By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          One competed in Macon in the 1950s, and won championships.

One part of ceremony is on video here, with another part here.

          Another was part of the era in town when the city was among the South’s capitals of high school basketball, not long after integration. And a few others didn’t look too far removed from their playing days.

          The eight inductees into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame covered a variety of spectrums as they expressed gratitude and took trips down Memory Lane in front of more than 350 friends and family Tuesday night in the Monument Room of the Macon Coliseum.

          It took some time for Walter Johnson to make it onto the stage, the former Northeast head boys basketball coach using a walker after recent knee surgery. So he’s been a little distracted, and thanked Hall board of directors chairman Theron Ussery.

          “He’s called me, I bet you he’s called me every other day to remind me,” Johnson said. “I appreciated that. I wasn’t really doing much, just laying back, trying to get well.

          “I thank (2014 inductee Dr.) Bill Barnes, for being my orthopedist. He did a knee surgery for me in 1996. That knee surgery’s still in place. I had to go back, I know he’s getting old. He’s a cowboy and a friend.”

          Johnson covered plenty of basis and drew plenty of laughs with a subtle, fairly deadpan delivery of humor and thanks, and memories. Like on his surgery.

          “I had to get cleared,” he said. “You can’t go the hospital now and have surgery. You almost have to be in almost excellent health just to have surgery.”

          Laughs drowned out his follow up.

          He had knee replacement in mid-April, and then got a call from Hall member and board member Robert Slocum about his induction.

          “Now, I’m saying, ‘I got to have this surgery,’” he said. “ ‘Now I got to get ready and get down there and present myself.’”

          And he knew some of his new hall classmates.

          “I’ve been knowing Coach (Edgar) Hatcher for a long time,” he said. “I know a lot of these guys. I almost raised Joe McDaniel.”

          Pause for some laughs.

          “Although he and I was in the same class.”

          The night’s loudest laugh followed.

          Johnson coached with and then against Southwest legend Don Richardson, after playing at Willingham and Fort Valley State. And he gave his hometown a shoutout.

          “I’m just so proud of Macon,” he said. “I’ve been here for many, many years. I’ve seen some champions. I’ve seen some good people here in Macon, good people. Black people, white people, mending together.

          “Macon doesn’t try to compare itself to any other cities. Macon is a city of its own. Very, very competitive.”

Bobby Pope Service to Sports winner
          Freddie Stewart was among the area’s top football officials during his four-decade career, having worked 100 playoff games and earning top official honors by the GHSA one year. He has been a major part of the Macon RBI program in expanding baseball in the city, from fund-raising to planning new fields to working in concession stands to assorted administrative tasks, as well as helping spearhead food drives.
          Stewart works with the Air Force in IT, and was honored a few years ago with a “Wingman Saves Coin Award” by the 78th Communications Directorate leadership at Robins Air Force Base.

          McDaniel earned a notable introduction from MC Frank Malloy, who offered that scores of people had chosen McDaniel to speak at their funeral over their regular preacher, because McDaniel is, among many things, a communicator. He spoke last, in part because of “concerns” about his length.

          It was a challenge.      

          “The clock is running,” he said. “I’ve got five minutes. Edgar, I’ll be done before you are.”

          McDaniel has become perhaps the area’s pickleball – combine badminton, ping pong, and badminton – go-to for tips and court-building. But …

          “Pickleball in the Macon Sports Hall of Fame”,” the 75-year-old started. “Really? Pickleball? I’ve heard some of you whispering in the room. What’s going to be next year? Curling? Skateboarding? Eating hot dogs like Joey Chestnut on July 4th?

          “Maybe some of you think the Hall of Fame has stooped to a new low, or they quit tyring. Maybe it has, or maybe Macon is plowing some new ground in sports.”

          And after going through his coaching career in Macon and as well as being grateful for the acknowledgement of pickleball and his success in the sport, the 75-year-old dropped the mic.

          He downplayed his youthful athletic feats and coaching career – which included dealing some of the area’s top athletes of the past 50 years – and took joy in his world of pickleball and its recognition, all in typically eloquent McDaniel fashion.

          “I want to thank my family and friends who are here, and many of my pickleball friends who showed up tonight and paid 30 bucks,” he said. “I can’t believe y’all did that.”

          And he ended in typical wry raised-eyebrow McDaniel fashion, with a look at the watch on the podium.

