Blanche Smith Ganues

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Blanche Smith Ganues has been selected as a member of the 2017 class of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. She becomes the fourth member of the Fannin County High School girls basketball teams of the mid to late 1940s to be so elected. When one considers that Clyde Henry, the coach of the Fannin County girls from 1945 through 1948 is also a member of the FCSHOF, one gets an idea of just how powerful those teams were.

Blanche grew up in the Loving community in the eastern part of Fannin County. Her parents were Reverend Walter and Sadie Smith. Walter was a Baptist minister who was quite well known throughout the area for many years. At various times during his ministry he served as pastor of several country churches in Fannin County including Salem Number One, Hemptown, Friendship, Pleasant Hill, Hot House, Maple Grove and Mineral Bluff and he was in great demand to preach revivals at other churches in North Georgia and Western North Carolina.

There were seven children in the Smith family, Blanche coming along as number six. They were an active group with Blanche and one of her older sisters, Genova, exhibiting a particular interest in and talent for the game of basketball. Blanche excelled at the game and won a starting position as a guard, or defensive player under the rules of the day, on the 1945-46 team at Fannin County High in Morganton. Genova, a year older than Blanche, was a substitute on that team.

Little did the Smith sisters realize when they began basketball practice in the fall of 1945 that they were to be a part of something very special in the history of athletics in Fannin County. The 1945-46 girls team won 27 consecutive games before finally losing in the Class B State Championship game in early March of 1946.

Blanche went on to start for the Fannin County girls in each of the next two seasons. The 1946-47 team, Blanche’s junior season, saw the girls once again advance to the state title game in Macon. After dispatching Ellijay, Jasper, Cumming and Winder in District 9 competition, the Fannin girls marched on to the state tourney where they defeated Hawkinsville, Soperton and Colquitt before finally falling to a powerful team from Baxley High in the finals of the state tournament.

Even though the Fannin girls did not win the state title in 1947, however, the coaches and officials recognized the outstanding play of several of the Morganton girls by electing them to the Class B All-State team for the year. Young Blanche Smith was one of the girls so honored.

Blanche played her final season at Fannin High in 1947-48 and turned in another stellar performance. That team only lost 2 games during the entire season but, unfortunately, one of those losses game in the finals of the District Tournament, denying the girls a third consecutive trip to state competition. The three year run led by Blanche Smith and her teammates, however, is one of the most glorious periods of excellence ever experienced by any team in the history of Fannin County sports.

According to her husband Fred Ganues, Blanche was one of the young ladies on the radar of some of the amateur teams of the day including the Sports Arena Blues and the Lorelei Ladies of Atlanta. Something else happened to Blanche during the 1947-48 school year, however, that would decide her fate for the remainder of her life.

One day late in that school year, Blanche entered the L&N railroad depot in Mineral Bluff to purchase a 10 cent ticket to travel to Blue Ridge. The young agent who sold her the ticket was Fred Ganues, a 1947 graduate of Copperhill High School. Fred was a basketball standout at Copperhill and, according to all accounts, a rather popular young man with the ladies. Fred and Blanche took a shine to each other and before long Blanche Smith found herself with the new surname of Ganues. The two were married in April, 1948 and remained together for the next 60 years.

After high school, Blanche devoted her life to her home and family. She and Fred welcomed a son, Fred Jr., in 1949 and Blanche went about the business of caring for the home and young Freddy. She did, however, occasionally compete in local amateur basketball from time to time. In the late 1950s husband Fred organized an amateur team that he named the Black Knights. One season he expanded the team to include a ladies teams appropriately called the Lady Black Knights. Blanche played with that team along with several local standouts including Jackie Hartness, Mary Lou Fowler and Peggy Thompson, all of whom had played at West Fannin High School.

In the mid-1960s, with young Fred Jr. in high school and nearing adulthood, Blanche decided to apply for the position School Secretary at East Fannin High School. She got the job and stayed at the High School until 1976.  After East and West Fannin High Schools were consolidated in 1976, Blanche remained at East Fannin Junior High for an additional 20 years, retiring in the mid-1990s.

Blanche and Fred were happily married from 1948 until her death in 2008, a period of 60 years. Fred was inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and died in March of that year. Blanche Smith Ganues now joins Fred as a member of that elite group.


 

Scott Burger

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West Fannin High School had no bigger rival in athletics than the Bobcats of Gilmer County. Between 1956 and 1975, the last season of football competition at West Fannin, the two teams met every season. The series ended with 10 wins for West Fannin and 10 wins for Gilmer County. Most of the games were rough, tough rockem’ sockem’ affairs, but on the night of Saturday, September 14, 1974, Scott Burger carried his Yellow Jackets teammates to a 31-0 victory at Gilmer County in one of the most amazing performances in the gridiron history of Fannin County. Burger’s performance in that game and many others has resulted in his election to the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.

In the 1974 Gilmer game, Scott Burger carried the ball 12 times and gained 176 yards. He ran for touchdowns of 37, 33 and 7 yards. He kicked a 40 yard field goal and punted four times for an average of 56 yards per kick. He was successful on two extra point kicks, giving him a total of 23 points for the evening. For his efforts, Scott was named the Atlanta Constitution State of Georgia Back of the Week, a singular honor for a Fannin County athlete.

A native of McCaysville, Scott began his baseball career at the age of eight and began playing football at McCaysville Elementary School in the sixth grade. He was successful at both individual and team levels from the start and quickly established himself as one of the elite young athletes in the Fannin County and Copper Basin area.

In baseball Scott was perennially named to all-star teams in the leagues in which he competed. He was named MVP in local Little League competition in 1967, Dixie League in 1970 and Pony League in 1971 and 1972. He was a pitcher and outfielder for these early teams. As a football player at McCaysville Elementary, he led his team to the county championship in 1970. As a 13-year old in 1970, he won the area Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. He went on to win the District Championship and, in the process, discovered that he had a special gift for kicking the football. Scott credits coaches Shorty Stepp, Herdis Phillips, Bernard Harper, Frank Henson, Edward Massengale and others for contributing to his pre-high school success.

Moving on to West Fannin High School, Scott played baseball and football from 1972-1975. He won three varsity letters in each sport.

On the gridiron, Scott played defensive end and halfback on offense. He was also the team kicking star for three seasons. He was singled out by local media for his play against powerful Murphy, North Carolina High in 1972, his sophomore season, although the Yellow Jackets lost the game by the unlikely score of 2-0. During his junior season of 1973, Scott’s kicking prowess was always a factor but especially so in the games against Murray County and Model. In the Murray County game, his two extra point kicks provided the victory margin as West Fannin posted a hard-earned 14-12 victory. In the Model contest, Scott dropped one punt dead at the 3-yard line and later another at the Model 1-yard stripe. The second punt led to a Yellow Jacket score when, on the next play, a Model fumble was recovered in the end zone by the Yellow Jacket to insure a 14-0 victory for West Fannin.

