James M. Scott

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James M. Scott (nicknamed Scotty, but also called Melvin and Jim) (1911 - 2001), an author, inventor, and Senior Olympian, was born in Wisdom, Missouri, on May 28, 1911, to James Baker Scott and Cordelia Susan Suiter. One of five children (a sister of whom died four days after birth), he grew up in Fairfield, Missouri, seven miles south of Warsaw near Route 83. The town is now covered by water, which was done in the early 1970s as part of the Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir.

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[edit] Biography

He taught for five years in a one-room schoolhouse in Wisdom, Missouri. He attended Teacher's College in Liberty, Missouri, for two years to earn his teaching credential. He headed west in 1937, settling in San Diego two years later. One of his first jobs in San Diego was delivering milk door-to-door for Golden Arrow Dairy in a time when the milkman was part of daily life in America. While working for the dairy, he invented the Zip Whip in the late 1940s -- a device for whipping cream[1]. Scott switched from delivering milk to selling insurance and later became a real estate broker, which he continued well into his 80s.

[edit] Sports

Scott played baseball during high school and, later, in a bush league against other counties. Also, while still living in Fairfield, he became a local rodeo celebrity.[2]

He began playing racquetball in the 1950s and was ranked a top player for many years. Upon turning 70, Scott played 70 racquetball games against 70 opponents over a 10-day period for $1 to $5 a point, raising more than $1,500 for the Kidney Foundation. During the 1980s, he won gold, silver and bronze medals in both singles and doubles competitions for players 70 years and older in the Senior Olympics.[3], and in 1995 won a free throw basketball competition in San Diego in the 80-to-85 age bracket.

He wrote a book in 1999 about growing up as a hillbilly in the Missouri Ozarks titled The Missouri Kid. He also wrote a pamphlet about salesmanship, which was published in the 1950s.

[edit] Family

Scott married Eileen Rose Busby in 1940, and they had five children, including scientist J. Michael Scott and true crime author Cathy Scott. After they divorced 26 years later, he married Helen Scott.

[edit] Book

The Missouri Kid by James Melvin Scott

[edit] References

  1. ^ Amazon.com: The Eggbeater Chronicles: Don Thornton: Books
  2. ^ Missouri Kid by James Melvin Scott
  3. ^ http://www.cathyscott.com/Scott,%20Jim%20obit.html] Scott also played basketball

[edit] External links