In his 14 years as head coach of the West Fannin High School boys basketball teams, Tom Foster led seven squads to the State Tournament. The 1963-64 team advanced to the semi-finals of the Class AA State tourney, the only team in school history to advance to that level. In recognition of their singular accomplishment, the 1963-64 West Fannin High School boys basketball team has been selected as the team inductee in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame induction class of 2019.

The 1963-64 Yellow Jacket boys team was a senior-dominated squad with Ray Arp, Steve Fry, Tommy Bowling and Jimmy Key as returning starters from the previous season. The only underclassman on the starting five was junior Donnie Arp. The first two players off the bench were juniors Robert Guthrie and Sammy Ledford. Other supporting players were senior Norman Pope, junior B.J. Taylor and sophomores Johnny Corn, Jerry Guthrie, David Key, Steve Cheatham and Malcolm Holden.

The first 10 games played before the New Year saw the Jackets win seven and lose three. A season opening loss at Loudon, TN was avenged two weeks later when the Yellow Jackets drubbed the Redskins to the tune of 76-50 in a game played in the West Fannin gym. A 58-57 loss at Ringgold on December 6 would the only Region 3AA North loss of the season. On December 17, the Jackets scored a school record of 126 points in a victory over Gilmer County.

After the calendar moved from 1963 to 1964, the Fannin boys hit their stride and won 12 consecutive games. Highlights included a 66-61 victory over region rival Ringgold and a 66-59 win against Murray County at Chatsworth. West Fannin had played Murray County every year since the 1955-56 season and had lost eight consecutive games on the Indians home court. On the night of January 14, 1964, however, Steve Fry poured in 35 points as the Yellow Jackets snapped the onerous streak. Fry’s 35 points was an all-time single game scoring high in school hoops history up to that point.

Two weeks later, on January 28, the Yellow Jackets hosted Lumpkin County at the West Fannin gym. Lumpkin came into the game boasting a record of 17-2 and were led by 6’ 3” forward/guard Stan Worley who was being recruited by a number of colleges. Coaches Whack Hyder of Georgia Tech and Garland Pinholster of Oglethorpe were on hand that evening, ostensibly to watch Worley in action. Tommy Bowling stole the show, however, as he blistered the nets for 22 points leading his team to a resounding 70-48 victory over Worley and his teammates from Dahlonega. Bowling’s performance was the first step in a journey that led to a 4-year basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech.

A 69-46 victory at North Whitfield on February 7 gave the Jackets a 7-1 record in Region 3AA North competition. That mark was the best in the sub-region and earned the team the number one seed in the overall Region 3AA tournament held in Dalton.

The West Fannin boys went on to capture the second Region 3AA championship in the history of the school with victories over Calhoun, 60-41, in the first round, 58-55 over West Rome in overtime in the semi-finals and 62-60 over Rockmart in double overtime in the championship game. Tommy Bowling scored two of his team-high 25 points on a driving layup against Rockmart to cinch the title. Yellow Jacket heroes were plentiful throughout the tournament. Bowling led the scoring parade with 15, 18 and 25 points in the three games. Ray Arp, a 6’ 3” post player, poured through 17 points in the West Rome victory. The Rockmart contest was a war of attrition with Robert Guthrie and Sammy Ledford playing big roles off the bench replacing starters, including Steve Fry, who had fouled out of the game. Ledford scored a vital 12 points in the victory. Bowling and Fry were both named to the All-Tournament team.

The opening game of the State Class AA Tournament saw the Yellow Jackets matched with Headland High School from South Atlanta. It was a revenge match of sorts since Headland had ousted the Jackets from the 1961 tournament in a classic 63-60 struggle. Headland went on to win the state title that year. 1964 was another year, but after three quarters, the Fannin boys found themselves on the short end of a 52-51 score. Headland’s high scoring guard Jimmy Tingle was on his way to a 40 point total in the game. The fourth quarter, however, saw the relentless up-tempo game of the Yellow Jackets break through for 27 points while Headland could only post 15. The 79-68 victory vaulted West Fannin into the semi-finals against Hart County. Bowling and Fry led the scoring parade against Headland with 25 and 29 points, while the Arp brothers, Ray and Donnie, chipped in 13 and 8. Floor leader Jimmy Key rounded out the scoring with three points.

A cold-shooting first half doomed the Yellow Jackets in the semi-final contest with Hart County and, despite a gallant second half comeback, West Fannin fell short by two points, 53-51. Bowling, Fry and Donnie Arp led the Jackets in scoring with 16, 15 and 15 points. Tommy Bowling and Steve Fry were named to the All-Tournament team as the boys from Fannin County ended the season with a record of 25-7 and were ranked as the number 3 team in Georgia’s Class AA Division.

Most sports writers and knowledgeable observers described the 1963-64 West Fannin boys team as a ‘run and gun’ aggregation. The offensive attack was certainly waged at a fast tempo as the Yellow Jackets scored 2225 points for an average of 70 points per game. The Jackets scored more than 90 points in four different games and posted 88 points in a game against Class A powerhouse, Cass. The scoring was led by Tommy Bowling who averaged 18.5 per game and Steve Fry who scored at a 17 points per game clip. In the pre-3-point shot era, most of Fry’s baskets were long range missiles from deep in the corner, easily 3-pointers in today’s game. Ray and Donnie Arp both averaged scoring in double figures. The maestro of the ensemble was guard Jimmy Key who generally directed traffic and was the primary trigger man on most of the team’s fast break baskets.