As a senior in 1974, Scott put his entire game together and was named the MVP of the football team. That season, he made 60 tackles from his defensive end position, 40 unassisted and 20 assisted. He scored 90 points on 18 of 20 extra points kicks, 4 field goals and 10 rushing touchdowns. As a halfback in a wishbone offense, he gained 782 yards in 99 rushing attempts for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. He missed 1 ½ games with an injury. He was generally considered as one of the best, if not the best, high school punter in the state of Georgia with an average of 48 yards per kick.

He was honored nationally by his selection as an All-American by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based High School All Americans Association and by the Montgomery, Alabama-based Coach and Athlete Magazine.

In baseball, Scott hit over .300 in each of his three seasons and was named as the team MVP in 1975. He also pitched and posted an E.R.A. of 1.11 during his senior season. He was selected as the Most Athletic Boy in the 1975 West Fannin graduating class.

Scott is quick to point out that his high school coaches T.J. Thompson, Mike Whitley, Deaune Hedden, Mike Gates and Kenneth Wood recognized his talents and helped him develop his athletic skills.

Scott Burger was highly recruited by numerous colleges and universities and accepted a football scholarship offer by the University of Tennessee. He reported to fall drills in the autumn of 1975, but returned home due to personal reasons after a few weeks in Knoxville.

Scott loves hunting and fishing and currently makes his home in the mountaintop community of Suches, Georgia. He and his wife Deborah will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in April, 2017. They have three grown children, Jeremy, Jarod and Laci Burger Combs, and three grandchildren. He is retired following a 34-year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers


Alden Acker

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30-year old Alden Acker is the youngest member of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame Induction class of 2017. She competed in track and field, basketball and cross country at Fannin County High School from 2000 through 2004, earning four varsity letters in track and field, four in basketball and two in cross country.

Alden’s strongest event in track and field was the 400-meter run. This event involves running around the entire track one time. The 400 meter run is not for sissies. When asked about her strategy in the event, Alden echoes the words of a Clemson University track coach who taught at one of the camps she attended as a youth: ‘Start running as fast as you can and keep it up for as long as you can’. It is a demanding, grueling discipline.

Alden Acker won the Region 7AAA championship in the 400 meters all four years that she competed at FCHS. She went on to finish 5th at the state meet twice and finished 4th the other two times. She was not, however, a one trip pony in the track and field wars. She also won Region championships in the 800 meter run and long jump and was the anchor of the 400 meter, 800 meter and 1400 meter relay teams that also won gold medals at the Region level for the Lady Rebels. Overall she had a total of 12 first place finished in Region track and field competition, 6 individual titles and 6 relay titles.

Alden began competing in organized track and field and basketball before reaching the age of 10. A native of McCaysville, she was a member of the Fannin County Recreation 10 and under basketball teams that won state titles in 1995-96 and 1996-97. In Recreation League track and field, she competed in the 800 meters and long jump and won the USA track and field competition in the long jump at the state level.

The Fannin County High School girls track team won the Region 7AAA Championship in 2000-01, Alden’s freshman season. It was the first such title in school or county-wide history.

In addition to her track and field accomplishments at Fannin County High, Alden was also a valuable member of the Lady Rebel basketball squads. She was named MVP of the Battle of the States Tournament held at Towns County High School in 2003. She received the FCHS Best Defensive Player award for the 2003-04 season. While at Fannin, her basketball teams advanced to the 2001-02 state AAA Final Four and to the 2003-04 title game.

Her athletic prowess resulted in her selection as the Most Athletic Senior Girl in the 2003-04 Fannin County High School graduating class.

After graduating from high school, Alden was awarded a track and field scholarship to Georgia Southern University. She competed there for two seasons before hanging up her spikes.

Alden had developed an interest in medicine and continued her education at Chattahoochee Tech in Acworth. She embarked upon a grueling schedule of attending classes at Chattahoochee two days a week and devoting the remaining three week days to completing her clinicals at Kennesaw Wellcare, all of which required a commute from McCaysville. She persevered, however, and is now a surgical technologist at Fannin Regional Hospital. Her next goal is to become a surgical first assistant.

Alden certainly came by her athletic excellence honestly. Her mother, Sandy Brown Acker, was an outstanding basketball player at West Fannin High School and her father Charlie was involved in athletics as a youngster in his native Charlotte, North Carolina.  Sandy is the school nurse at Fannin County High School and Charlie is a geologist.

Alden currently makes her home in McCaysville with her 9-year old daughter Ava. When asked if Ava might carry on the family athletic tradition, Alden says that, so far, Ava is more interested in academic and artistic endeavors than in athletics.  But who knows what the future may hold for Ava — at about the same age her mother discovered that she could outrun just about everyone around.


Suzianne Green Pass

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Robert Kennedy said that “tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live”.  Suzianne Green Pass, a 2017 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame electee, met tragedy face to face while she was in the second grade at McCaysville Elementary School. That year her dad battled cancer and she stayed with her grandparents, some weeks with her mother’s parents and others with her father’s parents. Her maternal grandparents, Jack and June Simonds, still had four daughters at home and all played basketball at Hiwassee Dam High School in neighboring North Carolina. When her younger sister, Glenda and she were with the Simonds family, they went to Hiwassee Dam basketball games. It was there that young Suzianne really started watching and loving the game of basketball. Out of the tragedy of losing her father, Suzianne was placed in a situation to become exposed to the sport that became and continues to be a huge part of her life.    

Suzianne began playing for a team at McCaysville Elementary in the second grade while her father was sick. He was never able to see her play so she used that fact as motivation to be the best that she could be for him. She played at McCaysville through the sixth grade. Her mother supported her participation in basketball and made sure that she attended every practice and every game. Suzianne says that her mother “made sure that she had everything she needed and that the honor of being elected to the FCSHOF is a representation of everything she has taught me — hard work and not giving up no matter how hard it gets”.

The high point of her early career came when she was chosen as a member of the sixth grade All-Star team. That team became the first team from Fannin County to win a State Championship of any type. She is quick to point out that Bernie Hodskins, Fannin County Recreation Department Director, provided for all of her team’s needs during that season.

After two years of junior high basketball at West Fannin, under the tutelage of Tammie Shinpaugh and Steve Phillips, Suzianne moved on to Fannin County High in the fall of 1990. She split time with the junior and varsity squads during her freshman year of 1990-91. She was named to the Gilmer County Junior Varsity Tournament all-tournament team that season.

Suzianne won a starting position for the Fannin County Lady Rebels as a sophomore and wasa standout performer for Johnny Farmer’s teams for the next three seasons. Her career at Fannin County was full of individual and team accomplishments. The top team accomplishment undoubtedly came during her junior season of 1992-93 when the Lady Rebels won the Class AA State Championship, the first high school state title in any sort in the history of Fannin County.