          “I am so happy to be here,” he said, then grabbing the watch. “Boom. Four thirty.”

          He actually went six minutes, but that wasn’t the point on such a night.

          Here are the inductees, a quote or two (from all except Johnson and McDaniel), and their speech.

KEVIN BROWN
Baseball, football, FPD, Georgia
          The undersized Brown (5-9, 165) was a GISA All-State baseball and football player at FPD in the mid-1980s, earning Macon Touchdown Club top lineman honors while helping the Vikings to a state title. He remains in the top three at FPD in career solo tackles, assists, and punting average. He walked on at Georgia, and played on special teams as a true freshman, making a name for himself. Head coach Vince Dooley stopped a practice to give Brown a scholarship. Teammate and former NFL running back Tim Worley once called Brown “the toughest football player I’ve ever seen.”
          What he said: “I was extremely fortunate to have been able to play for four Macon Sports Hall of Famers. Two head coaches - Mark Farriba and Bobby Brown were head coaches for me – Philip McElroy, defensive coordinator, and Jimmy Turner as head baseball coach. All members of the macon sports hall of fame. I also the honor of being able to coach for a year for another Macon Sports Hall of Famer, and that’s Barney Hester. … (Ray Goff) was my position coach for three years (at UGA). The biggest thing with Coach Goff was No. 1 he loved all his players. For me personally, he treated me just like all the superstars that were in the backfield, players like Tim Worley, Keith Henderson, Rodney Hampton, Lars Tate, that all played in the NFL. He never made me feel like I was nothing less than the equivalent of those guys.”

RAMSEY EARNHART
Tennis
          The Southern California native was the nation’s top ranked high school singles tennis player in high school, and signed with Southern California, earning two first-team All-America honors. He was on an NCAA doubles title team, and competed on the U.S Davis Cup team in 1961-62. Ramsey teamed with Rafael Osuna to capture the NCAA doubles championship as well as competing on the U.S Davis Cup team in those two years. He competed in professional events before starting his teaching career, though he teamed with Walter Johnson to claim the USPTA national doubles title in 1976. He has been a certified professional tennis teacher since 1970, and was pro of the year in 1979. He has been a pro or tennis teacher in Macon at John Drew Smith Tennis Center, Healy Point, Idle Hour, and Stratford, and was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame 1991.
          What he said: “I listen to all this (bio) stuff. How does a guy from California get into the Macon (Sports) Hall of Fame? … The biggest reward I ever got in tennis was my wife. I played in a tournament in Chattanooga. I’m from California, she’s from Chattanooga, so that’s how we got together. That’s the best reward tennis has ever given me.”

WALTER LEWIS JOHNSON
Basketball, Appling, Fort Valley State, Northeast
          Johnson averaged 21 points a game as a senior at Appling High School, earning team MVP honors that year. He went on to average 24 points a game at Fort Valley State, helping the Wildcats to an SIAC title in 1969. He then joined the coaching staff at Southwest under Hall of Famer Don Richardson. After helping the Patriots to state titles in 1973 and 1975, he took over at Northeast, and made eight state tournaments in 24 seasons, with four Final Four trips and a pair of state runner-up finishes. The member of FVSU’s Hall lost to Southwest and Richardson in the 1979 title game.

CHRISTY CANTRELL JOHNSTON
          One of Stratford’s most decorated athletes was a five-year letter-winner in softball and four-time All-State pick, helping the Eagles to the 1997 GISA Class AAA state title. 0), helping lead the Eagles to the 1997 GISA state championship. Johnston, married to former Stratford multi-sport standout Kyle Johnston, was an all-region cross country runner, as well as four-year letter winner in basketball and a valuable member of the 2001 state championship team. Johnston was on four straight GISA state soccer winners (1998-2001), and was named to the All-Middle Georgia Team for three of those seasons. She went on to win four letters at Mercer, earning academic honors as well en route to induction into the Stratford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
          What she said: “To my coaches and teammates especially, at Stratford and at Mercer, y’all are why I’m standing here. I didn’t win six state championships and all these awards because of anything that I did. It’s because I was a part of  great teams I had great coaches. I played for coaches like Grady Smith and Grant Serafy and John Paul Gaddy, who worked us hard and pushed us at practice. But they did it in a way that made us love the game, and love each other.”

