The Joe Sewell Memorial Award will award $19,000 in scholarships next month to outstanding high school senior athletes in Elmore County who have consistently represented the highest ideals of Christian leadership.
The award serves to honor the legacy of Joe Sewell, a native of the Titus community who established a very successful baseball career in the Majors from 1920-1933 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. Sewell’s athletic skill was apparent as he holds two of Major League Baseball’s records including the lifetime record for fewest strikeouts in his 14 year career with only 114 in 7,132 at-bats. His outstanding character and leadership are qualities that serve as the foundation of this award.
His cousin John Sewell, for whom the top scholarships are named, loved sports and spent much of his free time coaching and helping young people. Both men left a legacy in Elmore County that youth and adults alike can emulate.
The award began in 2005 and this year a top prize of $3,500 will be awarded to one male and one female from the 24 finalists. Male and female category winners in academics, athletics, leadership and church, community and character will receive $1,500 scholarships.
Bios of the 24 finalists can be found inside today’s paper.
The Joe Sewell Memorial Award is the only program of its kind in the River Region that presents scholarship money in conjunction with the awards to overall and category winners.
This year’s Joe Sewell Memorial Award banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the Wetumpka Civic Center.
The Joe Sewell Memorial Award Board of Directors also names ninth grade certificate winners, who exemplify the same criteria as the seniors to encourage these youth to continue to excel.
The keynote speaker will be 10-year veteran MLB pitcher and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, Scott Sullivan. Sullivan joined Auburn University’s baseball team as a walk-on in 1991, pitching three seasons for the Tigers, finishing with a 13-9 record as a relief pitcher. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1993 MLB draft, and holds the MLB record for leading the league in relief innings pitched for four consecutive years. Sullivan finished his 10-year career with an ERA of 3.98 and 622 strikeouts. In 2024, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Sullivan and his wife Leann are the parents of three children and reside in Auburn.
A limited number of advance banquet tickets are available for sale to the public at Eventbrite.com, an online ticketing website. Tickets will not be available at the door.
For more information regarding the award and scholarship program, visit www.joesewellaward.com.