Suzianne was named as the Most Valuable Offensive player of that great team. As a senior in 1993-94she was the team’s leading scorer with a 19.5 points per game average and top rebounder averaging 11.3 rebounds per game. She scored 35 points in games against Murphy and Union County. She was selected as the Lady Rebel Most Valuable Player and received the ‘Chairman of the Boards’ award as the team leading rebounder.

Suzianne scored more than 1000 points during her high school career and was named to the Atlanta Tip-Off Club Class AA second team all-state squad as a senior. Her accomplishments were rewarded when she received a basketball scholarship play at Reinhardt Junior College in Waleska, Georgia. She earned two letters at Reinhardt, one in 1994-95 and another in 1995-96. She was team captain in 1995-96.After graduation from Reinhardt, Suzianne received another basketball scholarship from Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. She earned two more letters there. She was named as the team Best Offensive Player as a junior and was team captain as a senior.  

After graduation from Piedmont, Suzianne returned to Fannin County as a teacher and also coached middle school cross country, high school softball, middle school basketball and JV basketball. She became the head coach of the Fannin County High School Lady Rebels basketball team in 2007, a position that she continues to hold at this time.

Suzianne is married to Blake Pass and the couple has a 6-year old daughter, Taber. Taber is named for Taber Spani, who was a standout basketball player for legendary coach Pat Summitt with the Tennessee Lady Vols.  Suzianne Pass considers Coach Summitt and Johnny Farmer to be her primary  coaching role models as she continues her career.



Jean Henry Zachary

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When asked about her style as a basketball player, Jean Henry Zachary says that “I was scrappy”. Webster defines ‘scrappy’ as ‘aggressive and determined in spirit’. Without question, Jean was definitely aggressive, determined in spirit and much more during her basketball career at Fannin County High School in Morganton from 1945 through 1948. As a matter of fact, the excellence of her performance throughout that three year period has landed her a membership card in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.

Until Johnny Farmer established the modern day Fannin County girls as a powerhouse, the Morganton girls of the mid and late 1940s were as close to being a sports dynasty as the county has seen. The Morganton girls made it to the finals of the Class B state tournament in 1945-46 and 1946-47 and narrowly missed a third appearance when they lost in the District finals in 1947-48. Those were the days when girls basketball games were contested between two teams with 6 players each, three offensive and three defensive, on the court at any one time. Jean Zachary was a defensive player throughout her career and she excelled in that role.

Jean was a starting guard in each of her three seasons at Morganton. On an individual level, she was named to the girls All-State Class B basketball team for her performance as a junior in 1946-47. The next season she was named to the all Bi-State tournament team. Opposing teams found it very difficult to score when up against Jean and her running mate at a guard position, Blanche Smith Ganues, for three years.

Jean grew up on a farm in the Morganton/Mineral Bluff area. Her parents were Clyde and Mary Virginia Henry. Clyde Henry was a larger-than-life individual and Jean has inherited many of his strongest characteristics. During his life, Clyde was a farmer, businessman, educator, coach, politician and public servant. He passed along many of his talents to his daughter, especially his business savvy. When talking about her father, Jean refers to Clyde as ‘her buddy’ who sought her input in many of the farm affairs. He was also Jean’s coach at Fannin County High throughout her career.

After graduation from high school, Jean was admitted to the prestigious Berry College in Rome, Georgia. After about two years, she decided to trade academia for the real world and headed to Cincinnati to stay with her aunt. While there she worked for Parke Davis and completed a secretarial training program at Miller’s School of Business.

The lure of the mountains and home brought Jean back to Fannin County where she obtained an executive secretarial position working for R.R. Burns at the Tennessee Copper Company. She enjoyed her time at TCC and played a little basketball for the company-sponsored basketball team. A sharp, young single beauty, Jean enjoyed her social life and found herself in the Arrow Restaurant one afternoon after work with some of her co-workers. Another customer there that day was a young local doctor named Warner C. Zachary, a native of Knoxville who had recently set up his practice in Copperhill.

Although Dr. Zachary neither confirms nor denies it, he reportedly asked some of his companions about the beautiful blonde girl sitting in a booth across the room. After learning Jean’s name, he is purported to have uttered the prophetic comment “I am going to marry that girl”. The two were married at the First Baptist Church in McCaysville on December 4, 1954.

The handsome couple set about the business of raising a family and their firstborn son, Charles, made his debut in 1956. The Zacharys would produce four more children, Becky, Karen, Julie and William (better known as Hank). The family moved to a beautiful home overlooking Blue Ridge Lake in 1965 and Jean and Dr. Zachary remain there today.

The Zachary children and grandchildren all appear to have inherited the very best of the talents of their parents, and grandparents as well. Athleticism as well as academic and professional success run throughout the family. The family suffered a tragic shock in July, 1976 when eldest son Charles was killed in an automobile accident in Knoxville. He was only 20 and was attended the University of Tennessee at the time.

Although shaken by the death of Charles, the family rallied around each other and remain remarkably close to this day. The influence of Jean and Dr. W.C. Zachary upon the lives of their children and grandchildren was probably best stated by Karen in her Fannin County High School yearbook when she expressed her ‘Ambition’ as: “To find a man like my father and to become a woman like my mother”.

In December, 2016, the Zacharys will celebrate their 62nd anniversary.

In joining the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame, Jean Henry Zachary will complete something of a hat trick in local athletics. Her 1945-46 Fannin County High School girls basketball team was inducted as the Hall’s first team honored in 2013 and her father, Clyde Henry, was inducted as a member of the Class of 2014. 


Winston Beaver

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The 1972-73 West Fannin boys’ basketball team finished with a record of 22 wins and 2 losses, the best record posted by any team during Coach Tom Foster’s 14-year career at the school. 2017 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Winston Beaver was the co-captain of that team, along with fellow senior Charles Zachary. It was a very balanced team with each starting player averaging more than 10 points per game. Winston Beaver was selected as the Most Valuable Player on that formidable squad.

Winston grew up in the community of Epworth, about equidistant between McCaysville and Blue Ridge. He played Dixie Youth Baseball as a youngster and made the Epworth Elementary School basketball team during his 6th grade year. He played with future West Fannin teammates Glenn and Garry Patterson while at Epworth as the Epworth boys won three consecutive Fannin County championships.  His coach at Epworth was the legendary Jack Myers.

Winston played on the West Fannin Junior Varsity team in 1969-70, his freshman season. A couple of things happened that helped shape Winston’s basketball future during and shortly after that year. First, he watched an injured and hobbled Willis Reed of the New York Knicks lead his team to an NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. Reed’s inspirational performance in the 7th game of that series spurred Winston to a greater dedication and excitement about the game of basketball. Second, Winston grew 3 or 4 inches in height during that summer so that when he reported for pre-season drills as a sophomore he sported a lanky frame that stood about 6’ 5” tall. His growth spurt earned him the nickname ‘Weed’ from his teammates.

