line."You better move that thing,"Junior yelled."The next one's comin' right down your throat!"Naturally I Laughed,and went back to the viewfinder to take a picture of his swing.I did get the picture,but the next thing I saw was the softball getting Larger and Larger in the lens.

Actually, Junior wasn't all that accurate, I suppose.The ball was a good seven or eight inches over my head.

There was another side to Junior, however.A lot of people may not remember the investigative job that Junior did in the situation a couple of years ago when some kids were struck by a car on an Austin street and one of them was killed.Crusty as he could be at times,Junior loved kids,and that bothered him.He was like a snapping turtle,and he wouldn't turn it loose.I don't think he really slept a wink until an arrest was made.

I, FOR ONE,AM GOING TO MISS the BIG GUY.