RAYMOND- Dr. Roland Cranford, a former Hinds basketball and baseball star, was inducted in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) Sports Hall of Fame last week.
Dr. Cranford was born near Columbia, MS on March 10, 1926. He graduated from Hub High School in 1944 as the valedictorian of his class. Along with being a great student and a class officer, Cranford was also a multi-sport athlete. In basketball, he was a three-year starter and the leading scorer for on his team his junior and senior seasons which earned him all-county honors. Cranford was also on the baseball team where he pitched and played shortstop for two years. On the diamond, he compiled a 10-1 pitching record and hit well over .300 as the team's cleanup hitter.
In 1946, he entered the U.S. Navy where he joined the basketball team on his base. His team competed and went undefeated against teams from Army, Marine and other Navy bases. He once scored 56 points in a league game.
In 1946, Cranford was discharged from the Navy and enrolled in Hinds Junior College in September. While at Hinds, he was a two-year starter on both the basketball and baseball teams. Cranford was the leading scorer on the basketball team and was named Honorable Mention All-State. On the baseball team, he was the starting shortstop and batted over .300 both seasons he played. He graduated from Hinds with honors where he served as a class officer and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
Cranford was offered a full basketball scholarship to Delta State University, but instead chose to attend Mississippi Southern College (now the Univer. of Southern Miss.) to concentrate on his academics. In 1951, he graduated with Honors from Southern with a bachelor's degree in business administration and entered the work force.
For two years, Cranford was the bookkeeper for Hinds County Road Department before entering his long career of being an educator and coach. From 1953-1964, Cranford worked at Edwards High School. For his first two years, he taught business education and served as the basketball/baseball coach at Edwards High School. After moving up to the role of principal, Cranford continued teaching business education, junior high math, and coaching. During his coaching tenure, his baseball teams won two district championships and his basketball teams won two sub-district titles despite only having 35-40 students in the entire school. Also during the time (1961), he earned his master's degree in school administration from Mississippi College.
Cranford was also big in the community. During the 1950s and 1960s, he volunteered his time to coach Little League, Pony League and Dixie Youth Baseball. He eventually led his 1966 Dixie Senior team to the world series in Tyler, Texas. During his career as a coach, Cranford has always stated with pride that unless his players pass every subject, every year, they will not play.
After serving at Edwards High School for 14 years, he became part owner and manager of Edwards Butane Company Inc from 1964-66. From 1966-67, he served as Principal of Claiborne Educational Foundation in Lorman, MS.
Cranford finished out his career from 1967-1989 serving with distinction as Central Office Administrator for Hinds County Public Schools. During this time, he also earned a doctorate in school administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Cranford is a long-time member of the Edwards Baptist Church and Edwards Lions Club where he has held many leadership positions.
He is married to Claire Meeks Cranford and they have one son, Wayne, who followed in his father's footsteps and played basketball at Hinds.
