Whatever happened to Jerry Bass?

Jerry Bass is one of the athletes from the Macon area who probably never received the recognition he was due. He was an outstanding pitcher on some of the first baseball teams fielded at Windsor after the school opened in 1970.

While playing for the Knights, he pitched four no-hitters and had a 1.97 ERA. During his senior season in 1973, he compiled a 7-1 record with 123 strikeouts and once pitched both ends of a doubleheader and had one of his no-hitters.

His high school accomplishments were good enough to attract the attention of Georgia Tech baseball head coach Jim Luck through local baseball legend Bob Bonifay, who signed Bass to a scholarship. At Georgia Tech, Bass didn't disappoint. As a freshman, he went 7-l, and in his senior campaign, he was 10-5 with 10 complete games and an era of 2.78. More than 40 years after he played for the Yellow Jackets, he is still in their record book, holding the mark for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game with 19 against Earlham in 1975. He was selected to induction into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1982 his first year of eligibility.

Bass was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977 and was signed by scout Tommy Mixon. Bass spent three seasons in the Dodgers organization and one with Detroit, playing for Birmingham. He also played one season for Veracruz in the Mexican major leagues and one winter for a team in Baranquilla, Columbia.

Bass' professional career ended with an overall record of 20-20 with an era of 4.31. He had his best season in the minors while playing for the Dodgers' Lethbridge, California, rookie league team, and he finished with a 6-1 record and an era of 3.42.

The Bass family has a history with Dodgers organization. Bass' twin nephews, Mark and Michael Mimbs, who both played at Mercer, were drafted by Los Angeles in 1990, and Bass' son, Brian was signed to a free agent contract by the Dodgers in July and is currently a pitcher with the Great Lake Loons, the franchise's Single-A team located in Midland, Michigan. Michael Mimbs played three seasons in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies while Mark Mimbs made it to Triple-A and also played professionally in Japan during a 10-year career.

Bass has lived in Florida since leaving baseball. He spent 25 years in the Fort Lauderdale area and for the past six has been in St. Petersburg. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial management and was in retail with Brandsmart in south Florida for 14 years and was with Rooms To Go for five years. He currently is in merchandising work for vendors at Home Depot in St. Petersburg. Along the way, he was also the pitching coach for his son's baseball teams in the North Broward, Florida, area.

Bass has undergone several surgeries that probably were necessary because of his athletics competition. He had knee replacement surgery five years ago and hip replacement back in March, and doctors have recommended left shoulder surgery, as well. His surgeries go back to his playing days in the Dodgers organization. He had pins placed in his knee by noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Frank Jobe when he was with that team. Jobe is best known for developing and performing the first Tommy John arm surgery.

While living in Florida, Bass still follows Georgia Tech as best he can but says you don't find out much about the school, and there are not many Yellow Jackets fans in the Sunshine State.

If you have someone that you want to know, whatever happened to them, provide us with the name, and we will try to get you an answer.

Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Whatever happened to Jerry Bass? ."