It's no surprise that Harold Sharp, B.A.S.S.'s first tournament director, has enjoyed BassFan's look back at Bassmaster Issue No. 1. He writes in with the following about the formation of B.A.S.S. and provides some photos of his scrapbook:
"Ray Scott came to Chattanooga in January 1968 to attend the organizational meeting for the Chattanooga Bass Club. The meeting was planned for the night, but that morning we had a bad ice storm. Ray and I stayed in his motel room and worked out plans for the Chattanooga Bass Club and the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.). This is where the rules of B.A.S.S. that you printed where finalized. We held the meeting that night and Ray announced the organization of B.A.S.S.
"At the time he had one member, Don Butler, who gave him $100 for a lifetime membership when Ray told him about B.A.S.S. on his way to Chattanooga. We announced the organization of the Chattanooga Bass Club with yearly dues of $25, of which $10 was for B.A.S.S. membership and $15 was for Chattanooga Bass membership. You were required to be members of both. We signed up 19 Chattanooga Bass and B.A.S.S. members at that meeting.
"I'm enclosing two photos from the Chattanooga Times that appeared in the next morning's paper. Note the B.A.S.S. patch pinned to my shirt pocket. As the photographer started to take this photo of the elected officers of Chattanooga Bass, Ray opened his briefcase and took out a packet of B.A.S.S. patches and opened them, then pinned this one to my shirt. This was the first B.A.S.S. patch ever issued and Ray now has it framed on his office wall.
"Note that in the other photo a team from Chattanooga Bass is going to fish the first B.A.S.S. tournament at Lake Seminole, Feb. 22, 1968, all wearing B.A.S.S. patches and Chattanooga Bass Club jackets."
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