By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
NATCHITOCHES – Four triples in four consecutive at-bats across a doubleheader. A white circle with his No. 7 on the outfield wall at Brown-Stroud Field. The first All-American in Northwestern State baseball history.
Those numbers are inextricably linked to Danny Bob Turner, but they do not embody the fullness of the 1987 N-Club Hall of Fame inductee who died this past Friday at age 77 following a lengthy illness. Funeral services are set for Thursday at 10 a.m. at Cypress Baptist Church in Benton.
“As they would say back home, he was a keeper,” said longtime friend and fellow Northwestern State graduate Henry Burns, who befriended Turner during their time in Natchitoches. “He was an amazing guy. His leadership and his faith in God permeated the lives of countless people over the years. Some people show it occasionally, but DB, he expressed it and exhibited a deep Christian faith 24/7.”
His two-sport Northwestern State career – Turner was a member of legendary coach Jack Clayton’s undefeated 1966 football team – led him to earn NSU’s top athletic honor two decades following his playing days.
However, Turner’s legacy extends long past the shadows of Brown-Stroud Field and Turpin Stadium where he and Burns often found themselves.
“The director of the Baptist Student Union blessed me by assigning me and DB together as prayer partners,” Burns said. “Almost on a daily basis, if he wasn’t off playing baseball, we’d go to the stadium that overlooked the football field and campus, and we would pray. We prayed for our friends and our families back home that God’s will would be done. DB was a tremendous, dedicated Christian man. I had heard of him when he was a ballplayer at Fair Park (High School in Shreveport) and I was at Shongaloo. DB was a strength to me. He was one in a million.”
Turner’s on-field numbers, which included three All-Gulf States Conference honors as well as his 1967 All-American selection, helped him earn inclusion in NSU’s athletic shrine.
The ease with which he hit .411 and manned third base stood out to his teammates.
“I never saw him sweat,” said Terry Alario Sr., a teammate who pitched for the Demons. “He was never intimidated by anybody on the mound. His knowledge of the game was terrific. As a player, he was the guy you know would come to the plate and get the hit you needed.”
Even while manning the hot corner, Turner exuded a sense of calm and humor.
“I had the darndest time with him,” Alario said. “When you throw the ball around the infield to get the inning started, the third baseman gets it last. He would come up to the mound and hand me the ball and say something like, ‘My grandmother makes a great pie,’ that would just calm me down. I’d tell him, ‘Tie yourself down, because they’ll be hitting line drives at you all day.’”
Turner sprayed line drives all over the place in 1967, earning his spot as an All-American as the Demons won the Gulf States Conference championship and reached the College Division Midwest Regional.
Off the field, Turner championed matters of his faith, starting the first Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle at Northwestern State in 1964. He continued that example after leaving Northwestern State and becoming a physical therapist in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.
“He had the biggest heart,” said Burns’ daughter, Carrie Hough, who was Turner’s goddaughter. “I never saw him mad at people. He shined a light on everyone he met. He was my dad’s best friend, and so many of my childhood memories involve our families being around each other.”
Turner’s belief was on display through not only the formation of NSU’s FCA huddle but also in the way he carried himself on campus and beyond.
“He never preached to us, but he carried it with him,” Alario said. “Jesus Christ was his favorite teammate if I can put it that way. That glow around Danny Bob was different than anybody else. DB was that guy you knew had that faith. That’s probably what led him to all his successes on and off the field.”