By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

The full unedited ceremony, including the Parade of Stars can be viewed here and here and here (It wasn’t posted in one stream).
First clip: Music and general to 27:30, ceremony welcome to 28:20, Parade of Stars to 43:50, national anthem to 46:20, authority chairman Earl Wright to 49:40, invocation to 51:00, auction begins at 55:50
Second clip: auction to 6:50, dinner and music to 34:30, remarks and a moment of silence to 36:30, presentation of special awards to 58:50, Jackie Bradford to 1:06.45, Buck Godfrey to 1:13.18
Third clip: Buck Godfrey to 4:00, Andruw Jones to 10:50, Shawn Jones to 16:30, Stan Kasten to 25:00, Al Parker to 33:00, Ron Reed to 40:15, Mark Richt to 52:20

Buck Godfrey scolded himself.

Al Parker kept apologizing.

And Stan Kasten showed the skills that have kept him in charge of teams for several decades.

Those three joined Jackie Bradford, Andruw Jones, Shawn Jones, Ron Reed, and Mark Richt as the latest inductees to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

About 600 people filled the Macon City Auditorium for the 67th induction ceremony, the Parade of Stars, a re-introduction to living Hall of Famers on hand, followed by dinner and the inductions.

The FanFest was scheduled for 90 minutes on Saturday afternoon at the Hall, and again went long. In addition to all of the new inductees except Andruw Jones, hall of famers on hand to sign included Brian Jordan, Buck Belue, Steve Holman, and Bob Horner, among others.

The late Bert Williams of Georgia Military College junior college was inducted as part of the hall’s “legends” category, to honor candidates posthumously. He attended the ceremony in 2021 as the winner of the JB Hawkins Humanitarian Award.

Cathy Williams talked about her husband and his accomplishments, on the field and off, at GMC in Milledgeville.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report

He retired after the 2020 season to battle mantle cell lymphoma, and died on Aug. 2, 2021 at the age of 52.

His wife Cathy spoke for her late husband, with their two sons on hand.

Former West Laurens football standout Demaryius Thomas went in as a “legend” as well. Thomas also made a major mark at Georgia Tech and with the Denver Broncos. Thomas, a booster of all Laurens County high schools, died on Dec. 9, 2021 from complications related to seizures, at the age of 33.

Ex-Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt talked about his former teammate.

Former Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt spoke about Thomas.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Central Georgia Sports Report

Two longtime state college baseball coaches also were added to the Hall this way: Jack Stallings, who went 859-582-6 at Georgia Southern, and Steve Webber, owner of a 500-403-1 record at Georgia as well as the 1990 College World Series title.

Maconite Marshall Butler was presented with the Erk Russell Spirit Award, and longtime Macon golf pro Jim Hickman, who died last July, earned the Emily Parker Myers Leadership Award. Retired sportswriter Murray Poole was given the J.B. Hawkins Humanitarian Award, and Darrel Chaney the Taz Anderson Service Award

Godfrey, the longtime and highly successful head football coach at Southwest DeKalb, wasn’t quite as composed as he was on the sideline for all those years.

Upon reaching the microphone, it took him almost 45 seconds to gather himself, amid a few sniffles and several deep breaths, enough to talk.

“You gotta do better than that, Buck,” he said, scolding himself before putting in his glasses and beginning.

Kasten pointed out the improbability of him standing on the stage in Macon, Georgia on this night, as the son of immigrant Holocaust survivors for whom English wasn’t his first language for a long time, and there was no sports in their backgrounds or lives.

“They were so proud, so very proud, when I graduated high school,” he said. “Then I graduated college, and they were so very proud of that. And then I graduated law school, from an Ivy League law school, and there were so very proud of that.

“And then I told them I met Ted Turner and I’m gonna move to Georgia and work for a baseball team. And they were so very … despondent about that. ‘You’re going to do what?’”

Ron Reed, a two-sport standout, noted his journey to the Hall, adjusting the line about the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee.

“Yeah, I’m a damn Yankee, but there’s one little part of it I’d add on to that. I’m a sneaky damn Yankee. The reason I’m a sneaky damn Yankee is because I stole one of your beautiful Georgia ladies.”

After thanking his wife of 52 years, he addressed his daughter.

“I should have spanked her more when she was younger,” he cracked, “but she’s a fine young lady.”

Mark Richt ran through a gamut of people to thank, and noted his supporters on hand included offensive coordinator – then and now – Mike Bobo and quarterback D.J. Shockley, linebacker Rennie Curran making a late arrival.

He reached his wife Katharyn finally.

“The person I want to thank the most is my beautiful wife Katharyn,” he said. “I call her my beauty. That’s how she’s listed on my phone, and for good reason. She’s hot.”

Richt pointed out how his wife boosted his career in a variety of ways, including one specific one while he was at Florida State. Quarterback Charlie Ward was having interception problems for several games, and the Seminoles had to keep coming back to win.

“We were always behind, so we got in a two-minute drill at the end of every game,” he said. “We’d come back and win the game. Finally, about five games, six games into the season, she said, ‘You know, Charlie seems to do better in the no-huddle. Why don’t you start the game in that?

“And so we did. And the rest was history.”