CLASS OF 2014 INDUCTION

Transcription

1 1HALL OF FAME PROCESS GLYNN ACA DEMY Bill Ploeger Lu Fendig Risley High Scho R A ND Y F I S HE R Tigers S RED TERROR ROBERT SAPP Coach CLASS OF 2014 INDUCTION ol Stan Lomax

2 2HALL OF FAME PROCESS 2 / Tuesday, March 11, 2014 A letter from Kevin Price Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame The board of directors for the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame is excited about our 2014 Induction Banquet set for this Thursday night on Jekyll Island. This year s banquet should make for another memorable occasion. Our first two induction classes were comprised of outstanding athletes and great people who were very deserving of this honor. The five inductees in the 2014 class are certainly impressive and also are very deserving of the recognition they will receive this week. The support the Hall has received from our community during these first few years has been outstanding. Our board is truly grateful that the community has embraced our goals and provided us with such great backing since our inception in 2011 to make our mission possible. It is our hope that the Hall of Fame banquet continues to grow and prosper and remains one of the highlights of each athletic year in the Golden Isles. We look forward to celebrating the remarkable careers and achievements of our inductees as we welcome them into the Hall membership later this week. Again, we are grateful for our sponsors and all those who plan to attend this year s banquet in support of the Hall and our inductees. We hope that you will enjoy the special evening that is planned. Sincerely, Kevin Price Hall of Fame President The Class Inaugural class, 2012 Theresa Adams Milton Byard Lamar Racehorse Davis Davis Love III Sonny Miller George Rose Aaron Swinson 1964 state champion Glynn Academy football team Class of 2013 Sam Bowen Mel Lattany Willie McClendon Steve Melnyk Beth Clark Morrison Fred Missildine (posthumously) Class of 2014 Lu Fendig Randy Fisher Stan Lomax Bill Ploeger Robert Sapp Table of Contents 2 President Letter 2 The Class 2 Committee Roster 3 Randy Fisher Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors Officers Kevin Price President Murray Poole Vice President Chuck Fehr Secretary Nick Doster Treasurer Board Members Theresa Adams Jimmy Brown Jay Cason Ed Hummel Herman Hudson Dave Jordan Lance McLain George Rose Kevin Thomas Mike Warren Tom Willis Woody Woodside 4 Bill Ploeger 5 Stan Lomax 6 Robert Sapp 7 Lu Fendig The Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame published by. Stories written by The News Sports Editor Dave Jordan and Sports Reporter Nathan Deen. Layout and Design by Donte Nunnally with. Ziggy s is the simple choice for your next celebration, including rehearsal dinners, birthday parties, corporate events, large and small. Let us show you how your celebration and our reputation will make for an unforgettable occasion. GEORGIA POWER PROUDLY SUPPORTS GLYNN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME Georgia Power congratulates the 2014 inductees.

3 3HALL OF FAME PROCESS / Tuesday, March 11, R andy Fisher Dive into the Glynn Academy football record books, and the name Randy Fisher will be prominent. One of the school s all-time greats, Fisher set marks in his three seasons as a starting wide receiver that still stand today and likely will for a good long while. Fisher, who still lives in Brunswick, said he was honored by his selection to the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. He said his former offensive coordinator at Glynn, Herman Hudson, was the first person to inform him of the honor. I was at work, and Coach Hudson called me, Fisher said. It surprised me. I knew they were doing (a Hall of Fame), but it came a little earlier than I expected. It s a great feeling. I used to think Glynn County or Glynn Academy deserved to have a Hall of Fame and when it came true, I was glad. I was nervous because I didn t know how long it might take to get in, but being in the third class is a great feeling. Fisher s numbers during his playing days in the 1980s include 143 career receptions for 2,613 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also rushed 178 times for 808 yards and 29 touchdowns, and was 7-for-13 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns. For his prep career, Fisher totaled 3,692 total offensive yards and scored 58 touchdowns, including three kick returns for scores. As a sophomore in 1983, Fisher was the top target for Glynn quarterback Bobby Wilkes, who threw for a then-state-record 2,143 yards in 10 games. Fisher caught 44 passes for 813 yards during the 10-game regular-season in 1983 and finished with 52 catches for 961 yards in 12 games. As a senior, he finished with 44 receptions for 921 yards and was named to the Class AAAA All-State team while also being named a second-team All-American by USA Today. Fisher went on to a standout college career at Valdosta State, where he is considered one of the program s first stars. A four-year starter for the Blazers, Fisher was named to the All-Gulf South Conference first team in each of his four seasons and was the first Blazers player to be named the Gulf South Freshman of the Year. Fisher was named an NCAA Division II All-American in 1989 and ranks sixth in the Valdosta State record books for career receptions, third for receiving yards and fifth for receiving touchdowns. He was inducted into the Valdosta State Hall of Fame in Fisher played briefly with the New Orleans Saints after college. RANDY FISHER RED TERRORS Sweat s FURNITURE A Local Tradition since 1960 Proudly salutes our own Randy Fisher Hard work, dedication, and determination still apply to success today! Congratulations Randy!

