ATLANTA — It was a memorable evening at the third induction ceremony of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Saturday. The 30-member induction class included some of the state’s greatest high school football players and through laughs and a few tears, it was a flawless occasion.
Returning Hall of Fame members from the 2022 and 2023 Hall of Fame classes were in attendance alongside family, friends and the Hall of Fame board members. The evening began with a reception ceremony with food and drinks. The pan seared salmon and roasted brussels sprouts were two favorites.
I.J. Rosenberg, the President of Score Atlanta and Executive Director of the High School Football Hall of Fame, opened the evening welcoming Ted Scott, the GHSA’s new Executive Director, to say some words. Rosenberg then surprised Dave Hunter, the legendary Brookwood coach, with a ‘Happy Birthday’ recording in the stylings of the era in which he was born. For Hunter, that’d be 1944 and the ‘Big Band’ version of ‘Happy Birthday’ drew smiles and laughs.
In a touching and moving moment, former Harrison athlete and Furman football player Bryce Stanfield was honored. Stanfield tragically collapsed during practice and passed away in February of 2024.
Terry and Fred Stanfield accepted an award memorializing their son.
The evening then moved to the 30 inductees of the 2024 class. Names like Thomas Davis, Hutson Mason, Everett Strupper, Lauren Hargrove, Alfred Jenkins, Jonathan Dwyer, Demaryius Thomas, Jessie Tuggle and Alec Ogletree highlighted the group.
GENERATIONS COLLIDE
Lauren Hargrove led Fitzgerald to the 1948 state championship, the program’s only title, and the drum majorette for that team, Margrette Hair, accepted the jacket and award for Hargrave, who passed in 2009. A photo of Hair, nicknamed ‘Dynamite’ was shown on the screen as she accepted his award.
Johnson-Savannah’s George Atkinson was inducted as the Beatles song ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ was played, a trend throughout each of the inductions. A song from the inductee’s graduation year is played as they or the representative walks down the aisle to accept.
Atkinson, who is on staff with the Las Vegas Raiders, sent in a video which was played after his jacket was handed over to his representative. Playing the Kansas City Chiefs is not an easy task, which is what the Raiders and Atkinson are focused on.
A LESSON IN COURAGE, TALENT AND RESPECT
Jack Pitts, the legendary Trinity High School great, gave insight into the role that sports played in integration, as a whole. He graduated in 1965 from Trinity at a time when the in-state schools, including Georgia and Georgia Tech, would not recruit him because he was a black man.
Undeterred, Pitts helped integrate the Big 10 after his time at the GIA powerhouse, formerly located in Decatur. He suffered a neck injury during his time at Michigan State, but earned graduate and undergraduate degrees there.
His story, unbeknownst to him, was influential.
“I had no idea,” Pitts said. “But there was a professor at Miami of Ohio doing a book on the integration of the Southeastern Conference and said that I was the central figure of that book and the central figure of the SEC integrating because I went to the Big 10. And if you can play, you can play. It doesn’t matter race, color, sex, whatever. If you can play, you can play.”
Decatur – an all-white school at the time — absorbed Trinity’s students in 1968 and added Pitts’ name to its Wall of Honor in 2015.
Georgia Tech and Cartersville legend Lavette joined six other former Yellow Jackets including Dwyer, the late, great Demaryius Thomas and Strupper. Former Georgia Players like Lassiter’s Hutson Mason, South Gwinnet’s David Greene, Randolph-Clay’s Thomas Davis and Newnan’s Alec Ogletree were some of the top former Georgia players inducted.
Thomas, who passed in 2021 due to complications from a seizure disorder stemming from an automobile accident, was a West Laurens star and was proudly represented by his mother, who accepted his plaque for him. He was inducted just before his Georgia Tech teammate and former Kell star, Dwyer.
The evening ended with the induction of Ogletree, the Newnan great who took his talents to UGA and then spent a nine-year NFL career as a dominant linebacker. At Newnan, he played tight end and safety alongside his brother, Alex, who also played at Georgia.
To see the full program with biographies on each of this year’s inductees, follow the link.
The event is open for the public with general admission tickets and VIP reception ceremony tickets available for purchase. Please visit the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame website to inquire about tickets for next year’s event.
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