Planes, Trains & Heroes: A Story of Warner Robins and the Robins Region

CHAPTER THREE
C OMPETITION
Teams from Warner Robins won the
Little League World Series in 2007,
2009 and 2010.
Warner Robins’ birth ties directly to competition. In competing for more Middle Georgia jobs after
the Great Depression, the City of Macon stepped into competition for new defense contracts which led
to the reopening and strengthening of Camp Wheeler (1917-1919 and 1940-1946), the development
of Cochran Field (1941-1945), the establishment of the Naval Ordnance Plant (1941-1965), and the
birth of Robins Air Field in Middle Georgia (established 1941). Then, a competition for housing
erupted, the City of Macon believing that housing should be in South Bibb County, and a new base
commander, Colonel Charles Thomas, believing that housing must be in Houston County adjacent to
the base. Thomas and Warner Robins won that competition, and the first named public school in
Warner Robins was named for Thomas’ son, Charles Thomas III, who was killed in a training accident.
That sense of competition remains. Warner Robins hosts championships for Little League and
brings home World Series trophies of its own, produces state and national champions in high school
athletics, sends players to professional sports, sends winners of the Miss Warner Robins pageant to
Miss Georgia, Miss America, and to Miss Universe pageants, and sends politicians to service at the
state, local, and worldwide levels. It goes further, though. Beyond competition lies a deep sense that
people make a difference in the world. The competitors and heroes, listed in this chapter, use their
strength to build communities and make the lives of others better. Each has a personal platform:
education, Children’s Miracle Network, disaster relief, Special Olympics, and the list goes on and on.
A community college student said, “I’m always looking for an opportunity to serve.” By the time he
finished his two-year degree at Warner Robins’ Georgia Military College campus in 2018, the young
international student earned over 500 hours of community service. This spirit is what keeps Warner
Robins moving forward. Of the military bases and support units listed in this chapter, only one
remains active, and that’s Robins. The spirits of competition, readiness, and service continue to
contribute to the viability of Robins Air Force Base and the continued growth of Warner Robins.
There’s a long-standing claim that Claude Lewis invented the game of tee-ball in Warner Robins
in 1958. Whether tee-ball was first played here or not, the city maintains a Little League tradition
that few other cities match. In 2007, Warner Robins defeated a team from Japan to win the Little
30 ✦ PLANES, TRAINS & HEROES