Tommy Bowling was awarded a basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech and won a basketball letter there in 1967. Steve Fry was initially a walk-on candidate at the University of Georgia and then received a scholarship to play basketball at Lagrange College. He won three varsity letters there. The 1963-64 West Fannin Yellow Jacket boys basketball team will be remembered as one of the best quintets in Fannin County and North Georgia and certainly earned their place in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.

No athlete in the history of Fannin County sports, boy or girl, man or woman, was more accomplished in the art of scoring points in the game of basketball than Jackie Ledford Gilliam. Her amazing career accomplishments have landed Jackie a spot in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

Jackie grew up in McCaysville, the daughter of Wallace and Mildred Ledford. Mildred was the second youngest of the seven children of Burt and Nola Tipton. All seven children were outstanding athletes in their day in Fannin County and the Copper Basin area. Two of the boys, Earl and Joe, played professional baseball, Joe spending seven season in the Major Leagues with Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington. He played in the 1948 MLB World Series as a member of the World Champion Cleveland Indians. Dorothy, better known as Dot, was a terrific basketball player who led the McCaysville High School girls team to the 1943 Georgia District 9 Championship. Both Joe and Dot have been inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. So young Jackie had an exceptionally strong athletic gene pool to draw upon as she began playing basketball.

Jackie credits her aunt Dot with providing the inspiration for her to start her basketball career. She picked up a basketball for the first time as a fourth grader and Dot was there to encourage her to work hard and hone her skills.

Jackie Gilliam’s organized basketball journey began during her 6^th grade year at McCaysville. She made the varsity squad that year under the tutelage of Coach Clyde Henry, another member of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. She won a starting forward (or offensive player) position in the seventh grade and, during the next two seasons, scored a mind-boggling total of 670 points. She and her McCaysville teammates were undefeated during those two seasons and won two Fannin County Tournament Championships.

Her success carried over to her time at West Fannin High School where she made the varsity team as a freshman. She served her apprenticeship that season playing a supporting role behind three experienced upper-class forwards on the Yellow Jackets team. She was a starting forward as a sophomore and quickly became the go-to player on the offensive end of the court. It was a time when girls basketball games were contested between two 6-girl teams on the floor at any one time. Each team had three forwards and three guards on the respective ends of the court. The forwards and guards were limited to competition at one half of the court and were not permitted to cross the center line.

During her sophomore season, Jackie Gilliam averaged more than 18 points per game. Her team finished with a respectable 13-11 record and were denied a trip to the state tournament when they lost to Ringgold in triple overtime in the Region 7AA Tournament at Dalton. For her efforts, Jackie was named as the team Most Valuable Player and was selected as a member of the Chattanooga Times All Tri-State first team, an honor seldom bestowed upon a sophomore.

The Ledford family moved to Marietta, Georgia between Jackie’s sophomore and junior years due to her father’s job requirements. She joined the girls basketball team at Cobb County’s R.L. Osborne High School where she continued to post spectacular scoring numbers. As a junior she scored 706 points for a 30 points per game average. She won numerous awards at Osborne including MVP of the prestigious Cobb County Tournament and was named as the school’s Most Athletic girl student for the 1967-68 school year. A newspaper account of her exploits includes the following quote: “Miss Ledford, is acclaimed by many as the outstanding girls basketball player in Region 6AAA and possibly best all-around in the state”.

During the summer following her junior season, Jackie married Fannin-County native Frank Gilliam. Frank was a tackle for the West Fannin football team graduating in 1966. The marriage forced Jackie to take a detour in her basketball career because the Cobb County Board of Education had a ruling that prohibited married students from competing in athletics. A groundswell of public protest ensued but the rule remained in effect for another year. Cobb County finally rescinded the ruling a year later but that was too late for Jackie to continue playing basketball at Osborne.

It is often said that when one door closes another opens, and Jackie was recruited to play basketball at Cherokee County High School in Canton, a few miles up the road from Marietta. The Cherokee County girls had won two consecutive state Class AAA titles and returned all three forwards from the 1967-68 title team. Jackie was asked if she would consider a move to a guard position to avoid altering the ‘chemistry’ of the offense and she agreed. Jackie proved to be as accomplished on the defensive end of the court as she had been as an offensive threat and the Cherokee girls won a third consecutive state title. A sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal describes Jackie’s impact in the state title game vs R.E. Lee with the following tribute: “The pretty Miss (sic) Gilliam, who was a 30 point per game scorer for Osborne before transferring to Cherokee, was put at guard and was the prime reason Lee’s gunner, Phyllis Yates, was held to 16 points”. Jackie was named to the Class AAA All-State team for her performance in 1968-69. She was the Cherokee High leading rebounder with an average of 12 per game and was honored by having her number retired at the end of the season.

Jackie feels that Mary Robbins, her coach at R.L. Osborne, was the one person who really “taught me how to play basketball”. The two were very close and, ironically, after her graduation from high school Jackie was contacted by Coach Robbins with the news that she could arrange a basketball scholarship for Jackie at Mississippi State University if she wanted to continue her athletic career. By this time, however, Jackie and Frank Gilliam had settled into married life and she declined the offer.

Jackie and Frank were married until his untimely death in 2004 at the age of 54. The couple had just returned from a trip celebrating their 37^th anniversary when Frank passed away. Their marriage produced two children, Frank Jr. and Nicholas who live nearby in Canton and Powder Springs, respectively. Jackie has four grandchildren. After many years in the medical field, as both a dental technician and a surgical technician, Jackie is now retired and lives in Blue Ridge with her puppy Snuggles.