Jeff Webster (checkers player)

James Jefferson Webster III (born 1966), also known as Jeff Webster, is an American competitive checkers player and musician. Webster was the National Youth Checkers Champion in 1981 and the World Youth Checkers Champion in 1982.

Jeff Webster
Webster in 2013
Born1966
EducationStoneville High School
Occupationcheckers player
musician
Spouse(s)Annie Herger Manning (m. 2008)
Children1
Parent(s)James Jefferson Webster II
Mary Elizabeth Comer
RelativesJ.J. Webster (grandfather)
John Ray Webster (uncle)

Early life and family

Jeff Webster was born in 1966[1] to James Jefferson Webster II and Mary Elizabeth Comer.[2] He grew up in Stoneville, North Carolina and graduated from Stoneville High School in 1983.[3][4] He is a grandson of James Jefferson Webster, who served as county commissioner of Rockingham County.[5][2] Through his paternal grandmother, Nannie Hurt Strong, he is descended from Scottish emigrants George Irving and Jane McDonald, who came to the United States in 1834 from Closeburn, Dumfriesshire aboard the Hector, and is a descendant of the Colonial Virginian Robertson family.[6][7] Webster is the nephew of checkers champion John Ray Webster and a distant cousin of mathematician Ione Grogan.[8][7]

Career

Checkers

Webster began playing checkers at his grandfather's general store[2] when he was 14 years old, being taught largely by his uncle. He won the United States youth national checkers championship in Texas in 1980.[1] On December 31, 1981 he competed in the World Youth Checkers Championship in Bristol, England.[9][3] He defeated Andrew Knapp, the English national champion, and became the first person to win the title of World Youth Checkers Champion.[8][9][1]

In 2015 he placed second in the Tennessee State Open Majors Division in Lebanon, Tennessee.[10] In 2019 Webster was ranked 47th in the nation and 103rd in the world.[11]

Music

Webster began playing piano when he was 14 years old. He was formerly a member of the bands Outta Time and Disaster Recovery Band.[12][13] He is currently the keyboardist for The Impacts, a rock and beach music band based in Madison, North Carolina.[12][14]

Webster serves as a member of the 2019-2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel for the Rockingham County Arts Council.[15]

Personal life

Webster married Annie Herger Manning in 2008. In 2009 he underwent a quadruple bypass at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital.[16]

References
  1. Brinson, Linda (January 4, 1982). "Checkers Whiz: Looking for the Champ? See Him in Shiloh, N.C.". The Sentinel.
  2. Johnson, Maria C. (December 17, 1994). "PROGRESS FORCES STORE OFF BEATEN PATH". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. "Jeff Webster is an old hand at being crowned..." United Press International. News World Communications. December 24, 1981. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  4. Slepp, Cori (January 26, 2011). "Checkers tournament draws champs". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  5. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "James Jefferson Webster". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. p. 676. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
  6. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "George Irving - Jane McDonald". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. pp. 314, 315, 316. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
  7. Anderson, Francis I. (1980). Anderson & Irving of Rockingham County, N.C. Cox & Bryan of Onslow County, N.C. and Related Families. Wendell, North Carolina: Avera Press. p. 36.
  8. Reynolds, Jane (January 14, 1996). "CHECKERS CHAMP SEEKS CHALLENGE". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  9. "TIME LINE 1980'S". Online Museum of Checkers History. Online Museum of Checkers History. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  10. "2015 Tennessee State Open". NC Checkers. North Carolina Checker Association. March 8, 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  11. "Player Profile Jeff Webster". USA Checkers. The American Checker Federation. September 20, 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. "2019- 2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel". RC Arts Council. Rockingham County Arts Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  13. "Disaster Recovery Band at Southern Spirits". Bandsintown. Bandsintown. September 22, 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  14. "Piano Lessons". Madison-Mayodan Recreation Commission. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  15. "We are pleased to introduce the 2019- 2010 Advisory Grassroots Panel". RC Arts Council. Rockingham County Arts Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  16. "Jeff Webster hospitalized for quadruple bypass". NC Checkers. North Carolina Checker Association. September 3, 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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