JOE McDANIEL
Pickleball
          McDaniel started a lifetime as part of the Bibb County sports world as a standout athlete at Willingham High School, playing college basketball at Georgia Southern before returning to Macon to coach. His teaching and coaching career started locally at new Southwest, and then he became head boys basketball coach at Mount de Sales, assistant in baseball and football. He has coached fellow Hall members Norm Nixon, Walter Daniels, Larry Lawrence, and Ben Zambiasi, among others, before moving into the ministry. Bored while working out, McDaniel was introduced in 2016 to the new sport of pickleball. In short time, he has become an ambassador for the sport, helping the sport grow from about a dozen players to nearly 500 active players in the Macon and Middle Georgia area. Along the way, he has become a talented player, with several gold medals, and won several tournament throughout the Southeast, as well as a bronze medal at the U.S. Open Pickleball Tournament in Naples, Florida.

HENRY MIDDLEBROOKS
Basketball, Lanier
          One of the top basketball players at Lanier in the early 1950s, he helped the Poets become a state tournament staple. Lanier won the GHSA Class AA title in 1951 and was runner-up in 1952. He played at Georgia and was the leading scorer on the freshman team, but returned home when his father passed away. Middlebrooks started his coaching career as an assistant at Willingham before returning to his alma mater as assistant football and head basketball coach. At Lanier, Middlebrooks coached several future MSHOF inductees, including Al Gerhardt, Bruce Gordy, Ken Bonifay, and Rex Putnal, among others. He won 140 games at Lanier, and went on to be FPD’s headmaster for 25 years.
          What he said: “I don’t know if I deserve it or not, but I’m gonna take it.”

MARK MIMBS
Windsor, Mercer, baseball
          The GISA All-State pitcher at Windsor, after playing in Western Little League, had an ERA of .94 and struck out 174 batters from 1984-87, and stayed home to play at Mercer. He threw eight complete games in 1990, and was picked in the 25th round of the draft by the LA Dodgers. He was 7-4 with 94 strikeouts in his first minor-league season, going 12-6 with a 2.22 a year later. He moved to Class AAA in 1995-96, and then competed in the Boston, Houston, and New York Mets organizations before arm trouble ended his pro career in the U.S., two years in Japan following with a 51-48 record and 3.51 ERA.
          What he said: “(thanking his father) and coaching our first team, Western Little League, when we had Lester Miller, the mayor, there. It was a pretty good little team there.. Lester didn’t make any errors. He was clean over there. So, thanks, Dad. Thanks, Lester. … I had to. … I walked in that door (at Vero Beach), in the training room, and there’s a Dominican kid, weighed about 160 pounds. His name was Pedro Martinez. … I went off and played (Class) A ball my first year, and had a Hall of Fame catcher, Mike Piazza.”

AMI LEE POWELL
Windsor, basketball, softball, track, Georgia College
          The basketball, softball and track standout at Windsor from 1987-1991 was a three-time GISA All-State basketball pick, averaging  20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals, leaving Windsor as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,692 points. She earned All-State honors in softball and track as well, and moved on to play basketball at Georgia College. The three-year starter averaged eight points a game, was a 40-percent 3-point shooter, and captain her senior year. Windsor retired her jersey in 1995.
          What she said: “It’s been 31 years since we walked out those doors. I look at those young people that were down here (local scholar-athletes), it goes so fast. Enjoy it. … I can remember standing with my father, who is a coach, up against the wall at Windsor, and saying, ‘I want to stay this age forever.’ … Middle Georgia was a great place to play ball, to be pushed by coaches. I knew a lot of the coaches, a lot of the players, we were friends, we pushed each other to be better athletes.”

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

ACE ACADEMY
Lizzy Turner, Tate Turner

CENTRAL
Dana Walker, Christian Gray

CENTRAL FELLOWSHIP
Gwyn Andrews, Andrew Albritton

COVENANT
Joy Howell, Miles Brown

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
Claire Harrison, Jason Xian

HOWARD
Imani Goodman, Andrew Garnett

MOUNT DE SALES
Peyton Barfield, Gavin Brahney

NORTHEAST
Jacquelyn Patrick, Lamorian Williams

RUTLAND
Damaris Osorto, Cameron Foreman

SOUTHWEST
Kayla Harden, Altaron Palmer

STRATFORD
Shorter McCook, Gunn Bush

TATTNALL SQUARE
Avery Scott, Noah Johnson

WESTSIDE
Simone Russell, Ricki Patel

WINDSOR
Lily Kilgore, Elijah Heald