He earned a starting role as a post player as a junior in 1971-72, a season full of excitement and surprises for the Yellow Jacket team and their supporters. Winston averaged more than 13 points per game as West Fannin finished the regular season with a very good, but not great, 14-7 record. The high point of the season for Winston and his teammates was a 72-42 victory at Dalton. At the time West Fannin was a class A school and the Catamounts were in the AAA division.

The Yellow Jacket boys were given only an outside chance to run the gauntlet of the Region 6A tournament unscathed, but that is exactly what they did. Victories over Gilmer County and Murray County in the subregion tournament, followed by a close 43-40 win over Jefferson High and another win over Murray County earned West Fannin the Region 6A Championship and an invitation to the State Class A tournament in Macon. Winston Beaver enjoyed some of his finest basketball moments in the Region tournament and was named as the Tourney MVP. He scored 22 points in the championship game vs Murray County in a game played at Chatsworth. The Jackets defeated arch-rival Murray County four times during the 1971-72 season.

West Fannin’s first round opponent in the state tournament was Coosa High School, led by future New York Knicks standout Mike Glenn. In undoubtedly the finest moment in West Fannin basketball history, the Yellow Jacket boys held Glenn reasonably in check and won going away, 77-62. One of Winston’s biggest thrills in athletics was reading the sports page of the next day’s Atlanta Constitution and seeing the bold headline ‘WEST FANNIN SLAPS COOSA’. The magic ended the next day with a narrow loss to Stone Mountain, but the 1971-72 West Fannin Yellow Jackets would up their season with a gaudy record of 19-8.

Winston’s hardcourt performances were not lost on area college coaches and Winston was awarded a basketball scholarhip to attend Gainesville Junior College. He joined West Fannin teammate Gary Mealer and East Fannin star Bill Stephens at Gainesville for the 1973-74 season. Winston enjoyed a productive career at Gainesville, averaging 13 points and 12 rebounds per game during his senior season of 1974-75.

After completing two years at Gainesville, Winston continued his basketball career at North Georgia College. He earned two letters at North Georgia for his play during the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons. He also found his life’s career calling during the summer between his two seasons at North Georgia.

In the summer of 1976 Winston Beaver worked at Lake Lanier Islands in Hall County. He worked in various departments there and began a full time career with Lake Lanier in 1979. He worked there for 30 years rising to the position of Captain of Boats before his retirement in 2009. He continues to work as a boat captain at the resort and for other clients around the lake.

Winston and his wife Lori make their home in Spring Hill, Georgia. They have two grown children, Chris (32) and Tori (28). Winston is a quiet, unassuming man who prefers to lead by action rather than words. He is a welcome addition to the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.


 

Bill Stephens

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stephensbillbskbl74On the afternoon of November 3, 2007, Morganton favorite son and 2017 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame electee, Bill Stephens settled into his seat at historic Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Bill was there to watch his son Jordan, a strapping 270 defensive lineman for the Navy Midshipmen do battle in a gridiron war with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. At the beginning of the game, Bill probably had no inkling that he would see history made that day.

The Navy vs Notre Dame rivalry is the longest uninterrupted intersection rivalry in Division I college football. The teams began playing in 1927. Entering the 2007 game, Notre Dame had defeated Navy in 43 consecutive games, the longest win streak, or losing streak from the Navy perspective, in college football. On November 3, 2007 that streak game to a screeching halt as Navy defeated the Irish 46-44 in triple overtime, truly an historic event in the history of college football.

Despite his many personal and team accomplishments that have earned Bill Stephens a membership ticket to the Fannin County Sports Hall of fame, he is quick to cite his son’s role in the 2007 Navy victory over Notre Dame as one of his biggest thrills in athletics. He also lists watching his oldest son Josh run out onto the court as a member of the 2006-07 Georgia Bulldogs basketball team and the baseball exploits of his younger sons, Connor, William and Cole, as some of his biggest thrills.

Don’t get the idea that Bill Stephens was elected to the FCSHOF on the strength of the many athletic accomplishments of his sons. Bill experienced more than his share of thrills during his basketball and baseball career at East Fannin High School from 1970-74 and then as a starting point guard for the Gainesville Junior College hoopsters. It is just that his pride in the success of his family is more important to him than his personal achievements.

During his four years at East Fannin High School, Bill Stephens was a four-year starter in basketball and a three-year starter in baseball. In baseball, he played shortstop and, as a senior, was the team captain and was selected as his team’s Most Valuable Player.

In basketball, he was selected as the team Most Improved Player as a freshman, Best Defensive Player as a junior and as the Most Valuable Player as a senior. He was selected as team captain for his senior season. As a senior in 1973-74, Bill averaged more than 20 points per game leading the Wildcats to a 16-11 record and to the semi-finals of the Region 8B Tournament. In the West Fannin Christmas Tournament in 1973, he scored 40, 32 and 26 points on successive nights in games vs Union County, Gilmer County and West Fannin.

Bill was awarded a basketball scholarship to Gainesville Junior College and earned two letters there. He lists Coach James ‘Bubba’ Ball at Gainesville, along with childhood baseball coach Windell Davis and high school basketball coach Sam Williams as major influences in his athletic success.

After graduating from Gainesville, Bill went on to earn a BBA in business from the University of Georgia and then an MBA from Georgia State University. Armed with these credentials and a healthy portion of native intelligence, Bill became a successful businessman before accepting a position as the Director of Communications for Georgia Governor Zell Miller. He later entered the political arena on his own and served 8 years in the Georgia State Senate representing a large portion of North Georgia.

Bill Stephens is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, the authority that oversees all operations of Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park, the number one tourist attraction in the state. The park has more than 3 million visitors annually, revenues of approximately 60 million and more than 300 employees. Bill and his wife Shannon Walshe Stephens, a former news anchor with WSB TV in Atlanta, and their three youngest sons, make their home in Stone Mountain.


The Fannin County Sports 2017 Hall of Fame Class has been selected.

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fcshof2017classThe Fannin County Sports 2017 Hall of Fame Class has been selected. The class consists of eight individuals and one team. The group was introduced to the public at a ceremony on Monday, August 8, 2016 at the Fannin County Recreation Center. The individual inductees are (left to right): Jean Henry Zachary, Fred Ganues Jr. representing his mother Blanche Smith Ganues who is a member of the 2017 class, Suzianne Pass, Bill Stephens, Winston Beaver, Scott Burger, Alden Acker and Chris Williams.

2015 – Athlete of the Year

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Dean-2-300x278Nick Dean has been selected as the 2015 Athlete of the Year by the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. 2015 is the second successive year that Nick has received this honor. Since Nick is now competing professionally in the Los Angeles Dodgers organiza

tion, he will not be eligible for consideration as the Athlete of the Year in future years.