4 4HALL OF FAME PROCESS 4 / Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Bill Ploeger William D. Bill Ploeger has made his mark not only in Glynn County, but across the state of Georgia and the nation. Ploeger s inclusion in the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame will be the sixth time the Glynn Academy graduate has been inducted into a hall of fame. Ploeger is also a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Senior Amateur Hall of Fame and the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Ploeger grew up in the Golden Isles engrossed with golf. His mother would drop him off with friends at the golf course on Saturdays, and he would get in 36 holes before the day was over. He stood out on the Glynn Academy golf team and went on to play at Georgia Tech, where he served as captain of the 1963 Yellow Jackets and earned NCAA All-American honorable-mention honors. Following his graduation from Tech, Ploeger began a long and impressive amateur golf career. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur six times, the U.S. Mid-Amateur five times and the U.S. Senior Amateur 10 times. Ploeger won the Future Masters in Dothan, Ala., and the Senior Masters in Palm Springs, Calif. But among Ploeger s fondest memories of his golf career are the record 11 times he has won the Golden Isles Invitational in Brunswick. My favorite times were coming back down on the Fourth of July and seeing old friends and family and winning the golf tournament, Ploeger said of the tournament held each year at Brunswick Country Club. I had a lot of good times. When you re lucky enough to win it 11 times, a lot of those times are memorable. Ploeger also won the Georgia Senior Championship four times and captured the 1999 USGA Senior Amateur. In 2000, he participated in both the U.S. Senior Open and the British Senior Open. In 1999, Golf Digest ranked Ploeger the top senior player in the United States. That same year, he also received the Georgia State Golf Association s Tommy Barnes Award as the overall Player of the Year, an honor he repeated in In 2001, he was the runnerup in the U.S. Senior Amateur and in 2002, was ranked the No. 1 senior amateur in the U.S. by Golfweek magazine. Ploeger said when informed of his inclusion by county Hall of Fame vice president and friend Murray Poole, former sports editor of, he was delighted. I was absolutely surprised and tremendously honored that they would consider me, Ploeger said. Ploeger has resided in Columbus since Bill Ploeger McKinna auto sales 115 McKinna Place, Brunswick Congratulates the 2014 Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame Inductees. We re proud of you! Marshide Grill congratulates all the new inductees to the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame

5 5HALL OF FAME PROCESS / Tuesday, March 11, Stan Lomax The elder statesman of this year s Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame class, L. J. Stan Lomax became head football coach at the former Risley High School in Brunswick fresh out of the Army in He was all of 21 years old. Throughout his career, Lomax loved seeing his players develop into young men through athletics more than anything. I realized the importance of fundamentals in athletics, Lomax said. We worked very hard to unite young men with athletics and to show them the importance of athletics. It s more than a matter of physical training. It s preparation for life. Athletics teaches that best, I think. Lomax, who was born in Athens, was a successful football, basketball and track coach at Risley High before going on to become head football coach at Fort Valley State College in middle Georgia. Lomax had a combined high school and college coaching record of While at Risley, he led his Tigers football team to Georgia Interscholastic Association state championships in 1950 and 1957 and compiled a mark. Lomax s 1950 team scored 427 points and allowed only 35 while rolling to an 11-0 record and the Class A state title. He also won two state championships in basketball and five straight state track championships while coaching the Tigers. He led Risley to state titles in football, basketball and track the only three sports offered for boys during the school year. The basketball team posted a 24-4 record for the season, while the track team finished unbeaten in the spring as did the football team in the fall. Lomax became coach at Fort Valley State in 1963 and stayed until 1977, posting a record of He led Fort Valley to 13 straight winning seasons while winning four Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships. His Wildcats set an NCAA Division II record by scoring 106 points in a single game. He coached teams that played in both the Division II and Division III playoffs in Phenix City, Ala., and Ithaca, N.Y. Lomax also coached in the East-West bowl game in Los Angeles. Lomax was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and continues to live in Fort Valley. He said he received a letter from Glynn County Sports Hall Fame president Kevin Price, former sports editor of, informing him he had been selected to be part of the Hall s third class. I was quite surprised and very humbled by it, he said. You don t realize the importance. It s very humbling and shocking to me. Risley High School Tigers Coach Stan Lomax

