By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

STILL grieving the loss of his mother, vintage Eddie Ford was able to enjoy a light-hearted moment in his life as he celebrated his 74th birthday on Wednesday night.

Ford, considered to be one of the – if not indeed the best - versatile athletes the country has ever seen, was hosted to a reception at the home of Quinton ‘QC’ Curry in Blair Estates on Tuesday night.

Among those present were long-time sports historian Stanley Mitchell, veteran baseball/softball player Calvin Farquharson, Dereck Ingraham, Anton Saunders, Franklyn Josey and Hayward Duncombe.

Three days after his mother Florence Elizabeth Ford passed away at Princess Margaret Hospital at the age of 97, Eddie Ford, the oldest child, celebrated his birthday as the leader of the talented family that includes Cory, Keith, Linda, Mario, Andy and Carolyn Ford of New York.

“It was pretty good. We had a pretty good time,” Ford said.

On turning a year older, Ford admitted: “It’s the same old thing, don’t feel any difference.”

But turning back the hands of time, Ford said he has accomplished so much, but hasn’t been able to receive anything for it, so he doesn’t let it bother him anymore.

“You name it, baseball, basketball, softball, cricket and now golf, Ford would have done it and he did it in grand style, earning the right to be called the “greatest Bahamian” of all-time, according to Stanley Mitchell.

“To tell you the truth, people ask me that question all the time,” said Ford about which sport he enjoyed the most.

“But the thing is, I told them I enjoyed all of them because I excelled in all of them.”

There were quite a number of remarkable feats that Ford would have inked in the Bahamian sporting almanac during the span of his athletic career. But here’s just a few to reflect on as he celebrates his birthday.

Many remember how Ford, in a cricket match in London in 1976, made 176 runs not out.

And in softball in 1977 in an international softball competition in Mexico as the Bahamas won the gold against Panama, Ford was named the most valuable player after he won the batting average and finished second in home runs behind Douggie Smith.

In addition, in baseball, he won the Bahamas Baseball Association’s triple crown – pennant, league championship and the national championship - with the Holston Knights in 1980.

Now as he celebrates another milestone, Ford said it’s bitter-sweet because of the loss of his mom, whom along with his late father, Percival Ford, helped to inspire him in being the acclaimed athlete he was and the official he has become in giving back to both softball and baseball as an umpire.

“We have to deal with it. She was 97, so she’s had a long life,” he pointed out. “We can’t really get uptight about it. It was a hell of a time for her to live so long at that age. I’m just happy that she lived a full life.”

And as one of the greatest sporting icons with a legendary career, Ford is still being celebrated for his achievements.

“He is the best all-around athlete the Bahamas has ever seen, proficient in many and tops in all. Nobody has come close to him over the years, except for Roy Armbrister, Flo Saunders and a couple others from back in the day,” Mitchell said.

“He has given so much after that by staying in the sport and umpiring and teaching the game.”

The problem in the Bahamas is there are no proper statistics kept by the various leagues and associations so the magnitude of Ford’s accomplishments would have gone down the drain, except for those facts that everybody would have witnessed for themselves.

“I could say Eddie is the best, but someone else could say that Pegs (Jason Moxey) was the best in his era,” Mitchell said.

“You still need something to go by. Take for instance, we know that Roscoe ‘Clothesline’ Thompson was a great pitcher, but there are some who would say that Kirk ‘Stomper’ Smith was way better, but they don’t have anything to back it up.”

Mitchell, however, said that Ford has had such a longevity in sports that a lot of people have witnessed his exploits, which adds credence to the claim that he, at 74, could still be considered the “greatest” Bahamian all-around athlete.