Dean’s numbers for his final collegiate season of 2015 were nothing short of remarkable. He recorded 74 hits, the most in all of NCAA Division 3 baseball. His 51 RBIs ranked third in the nation and his 47 runs scored ranked fourth. He also batted .454, had 16 stolen bases and 8 home runs.

I.  Nick Dean, the 2014 FCSHOF Athlete Of The Year, has been DRAFTED by the Los Angles Nick Dean signingDodgers.  He was drafted in the 32nd round.  Nick will be playing in the Rookie League.  II.  Nick reports to the Dodgers organization in Glendale, Arizona on Friday June 11.   Mini-Camp and then to be assigned to a team.  The season starts the following weekend.  Nick pitched his Freshman year and has played Shortstop the remainder of his college baseball career.   More information below.  III. Nick is playing with the Ogden Raptors in Ogden Utah. This is an Advanced Rookie League team in the Pioneer League. The Ogden Raptors is affiliated with the MLB team LA Dodgers. More info on the Pioneer League at: http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l128

Click for video of Nick Dean receiving Athlete of the Year from FCSHOF.

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2015 Inductees Ceremony.

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The annual dedication and inductee introduction ceremony was held at the Fannin County Recreation Center on Monday, August 10. This ceremony was originally held to unveil and officially dedicate the plaques of the current year’s Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame inductees. These plaques are on display upstairs at the Recreation Center. The ceremony has been expanded over the years, however, to honor athletes in several categories.

At this year’s ceremony, the 2015 recipients of the Hall of Fame scholarships were introduced. Information about the 2015 honorees, Molly Chandler and Dusty Dyer, can be seen in the ‘Scholarships’ section of this website. It was also announced that Nick Dean, former athlete at Fannin County High School and Maryville College, was the recipient of the 2015 Athlete of the Year Award. 2015 was the second consecutive year in which Nick has been given this award. More information Is available about the award and Nick Dean in the ‘Athlete of the Year’ section of this website.

The 2015 and 2016 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame inductees were also introduced at the 2015 ceremony. The recently elected 2016 honorees (or their representatives) were introduced individually to the public for the first time and a brief biography of each was presented. More information about each of the 2016 members is available in the ‘Inductees – 2016’ section of this website.

Finally, the members of the 2015 Hall of Fame class were introduced. The introductions were followed by the highlight of the event, the unveiling of the plaques honoring this outstanding class. More information is available about each of these inductees in the ‘Inductees – 2015’ section of this website.

2014 – Athlete of the Year

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Nick DeanDeanNMVC has been selected as the 2014 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year. In his third varsity campaign at NCAA Division III Maryville College, the slick fielding shortstop was named as the USA South Conference Player of the Year. He was also named to the All-Conference Team and to the All-South Division III team for the third successive season.

Nick led the conference in hitting with a .434 batting average and with a .600 slugging percentage. His 57 hits ranked second in the conference. Nick Dean will be remembered in the Fannin County area for his exploits as a quarterback at Fannin County High School. He was named to the 2000-2010 all-decade team at the school as well as beingt honored as the school Player of the Decade.

Nick will return to Maryville College and, once again, be a member of the 2015 baseball squad.

 

FANNIN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME – 2016 INDIVIDUAL INDUCTEES

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FANNIN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME – 2016 INDIVIDUAL INDUCTEES

Charles ‘Babe’ Howell, Leon Guthrie, Bill Franklin, Don Queen, Gregg Farmer, Glenn Patterson, Garry Patterson, Casey Willis, Mandy Dixon, Matt Henson and Alan Collis.

FANNIN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME – 2016 TEAM INDUCTEES

The 1995 Fannin County High School Football Team

Players –

Andy Duvall, Joey Sisson, Michael Williams, Matt Queen, Brian Bailey, Jeremy Cochran, James Foster, James Williams, Chris Buntin, Andrew Moreland, Jeremy Twiggs, Kevin Galloway, Brian Buxton, Russell Cantrell, Matt Sanford, Jonathan Cole, Josh Twiggs, Joseph Walden, Dennis Ledford, Jamie Cantrell, Jeremy Nicholson, Joey Sudol, Rusty Cox, Rob Jones, Nathan Davenport, Earl Johnson, Jeremiah Greene, Michael Richardson, Joseph Addington, Chad Whitaker, Brandon Mathis, Kevin Jones, Shawn Seabolt, Daniel Waters, Phil Templeman, Sterling Callihan, Marshall Cornett, Matthew Mealer, Lee Bell, Kevin Sutton, Joe Wood and Ronnie Bell.

Deceased Players –

Mark Mahan, Zach Fish and Travis Bolling.

Coaches –

Head Coach Joby Scroggs, Chris Williams, Jerry Barnes, Tom Gouchnour, Michael Paul, Shan Culpepper and Greg Chambers.

2015 Winners

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The 2015 Recipients of college scholarships of $1,000 are Molly Chandler and Dusty Dyer.

fcshofscholarshipwinners

 

Molly Chandler –

Molly played basketball at Fannin County High School and scored more than 1,000 points during her career. She also participated in volleyball, golf and track and field and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was basketball team captain. She was selected to the Region 7AAA All-Region Team, was selected as the 2014-2015 team MVP and was the 2015 Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club Player of the Year.

She had a GPA of 4.0 which earned her an academic rank of 4th in her class of 185. She was the recipient of the 2015 American Citizenship Award, 2015 President’s Award for Educational Excellence and the 2015 United States Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award. She was selected for the 2014 Tri-State Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Molly will major in Exercise and Sports Sciences at the University of Georgia. Her goal is to work with athletes to help them perform at their highest degree of ability. She plans to continue her education at UGA in the Master’s Program in Kinesiology.

 Dusty Dyer –

Dusty was a four year letterman for the Fannin County High School baseball team from 2012-2015. He was awarded the varsity baseball Defensive Player Award in 2015.

Dusty Baseball He was a member of the National Honor Society, was an Honor Graduate and voted as the ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ by the 2015 senior class. He won the D.A.R. Good Citizenship Award in 2014 and 2015. He was a member of the National Technical Honor Society and won the AP Calculus Award in 2014 and the Honors Physics Award in 2015.

Dusty will attend the University of Georgia and pursue a dual degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences and Athletic Training with a minor in Biomechanics. He plans to obtain a B.S. in Exercise and Sports Sciences, a B.S. in Athletic Training, a M.S. in Biomechanics and a DPT (Doctorate in Physical Therapy).

After graduation, his career goal is to work with a professional sports organization as part of their physical therapy staff. He would eventually like to open his own private practice.

 

Alan Collis

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Alan Collis 1

By any definition, Alan Collis is a big man. He weighs in at 280 pounds well-proportioned on a 6’ 5” frame, the same measurements that he carried when he was a Division II All-American offensive lineman at Carson Newman College in 1998.