6 6HALL OF FAME PROCESS 6 / Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Robert Sapp H is success as a baseball coach jumps off the page of his hall-of-fame resume, but Brunswick native Robert Sapp has made an impact in multiple sports at multiple schools. The former head football coach at Berkmar High School in Lilburn who says there s nothing like a football game under the lights on a Friday night is also the same guy who got the Brunswick High basketball program off the ground. Sapp was the first head coach of Pirates basketball and spent four years at BHS, leading the team to its first winning season in with a 15-9 record. The best memory was when we beat Beach High in the semifinals of the region tournament, Sapp said. I think they were ranked No. 1 in the state. That was a big moment. At that time, Beach was just a power in the state. Sapp excelled in each sport he coached primarily because he grew up playing multiple sports. He shares a love for all types of athletics, he said. It shows I have a great background in Glynn County because I ve played all sports, he said. I love all sports. Baseball was my best sport, but I ve always enjoyed all the different sports. Sapp compiled an amazing won-loss record of 1, in 35 years of coaching baseball in the state of Georgia. He is best known for his 20-year career at Middle Georgia College from where he led the Warriors to four junior college national championships, two runner-up finishes and also a third- and fourth-place finish at the junior college world series. He also led Middle Georgia to 11 consecutive We are open every evening from 5 p.m to 10 p.m. The crab cakes, fresh catches, steaks and bread pudding that make your mouth water in the restaurant can now be savored at your next house warming party, business meeting, church gathering or class reunion. OCEAN BOULEVARD, ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA state championships. Sapp was named national coach of the year four times and was named the junior college Region 17 coach of the year 12 times. He was named the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame College Coach of the Year three times. All told, Sapp compiled an record at Middle Georgia before he left in 1996 to become head coach at the University of Georgia, where he coached through the 1999 season. Sapp also was an assistant coach for USA baseball, coaching the College All-Stars in 1983 while also coaching in the International Cup and the Pan American Games. More than 100 of his former players signed professional contracts and 21 played in the major leagues. He has directed the Robert Sapp Baseball Camp for 33 years, teaching the game to thousands of young players throughout Georgia, including St. Simons Island native and current St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. Sapp played baseball at Glynn Academy before going on to play infield for the Georgia Bulldogs in the 1960s. He was inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in He is also a member of the Richmond County (N.C.) Baseball Hall of Fame. Sapp is retired and lives in Flowery Branch with his wife Nancy. I lived in Glynn County my entire life until I left for college, Sapp said. I know there s quite a few great athletes and coaches that have been in Glynn County. I was very surprised because I know the background of the athletes and all the people that deserve this. It s an honor for me. There have been some outstanding recipients already, and I know there will be some more down the line. ROBERT SAPP Congratulations to all Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame Inductees. From Your Hometown Car & Truck Accessories Headquaters. Come see us for all your Auto Custom Stereo and interior Design Needs. Stacey, Theresa, Kevin, Alton!LTAMA!VENUE "RUNSWICK '! s 0HONE

7 7HALL OF FAME PROCESS / Tuesday, March 11, Lu Fendig A fter a prominent tennis career that spanned more than 30 years, Lu Fendig came back to her roots to teach the sport she loves. A certified teacher by the United States Professional Tennis Association, Fendig owned her own tennis shop at the King & Prince on St. Simons Island, where she gave countless lessons to both local residents and visitors. She was later employed as a part-time teacher at Sea Island. She has taught the game to people of all ages throughout her career. It s where I grew up, Fendig said about returning to her hometown of St. Simons Island. I had some good opportunities to teach, and I love working with people. It came as a surprise to Fendig when she learned she would be part of the 2014 class of the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame, and she was glad she could share with her family, which also shares her love for tennis. I was excited, Fendig said. I wasn t counting on it. It made my day. My family was taken aback, too. They re all my practice partners my mom, my dad, my brothers we ve played a lot of tennis together. It was a very pleasant surprise to them. One of my brothers came over to help me get my biography together, but I suspected he didn t know some of the stuff I had done. I think it impressed him. Fendig is one of the top tennis players in Glynn County history. A standout at Glynn Academy, she won region singles championships in 1973 and 1975 while reaching the state semifinals and finals in both those years. At age 18, she won the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Tennis Tournament and also the Southland Tournament held in Savannah. Fendig said those were difficult years since tennis was not as popular a sport for women as it was for men. However, she received a lot of help in realizing her potential from her male counterparts at Glynn Academy. A lot of people along the way were very kind about practicing with me, she said. They were a lot better than I was because I was just a girl and they were guys, but they shared a lot of practice time with me on the court and helped me get my game together. I feel like I came a long way. There wasn t that much tennis going on for girls when I was growing up. Fendig was one of the first female athletes to receive a scholarship at the University of Georgia, where she played for four years, playing Nos. 1 and 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Lady Bulldogs. She was asked to play on the UGA volleyball team, but declined to concentrate on her tennis career. After graduating from Georgia, Fendig turned professional and traveled the world playing on various tennis tours, including the Southern and Penn circuits. She was once accepted into the qualifying draw for Wimbledon doubles and earned enough points to achieve a No. 245 world singles ranking. Also as a professional, Fendig was a national doubles champion or finalist on all surfaces and a singles hardcourt finalist. She was a two-time winner of the Southern Open 30s and was ranked No. 11 nationally in the singles ages 40 and 45 divisions in the same year. While playing on the senior women s national circuit, she won five gold, silver and bronze balls. She won the national clay court Mother-Daughter Championship in 2003 after reaching the finals in Fendig continues to reside locally. GLYNN ACADEMY Lu Fendig Congratulations to all of the new inductees to the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame!

8 8HALL OF FAME PROCESS 8 / Tuesday, March 11, 2014 TALENT TRADITIONS CELEBRATING 5 YEARS Davis Love III, 2012 Hall of Fame Inductee, and The McGladrey Classic team congratulate this year s Honorees. See the best of both this fall at The McGladrey Classic. October 20-26, 2014 Sea Island Golf Club MCGLADREYCLASSIC.COM