After months of secrecy and negotiation with former Major League Baseball players, George Scott III and his business partners, Photo File CEO Don McCann and Stars Wars/Hasbro artist Clark Mitchell have gained the most amount of traction for their digital memorabilia called Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The biggest name to sign is Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. However, Scott, the son of former Boston Red Sox slugger Greenville native George “Boomer” Scott Jr. has made another Mississippi connection with his marketing and outreach. “We will be launching our second round of artwork on September 10,”
Scott said. “And we’ve signed former Big Leaguers like Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Mitchell, Pete Rose, Howard Johnson and Mississippi native, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd.”
Boyd, a native of Meridian and former pitcher for Jackson State University played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues, most notably eight seasons in Boston where he pitched in the 1986 World Series was named the 1985 Boston Red Sox Pitcher of the Year by the Boston Baseball Writers Association. Boyd had known George “Boomer” Scott for more than 30 years. Boyd’s mother is from Winter Haven, Florida where the Red Sox played their spring training games and Boyd’s father would watch Scott play and tell his son about this guy from Mississippi playing for the Sox who would hit towering homeruns. Boyd also came in contact with Scott as he toured Mississippi playing in various leagues and once, he got to Boston, Scott’s legend lingered.
“He also managed me when I played for the Massachusetts Mad Dogs in the independent League,” Boyd said.
“So, I’ve known him personally for more than 30 years and so when his son asked me to be a part of the digital artwork and memorabilia for former Major League ball players, I thought it was a real good way to keep the game alive.”
Scott III is the marketing guru of the NFT three-way partnership, and he said that the artwork that he and his partners are about to launch is far superior to the digital artwork Mike Tyson recently launched.
Having Boyd in the stable will only help boost the popularity of the NFTs because the former Red Sox ace is not only still playing and trying to promote baseball in Mississippi, but he’s also one of the most quotable and eccentric personalities ever to take to a Major League Mound.
“Some people said that I was flashy, flamboyant, and outspoken,” Boyd said. “But that’s the way we played the game. It was for the entertainment of the fans, and I was just being me.”
Scott said that some of the material has been place on Twitter as teasers and will launch in full on a platform called Open Seat.