Alan will tell you, however, that he was a late bloomer. When he began his football career as a freshman at Fannin County High School in the fall of 1990, he tipped the scales at 150 pounds. During his 9 year gridiron career he just got bigger and better at every stop along the way. His myriad accomplishment during those years have earned Alan a well-deserved membership card in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016.

Alan played in both the offensive and defensive lines during his first three years at Fannin County High. When he began his senior season in 1993, new Rebel Coach Joby Scroggs gave Alan a new number and some new assignments. He was assigned jersey # 89 and moved to tight end on offense and linebacker on defense. Scroggs had this to say about Alan; “He has been blessed with size and ability. Alan is very quiet, but he is also an intense player. He loves to hit. When Alan goes full speed all the time, he will be what colleges are looking for”.

The Scroggs assessment of Alan proved prophetic. Alan was named as the Most Valuable Defensive Player at Fannin County High as a senior, and was credited with over 100 tackles during the 1993 campaign.

After the 1993 football season was in the books, assistant football and head wrestling Coach Jerry Barnes encouraged Alan to become a member of the school wrestling team. Alan had no wrestling experience but he had the size, agility and quickness necessary to achieve success in the sport. He made the team and learned enough technique to finish the season with an individual record of 24-6 and an invitation to participate in the state wrestling meet.

Initially, Alan intended to marry Heather Harper, his high school sweetheart whom he had known since their elementary school days at Epworth, go to work and start raising a family after high school graduation. Coach Scroggs again intervened, however, and his advice and assistance to Alan proved to be life-changing. Scroggs felt that Alan was good enough to play collegiate football and used his contacts to arrange for a tryout with the Middle Georgia Junior College Warriors in Cochran, Georgia. Alan was a standout defensive lineman at Middle Georgia and capped off his two year career there with a victory over Hutchinson Kansas Junior College in the Mineral Water Bowl Game in Excelsior Springs, Arkansas in 1995.

Scouts at several colleges including Division II powerhouse Carson-Newman had kept Alan on their radar and came calling when he finished his eligibility at Middle Georgia. With three years of elibigility remaining, Alan was signed to a full football scholarship to Carson-Newman, located in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Alan and Heather, soon to be Mrs. Alan Collis, set out for Jefferson City and the most productive period of Alan’s athletic career.

During his three years at Carson-Newman, Alan Collis accomplished the following:

-Was a three-year starter, one as a defensive lineman and two as an offensive guard.

-Was named to the South Atlantic Conference all-star first team as an offensive lineman in 1997 and 1998.

-Was named to the NCAA Division II all-star Southeast Regional first team in 1998.

-Was elected to the Division II All-American first team in 1998

-Was awarded the prestigious Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best blocker in the South Atlantic Conference in 1998.

During Alan’s career at the school, Carson-Newman advanced to the semi-finals of the Division II playoffs all three years, including two appearances in the Championship game. In recognition of his magnificent career, Carson-Newman has inducted Alan in to the Carson-Newman College All American Hall of Fame. Longtime Eagles head coach Ken Sparks says that Alan Collis was “an outstanding player. He had very solid character, had strong values and was true to those values. He was extremely dedicated and his dedication paid off”.

After graduation, Alan Collis, the only first team ALL-AMERICAN in any sport in Fannin County history, his wife Heather and their young daughter Alexis returned to the mountains of North Georgia. Twelve years ago, the family grew by two, when twin sons Taylor and Carson came along.

Alan has been involved in some type of coaching every year since he returned to Fannin County. He currently is an assistant coach for the Fannin County High School girls softball team. At various times, he has coached football, wrestling and even cheerleading. He is currently a high school teacher at the Crossroads Alternative School in the Mountain Innovation Program. Heather has an M.A. in English and has taught various English courses at Fannin County High School and is currently the Academic Coach at the school.

It would appear that Alan’s athletic genes have been passed along in abundance to the Collis children. Both boys are up-and-coming wrestlers and daughter Alexis is an outstanding softball player at the University of North Georgia. Alexis was a valuable contributor as a junior as the Nighthawks won the Division II National Championship in 2015, the first national title in school history. She is now a senior at North Georgia and hopes that her team can duplicate their success this season.

Mandy Dixon

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Mandy Lents Dixon 1

Mandy Lents Dixon has a very simple mantra when it comes to her participation in athletics: ‘Actions speak louder than words’. Mandy describes herself as being shy by nature and her athletic coaches along the way will tell you that she was not much of talker during her years of basketball and softball competition. Mandy’s performances in her 13-year sports career speak very loudly, however, loudly enough to gain her a place in the 2016 class of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.

Mandy grew up in Epworth and continues to reside there today. She is the daughter of Joann and Ray Lents, who gave her very strong support from her first day of athletic competition. Her mother, the former Joann Galloway, was a basketball player of some note at West Fannin High School in the late 50s and early 60s, so she was able to give Mandy plenty of constructive support including some tips that helped Mandy’s basketball game. In high school at Fannin County Mandy grew to about 5’ 8” which made her the tallest girl on the team. When she faced much taller opponents Mandy often used a hook shot taught to her by her mom to help her score over those taller opponents.

When she played for the West Fannin Middle School Yellow Jackets, Mandy was coached by a couple of local legends, Eddie Massengale and Jack Myers. When she arrived at Fannin County High School in 1986, she found herself under the tutelage of an even bigger legend in local and state circles, Johnny Farmer. Farmer was a huge influence on Matty, serving as her high school coach in both basketball and softball. She has this to say about Coach Farmer: “I realize how much he taught me and how much I respect him for being tough on us and urging us to always do our best. Thank you Coach Farmer for being the coach you were”.

During her high school career, Mandy Dixon won four varsity letters in basketball and three in softball. She scored more than 1,000 points in her basketball career with Fannin County High.

In basketball, Mandy was selected as the Most Improved Player as a sophomore and as the team Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player as a junior and senior. In 1989, she led the Lady Rebels to the final 8 in the Georgia Class AA state tournament for the first time in school history. The accomplishments of her 1988-89 team set a high bar of success for later Fannin County teams who enjoyed great success, including two state titles, in the 1990s.

For her efforts on the basketball court, Mandy was selected as the Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club as girls basketball Player of the Year in 1990. That same year she was selected to the Atlanta Journal/Constitution Class AA Honorable Mention All-State Team.

Mandy Dixon’s softball efforts were not too shabby either. She was the starting left fielder for the Lady Rebels from 1987-1990, a period during which her teams compiled a record of 83 wins and 23 losses. Her teams won the sub-region title during her junior and senior years, and the 1990 team made it to the final 8 in the state tournament. Her classmates voted her as the Most Athletic senior girl in 1990.

Following her graduation from Fannin County High School, Mandy signed a scholarship to compete in basketball and softball for the Piedmont College Lady Lions. Since Piedmont is located in the not-too-distant from Blue Ridge town of Cornelia, Mandy’s parents were able to attend many of her games just as they had done during the Fannin County days.

