Grant Millay Wins Prestigious Sam Narron Baseball Award

South Johnston High student Grant Millay was awarded the Sam Narron Baseball Award. The award celebrates a Johnston County high school senior baseball player who demonstrated a love for the game through determination, dedication, and sacrifice.

Millay received a $500 scholarship and a recognition plaque. Additionally, his name will be placed on a plaque with past recipients which hangs in the Evander S. Simpson Building in Smithfield.

The award is named in honor of Sam Narron who was raised in the Emit community near Corinth Holders. In 1934, Narron, using most of the money he had, purchased a ticket to Hot Springs Arkansas to attend the first ever baseball school.

The award’s namesake played and coached professional baseball for the Saint Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was part of two World Series Championship teams in a career that spanned from 1936 to 1964.

Narron is a member of the Johnston County Athletic Hall of Fame.

Rooster Narron (right) presents the Sam Narron Baseball Award to South Johnston High senior Grant Millay (left).

Sam Narron (left), grandson of the award’s namesake and pitching coach for the Potomac Nationals, and Rooster Narron (right), son of the award’s namesake and father of Sam Narron, present the recognition plaque to South Johnston High student Grant Millay (center).