Georgia Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2018
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s eight-person class for 2018 was announced Friday.
The class will be inducted during Hall of Fame weekend, which is scheduled for Feb. 23-24 with longtime sports writer Tony Barnhart serving as Master of Ceremonies.
The incoming class consists of:
Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL and the Atlanta United of Major League Soccer. Blank is also responsible for construction of Atlanta’s new Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of both the Falcons and United.
Champ Bailey, a consensus football All-American at Georgia who went on to have a 16-year career in the NFL. Bailey was a first-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins, and after five seasons with the Redskins, he spent the next eight seasons in Denver before playing his final year in New Orleans. Champ was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection.
Tom Cousins, who brought professional basketball to the state in the form of the Atlanta Hawks, as well as the South’s first professional hockey team, the Atlanta Flames. Cousins is also responsible for the revitalization of the East Lake Golf Club, the legendary Bobby Jones’ home course, which is now home to the PGA’s Tour Championship.
Chris Haack, Georgia’s men’s golf head coach and director of golf at Georgia who has led the Bulldogs to two national championships and eight SEC titles since taking over the program in 1996. The Newnan native has led the Bulldogs to 60 tournament titles.
Terry Moody Hancock, who was the first woman to be awarded a full athletics scholarship to Georgia. The Athens native proved her worth by winning the AIAW Championship as a senior. She also became the first Georgia women’s golfer to play on the LPGA Tour.
Tracy Rocker, who was a two-time All-State football player at Fulton in Atlanta before signing a scholarship to Auburn, where he became a two-time consensus All-American. He was the SEC Player of the Year his senior season and won both the Lombardi and Outland awards, the first player in the SEC to do so. He played three years in professional football and has coached for more than two decades in the college ranks.
Angelo Taylor, who is a three-time dold medal winner at the Olympic Games. He won the 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Austrailia, and eight years later, he won two more golds, capturing the 400-meter hurdles and as a member of the United States 4x400 relay team. He also was a member of the 2004 and 2012 Olympic teams serving as the captain of the 2012 squad.
Kenny Walker, led Crawford County to back-to-back state championships in the early 1980s before going on to Kentucky. With the Wildcats, he became the program’s second all-team’s leader scoring and was named the SEC Player of the Year twice. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.
Tickets and sponsorships for the 2018 induction ceremonies, to be held at the Macon City Auditorium, are available by contacting Johnny Crawford at 752-1585.
This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Georgia Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2018."