Mandy lost one of her biggest supporters when her father died in late 1993. Although her sports career was flourishing at Piedmont, Mandy’s grief threatened to end that career prematurely. Her mother convinced her to continue to compete because her dad loved to watch her play and would want her to finish her education and athletic career.

Mandy Lents Dixon scored a staggering 1,500 points during her basketball career at Piedmont College. She continued to pile up the trophies and received the Most Improved Player as a sophomore, and  Best Offensive Player and Most Valuable Awards as a junior and senior. She also was a starter for the softball team for three seasons. Her coach had this to say about her basketball prowess: “Mandy Lents is extremely quick from the forward position. She’ll jump up and get a rebound and really surprise you. She is one of our better players but she is a quiet player so people don’t really notice Mandy for the type of player she is. She is one of those quiet heroes that you hear people talk about all the time”.

After graduating from Piedmont, Mandy returned to Fannin County to teach in the local school system. She currently teaches Language Arts at Fannin County Middle School. She met her husband, Brad at Piedmont, and they have now been married 20 years. The Dixons have two children. River Dixon is a junior at Fannin County High School and a college prospect as an offensive lineman. River also plays basketball and baseball. Daughter Jade is a 6th grader at the Middle School and plays softball and basketball. Mandy says that she and Brad “are so proud of the things River and Jade have accomplished in their time of playing sports. We supported our kids by coaching their Rec teams when they were younger and now by being members of booster clubs, fund raising, working concession stands or just being their biggest fans”.

When she graduated from Piedmont, Mandy thought that she wanted to return to Fannin County and enter the coaching profession. She was assigned to coach the 9th grade boys and assisted Coach Mike Paul in coaching the boys varsity. After a while, however, she decided that coaching was probably not for a young woman who wanted to raise and family and lead a normal family life. She says that she “is so competitive that she could not sleep after a loss and that coaching was consuming her time”. At this point in her life, it would appear that Mandy Lents Dixon is living the American Dream and is exactly where she wants to be.

Gregg Farmer

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farmergreggchildGregg Farmer entered the world on May 3, 1949 in McCaysville, Georgia. Very early in his life he successfully waged a battle against scarlet fever. Although he won the battle, however, it is possible that the disease hung around to cause complications that led to Gregg’s untimely death some 35 years later.

Gregg was an outstanding all-around athlete growing up in McCaysville. He excelled at basketball and fortunately grew to a height of 6’ 3” or so which allowed him to mix it up with the bigger athletes of his era.

Gregg played basketball and football as a freshman at West Fannin High School. When he began his second year of competition, however, he decided to concentrate all of his considerable skills to the game of basketball. He made the varsity squad as a sophomore and was a valuable reserve for the Yellow Jackets in that season of 1964-65. In a game with rival Murray County that season, Gregg was given the opportunity to start, replacing the starting center who was injured. Gregg responded with an 18-point effort helping West Fannin upset the favored Indians, 71-64. Farmer earned a varsity letter as a sophomore.

The 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons were two of the most successful basketball campaigns in West Fannin sports history. Those two teams won a total of 42 games and appeared in the Georgia Class AA State Tournament both seasons. Gregg Farmer was a starting player for both of those teams, averaging more than 15 points per game as a junior and as a senior. Early in his career he was primarily an inside player but developed a deadly mid-range jump shot by the time his junior season rolled around.

The honors rolled in for Gregg during his last two seasons at West Fannin. He was named as the team’s Most Improved Player as a junior and then as the team Most Valuable Player for his efforts during his senior year. He was elected as the team captain in 1966-67. He was named to the Region 7AA All-Tournament team as a senior and scored more than 1,000 points during his basketball career at West Fannin. His teammates as West Fannin use such words as ‘unselfish’ and ‘unflappable’ when asked about Gregg Farmer the basketball player.

Area college recruiters took note of Gregg Farmer’s hardcourt exploits at West Fannin and he found himself the recipient of a full basketball scholarship to attend Truett-McConnell Junior College in Cleveland, Georgia. Gregg flourished as an all-around student, campus leader and athlete at Truett-McConnell. As a freshman in 1967-68, he scored 325 points in 24 games for a scoring average of 13.5 points per game. He was successful on 136 of 231 field goal attempts for an average of 58.9%. That percentage set a school record. He also grabbed 169 rebounds for an average of 7 per game. He was awarded the team Sportsmanship Award for his efforts.

In addition to his basketball accomplishments at Truett-McConnell, Gregg, who was something of an introvert naturally, became an integral part of campus life. He was elected as the vice-president of the freshman class, was named as the Outstanding Sophomore Student and even made frequent appearances on the Dean’s List.

Gregg’s numbers fell slightly in his sophomore year to averages of 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Coaches at four-year colleges in north and central Georgia, however, were impressed with Gregg’s all-around game and, again, he found himself the recipient of another full basketball scholarship. This time the grantor was West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia. Gregg won two varsity letters as a competitor at West Georgia.

It was at West Georgia that Gregg met Shirley Lippincott, a coed from Rome, Georgia. After graduation, the couple married and settled in McCaysville, Georgia. The union produced three daughters, Cassandra, Jessica and Monica.

Gregg opened his own insurance agency in McCaysville, Southland Insurance. With his business savvy and local contacts, he was able to establish a successful business and later opened a second office in Blue Ridge. Shirley taught school at Epworth and McCaysville Elementary Schools.

Shortly before his 36th birthday in April of 1985, Gregg sought medical care for what he believed to be a hernia. While in the hospital, Gregg died on April 12, 1985. He actually suffered an aneurysm and his obituary reports the cause of death as a heart attack. Who knows whether the scarlet fever that Gregg had fought as a young child played a part.

In any event, Gregg Farmer left his family, friends, community and business associates far too soon. The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame intends to do its part in keeping an important part of his legacy alive.

Bill Franklin

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Bill Franklin 1Bill Franklin was born to run. He grew up near Epworth, Georgia and spent countless hours running camping and simply enjoying the outdoors in the mountains and wilderness near his home. Sometimes he would run the several miles home from Epworth Elementary School. It wasn’t that he was in any urgent hurry to get home, he just loved to run.

Bill entered West Fannin with the new school’s first batch of students in the fall of 1955. He was not very big so he did not participate in any of the sports offered at the school during its first year of 1955-56 nor in the second year of 1956-57. During the spring of his junior year, however, the powers that be at West Fannin decided that the school needed a track and field team. Bill Franklin then had a stage to showcase his running skills. During his junior year, he ran several events but did not concentrate on any specific discipline. He did find himself as a member of the 4-man mile relay team that year. Along with Carlton Guthrie, Leon Guthrie and Rene Godfrey (all members of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame) Bill became one of the first 4 athletes to compete at the state level thanks to their second place finish at the Region 3AA track and field meet.

