Steve Cheatham will be inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2014.
Steve was a tough-as-nails running back and defensive safety for the West Fannin Yellow Jackets from the autumn of 1962 through his senior season of 1965. He graduated in the spring of 1966. Physically, Cheatham topped out at 154 pounds distributed on a frame that was 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He was small for a football player at any position. Continue reading
Gene Crawford is a multi-faceted man with many talents. He displayed one of those talents, namely his ability to block and tackle other young men, on football fields in and around Fannin County for six years and then for another couple of seasons at Tennessee Tech College in Cookeville, Tennessee. The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame will pay homage to Crawford’s athletic talents by issuing him a lifetime membership card, with all rights and privileges, at the Hall’s induction ceremony in April of 2014. Continue reading
Steve Fry – Legendary West Fannin basketball coach Tom Foster says that Steve Fry was ‘a coach’s player—yes sir, no sir—bust my tail for you’. Quite a tribute from a coach who mentored many young basketball players during his career. Another tribute is forthcoming to Steve Fry in the form of his induction as a member of the 2014 class of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.
Steve came to West Fannin High School from the Epworth community in the fall of 1960. He was a natural athlete who competed in both football and basketball as a freshman. His skills and work ethic were so advanced that Fry became a member of the 1960-61 West Fannin varsity basketball team in his first year of high school. He lettered that first season and went on to win 4 varsity letters in basketball during his high school years. Fry won a starting spot as a sophomore in 1961-62 and would be a team leader for three seasons. Continue reading
Rene Godfrey was always the kid who could run faster, jump further, catch better and hit the ball better than anyone else. Rene went to McCaysville and then to Epworth Elementary School. He recalls that the only game that his teams at Epworth played against a team from another school was during his 8th grade season of 1956. Epworth met the McCaysville/Copperhill ‘River Rats’ in a game played at halftime of the Copper Basin vs. West Fannin game at West Fannin. Epworth won 24-0 with Godfrey running for four touchdowns in the short contest. Continue reading
Jim Woodall began his career in organized athletics as a freshman at West Fannin High School in 1957 and ended it at Northwest Whitfield High School in 2008. He was involved in competitive athletics as a player or coach for roughly 47 of those years. In recognition of his many accomplishments during that period, Jim has been elected to the 2014 class of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.
Jim was an excellent all-around athlete. He and his older brother Charles hailed from the community of Epworth. Charles was the first outstanding athlete at Continue reading
East Fannin High School opened its doors in 1955. The school fielded its first football game one year later in the fall of 1956.
The school was created as a result of the consolidation of the four Fannin County high schools into two new schools, East Fannin and West Fannin, effective with the 1955-56 school year. It would be very interesting to know the rationale of the county education mavens who decided how to allocate students from the old schools (McCaysville, Epworth, Blue Ridge and Fannin County High in Morganton). Essentially, all students from McCaysville, Epworth and Blue Ridge were sent to West Fannin. East Fannin was simply a new, more modern environment for the students from Fannin County High School. Continue reading
FCSHOF Inductee Aldon Farmer
High schools in Fannin County have been fielding football teams since West Fannin High sent its first gridiron warriors into battle in the fall of 1955. Counting 2012, that means that a total of 78 football teams have taken the field to represent local high schools (21 at West Fannin from 1955 through 1975, 20 at East Fannin from 1956 through 1975, and 37 at Fannin County High from 1976 to the present). From all of those teams, only one player has ever earned the distinction of being named to an official all-state team in two separate seasons. That player is Aldon Farmer of East Fannin High School who was selected as a member of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class C all-state squads in 1958 and 1959. Continue reading
Brian Satterfield
Brian Satterfield’s record-setting career provided Fannin County football fans with lots to be proud of, and that pride has been channeled into his selection as an inaugural member of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame class of 2013.
The Epworth native and current Blue Ridge resident graduated from Fannin County
High School in 1989, where his prowess as a running back helped the Rebels achieve their first two winning seasons since the school opened in 1976
Satterfield set the single season school rushing record in the 1987 season with 2,028 yards on 292 carries and scored 14 rushing touchdowns. Continue reading
Raymond Montgomery is a native of the one time mining town of Ducktown, Tennessee. He was a popular student at Ducktown High School where he played basketball and was a starting guard on the 1943 and 1944 football teams. He was captain of the 1944 Ducktown football team.
After graduation from high school, Montgomery served in the navy and then attended Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. He played center for the 1949 and 1950 Tusculum football teams. Continue reading
The 1960-61 West Fannin basketball team had a 21-9 record, finished as runners-up in the Region 3AA tournament and advanced to the State Tournament in Atlanta. It was the first West Fannin team to qualify for the State Tournament. The team was very experienced and had four seniors in the starting lineup, so only one starter from the team would be back to compete during the 1961-62 season. When the 1961-62 team opened the season with a 60-30 loss at Ringgold, the other opponents on the Jacket schedule must have been licking their chops for their chance to tear into the inexperienced West Fannin 5.
What the West Fannin opponents did not realize, however, was that the 61-62 model had a not so secret Continue reading
On the night of September 11, 1959 the West Fannin football eleven was engaged in an epic, rockem-sockem defensive struggle with the arch-rival Gilmer County Bobcats on the Gilmer field in Ellijay, Georgia. The game was nearing the end and neither team had posted any points on the scoreboard. The Yellow Jackets had threatened a few times but were never able to cash in. Given one last chance, the Jackets marched down the field but appeared to be stymied once again as they faced a fourth down and 15 yards to go situation at the Gilmer County 25-yardline. At that point, the great West Fannin quarterback, Carlton Guthrie, took the snap from center turned to his left, made a 180-degree turn and swept toward the right sideline behind a phalanx of blockers. In a flash he turned the corner and sped down the sideline and into the end zone 25 yards away. The Jackets won 6-0. Continue reading