Pinson Lamar “Phil” McCollough was a star right-handed pitcher for the Stormy Petrel baseball team who went on to have multiple fulfilling careers.
McCollough was born July 22nd, 1917 in Stockbridge, Georgia. In childhood he was referred to as Lamar, then at Oglethorpe his initials P.L turned into Phil.
While in college, McCollough was a member of Alpha Lamda Tau fraternity and the O Club. He was a powerhouse on the mound and in the classroom, earning academic honors at his graduation in 1938. He earned a bachelor’s in physical education and recreation. McCullough considered Oglethorpe “an outstanding baseball school.”
After graduation, McCollough spent three seasons in the mill-leagues in Alabama. In 1939 he was signed to New Bern (North Carolina) of the Class D Coastal Plain League. He was their starting pitcher and logged 195 innings. After just one season, his contract was bought by the Washington Senators and he was moved up the street to the Kinston Eagles (North Carolina). He was a part of their starting rotation and pitched 148 innings over 29 games.
In 1941 he and fellow Oglethorpe alum Harry Dean were called up to the Greenville Spinners (South Carolina) of the Class-B South Atlantic League. That year he posted a 3.10 earned run average in 229 innings.
McCollough made his official MLB debut on Wednesday, April 22, 1942 as the Senators hosted the Boston Red Sox. Although he was not the starting pitcher for Washington, he struck out the very first batter he faced. He finished out the season with the Class-A-1 Southern Association Chattanooga Lookouts, where he was a starter once again.
McCollough retired from baseball after the 1942 season, even though he was on Washington's 1943 reserve roster, and voluntarily joined the navy. He served in the South Pacific, then was stationed in the Philippines for a year as a petty officer in charge of personnel arrivals/departures and recreation. McCollough was discharged a few months after the end of World War II.
In January of 1946, McCollough began work at the Boys Special School in Inman Park, which served delinquent and struggling youths from the Atlanta public school system. He started as a truancy officer, and eventually worked his way up to principal. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Peabody College (Nashville, TN), and was a principal at multiple middle and high schools in Atlanta until the 1980s.
McCollough met his wife Mary Ruth Oliver on a blind date during his senior year at Oglethorpe. The two married on March 12th, 1939 and had one daughter. She goes by Carol, but her real first name is Phyllis, for “Little Phil.” The family of three lived in Little Five points from 1945 until the late 90’s. Mary Ruth passed away in 1998, and Phil moved to Arbor Terrace, a senior living community in Decatur. While living there, he founded and made several donations to the community’s library. He passed away peacefully on January 16th, 2003.
