COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Todd Helton was born in Tennessee, played baseball for the University of Tennessee, and now permanently lives in Tennessee after spending 17 years with the Colorado Rockies.
For Helton, growing up in Knoxville played a significant role in his journey to becoming a Baseball Hall of Famer. On Sunday, the Central High School graduate was inducted, and his support system from his home state made the trip to Cooperstown.
Eight former Bobcats and two of Helton's Central coaches, including legendary head coach Bud Bales, were in the crowd.
Chris Freeman played with Helton in high school and at UT, so making the trip with his hometown teammates was a full-circle moment.
The players joined in all the Hall of Fame weekend activities, and Freeman remembers getting emotional seeing Helton in Cooperstown for the first time.
"Yesterday, during the parade, he came to our section, and we all got goosebumps," said Freeman.
During the induction ceremony, from Helton's point of view on the stage, he couldn't help but see his former teammates wearing custom-made Central High School jerseys that said "Helton" on the back.
Not only were the jerseys spruced up with the Hall of Fame logo on the sleeve, but the striped pattern held a special meaning.
"These are the jerseys we wore when we actually won the state championship in 1990, so it's kind of special," said Freeman.
He said the team wanted Helton to be surprised when he saw them in the crowd. After the induction ceremony, Helton was asked if he knew the story behind the jerseys and admitted he was unaware.
"I knew they had Central High jerseys on; that's all I could tell," said Helton. "That's the first I'm learning of it, but that's pretty cool."
Helton was grateful for the support his former teammates showed, even though some had travel issues getting to Cooperstown.
"I'm so glad that they came," said Helton. "Their flight got canceled. They dropped it, took out three cars and drove 12 hours to get here. So, that means the world to me."
Freeman said watching Helton become a Hall of Famer feels like Central High School also could share in the glory.
"It's like we're getting in, too," said Freeman. "We've all been a part of his career and watched him the whole time, so it's been great."
