Georgia Sports Hall of Fame weekend is here, and it has a large Central Georgia flavor

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          The weather has chosen to cooperate a bit, just in time for the annual Georgia Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
          And there’s a major Central Georgia imprint on this year’s class, with Washington County’s Takeo Spikes and Mount de Sales’ Ben Zambiasi, a pair of hard-hitting, sideline-to-sideline old-school defenders, as well as Northeast grad Brenda Cliette-Thomas.
          They’re joined by Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech/NFL), Mark Teixeira (Tech/MLB), Ernie Johnson Jr. (broadcasting), T. McFerrin (high school football), and Gary Stokan (president of the Peach Bowl).
          The jacket ceremony on Friday night – by invite only – allowed the inductees, family, and friends an informal social and their first acknowledgement of the weekend as they were presented with member jackets.
          The Hall hosts a Fan Fest from 1-2:30 p.m. on Saturday with free admission for fans to meet this year’s class as well as members of the hall. A two-item limit for autographs.
          Around 700 people will then converge for the ceremony at the Macon City Auditorium, beginning with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner to start around 6:30 p.m.
Spikes helped cement Washington County as a state high school football power, the Golden Hawks winning the 1994 state title. He went on to a stellar career at Auburn, and was a first-round pick by Cincinnati in the 1998 draft. He played in the NFL for 15 years – with two Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections - and has embarked on a diverse post-playing career.
          Mount de Sales won three GHSA state titles with Zambiasi in uniform in the early 1970s under head coach Mike Garvin.
          Zambiasi left Mount de Sales for Georgia, and left Georgia as the Bulldogs’ leading career tackler.
          And more than 40 years later, he’s still the Bulldogs’ leading career tackler. He went on to an all-star career in the Canadian Football League, and was inducted in to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004, 10 years before induction to the Georgia-Florida Hal of Fame.
          Cliett helped the Raiders – and legendary coach Alvin Copeland – to state titles in basketball and track, and went on to a stellar career at Florida State, helping the Seminoles to a national track title. Along the way, she earned seven All-America honors in the sprints and was a 1984 Olympics alternate. As a freshman, she helped the FSU women’s basketball team to its first NCAA tournament trip.
          Calvin Johnson is as much known as “Megatron” for his phenomenal athletic ability combined with supreme football skills, so much so one of his catches with Detroit led to a rule change. He twice won awards as college football’s top receiver, owns several Tech receiving records, and was a six-time Pro Bowl pick in his nine NFL seasons.
          He retired in 2016, and joined the College Football Hall of Fame in December.
          Teixeira was a star at Georgia Tech who went on to spend 14 seasons in the majors, two with Atlanta, and belted 409 homers while earning three All-Star invites. He was part of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series team.
          Ernie Johnson joins his father in the Hall. Johnson is TBS’s lead NBA announcer, and his resume covers the NCAA Tournament, major-league baseball, the Olympics, and Wimbledon.
          McFerrin won state titles at Jefferson and Elbert County en route to nearly 350 wins, good enough for the top five all-time in the state. He also led Tucker’s boys tennis team to three state championships.
          Stokan has helped Atlanta become a college football centerpiece, with the Peach Bowl growing into a major bowl and now part of the national championship picture. Atlanta also hosts an early-season showdown, and Stokan has helped the game generate nearly a billion dollars for the city and state.
          He was recognized by the Hall’s Foundation with the “Erk Russell Spirit Award” last year for his contributions.