When he began the track season toward the end of his senior season, Bill decided that his running skills were more suited for the distance races rather than sprints. He concentrated on the mile run and was rewarded by winning that event at the Region 3AA track and field meet and proceeding to finish 2nd in the state Class AA meet. His accomplishment was the first time any athlete or team from West Fannin ever earned a medal in athletics at the state level.

Following his graduation from West Fannin, Bill had the idea that he would like to pursue an outdoors-related career, perhaps as a warden or ranger. To that end, he decided to travel to Tifton, Georgia at the south end of the state to begin his pursuit of a degree in Forestry. The college that he chose was Abraham Baldwin Agricultural Junior College, commonly referred to as ABAC. It did not hurt that ABAC had up and coming programs in cross country and track and field. Scholarship aid to track and field athletes was virtually non-existent in the world of 1960-61 so Bill was attending college on his own dime at this point.

Bill had an outstanding career in athletics at ABAC. He was elected captain of both the cross country and track and field teams both years that he was there. He led the cross country team to the first state title in school history in 1961-62, by finishing 2nd overall in the event. His track and field teams won two state titles with Bill as their captain in 1960-61 and 1961-62. He was the winner of the 880-yard run in the 1960-61 state meet and followed up with a victory in the 2 mile run in 1961-62 meet. Distance runners at ABAC were only allowed to participate in one event per meet, so Bill’s versatility in the longer running events made him a valuable team member.

Bill Franklin was also an honor student at ABAC and active in a number of community-related activities. His work was recognized by the Tifton Rotary Club in 1962 when the club awarded Bill its annual sportsmanship award to him.

After receiving an associate’s degree from ABAC, Bill was briefly unsure what he should do next in his academic career. He did, however, know two things. He would continue to run no matter where his next stop might be. Second, he had decided to pursue a degree in education instead of forestry. He had come to feel that he would like to work with youngsters as either a coach or an educator.

Fate intervened shortly after Bill participated in a distance race held on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Bill won the race and the attention of legendary Georgia track and field coach Spec Towns. Coach Towns offered Bill a partial scholarship for his junior year and the promise of a full scholarship for his senior year. Towns kept his promise and Bill Franklin was a UGA track and field distance runner for two seasons. Although slowed by injuries during his career as a Bulldog, Bill did win two varsity letters from the SEC school. He earned a degree in Education from the University in the spring of 1964.

America was at war in the mid-1960s and all able-bodied young men were expected to serve in the military for a time. Billy enlisted in the Army and proceeded to serve 2 ½ tours of duty in Vietnam. He rose to the rank of captain with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Having served his country in the military, Bill returned to Fannin County where he became a Special Education teacher for 20 years. Throughout his teaching career, Bill continued to pursue his passion for running, entering distances races throughout central and north Georgia. He won a roomful of trophies but is particularly proud of his first place finish in the 5K race at the Georgia Marble Festival in Jasper, Georgia in 1985. He was 43 years old at the time and won the event against a field of talented runners much younger than himself.

Bill Franklin loved to run but he was unable to outrun a number of physical ailments that dominated the final years of his life. He was elected to the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and attended a ceremony introducing the class to the public on Monday, August 10. Bill was confined to a wheelchair but made the supreme effort to attend and be honored for his many accomplishments. A scant nine days later, on Wednesday, August 19 Bill passed away.

Bill Franklin epitomized all that is positive in athletics and in life. The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame is honored to call him a member in good standing.


Leon Guthrie

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For those of you keeLeon Guthrie 1ping score, get a red pen or pencil and draw a star next to the date Saturday, September 10, 1955. On that muggy night a group of boys from West Fannin High School became the first team in the history of Fannin County to participate in a real, organized, official football game. These local pioneers in their sport did themselves proud that night by fighting the Bradley County Tennessee High School junior varsity team to a 7-7 tie. Quite an accomplishment when you consider that the powerful Bradley Bears had the best team in the entire state of Tennessee, and the boys sent up the river to face West Fannin were only a step away from being members of that elite group.

One of the stalwarts of that 1955 West Fannin team was sophomore fullback Leon Guthrie. Leon scored the first touchdown in West Fannin history on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter and then added the all-important PAT on another run of similar length. The West Fannin squad, running the single wing attack of Coach Buddy Padgett would win 5 games, lose 2 games and have one tie during that first season. The offensive attack was led by Leon Guthrie at fullback and Charles Woodall at tailback, a formidable one-two punch unleashed on opponents. Leon contributed 35 points to the effort on the strength of 5 touchdowns and 6 points after touchdown. He also threw a touchdown pass to Jim Fry that was a critical contribution to the 13-6 victory over North Whitfield.His performance during the 1955 football season was the first chapter in an athletic body of work that has landed Leon Guthrie membership in the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.

Leon is the oldest of the four sons of Travis and Lucy Guthrie. Travis was the Fannin County School Superintendent from 1945 until his retirement in 1969. The Guthrie family is one of the prominent families of Fannin County and has a rich tradition of athletic excellence, scholarship and citizenship. Leon has certainly done his part in upholding these traditions.

Leon grew up in the Epworth community and attended school at Epworth through his freshman year in high school. He participated in any athletic activity available, but basketball was the only organized, school-sponsored sport in Fannin County schools until the county-wide consolidation in 1955. Leon was a member of the final basketball team at the old Epworth High School during the 1954-55 school year.

Moving on to the new West Fannin High School as a sophomore in the fall of 1955, Leon found the mother lode of athletics available and became a valuable member of the football, basketball, baseball and track and field teams at the new school. He was a valuable contributor in all four sports during his three years at West Fannin.

The 1957-58 school and sports year was a big one for Leon. Injury-free for the first time since the 1955 season, Leon and his teammates posted a 6-3-1 football record in 1957. It was the best record in the history of West Fannin football, matched on three occasions in subsequent years. At the beginning of the season, the West Fannin players elected Leon Guthrie and his long-time pal Ron Hartness to serve as co-captains of the football team. These two young men would prove to be strong leaders and role models as the season developed.

Early in the 1957 campaign, the Purple Hurricane of Cartersville High visited Fannin County to do battle with the Yellow Jackets. Cartersville had an established program having played organized football since 1909, plus the Purple Hurricane had routed the Yellow Jackets 42-14 in 1956. Leon Guthrie scored a touchdown on a 40-yard run in this game leading his team to a 14-6 upset in the first signature victory in West Fannin history. Defeating Cartersville established West Fannin as a force to be reckoned with in North Georgia football circles. The Jackets closed the season with another upset, this time a 13-8 win over Cherokee County High School from Canton. In this game played at Ducktown due to weather related road problems in Fannin County, Leon led the effort by scoring the winning touchdown.

Leon Guthrie scored 8 touchdowns during the 1957 season. He was named to the Atlanta Constitution Prep Honor Roll for his performance against North Whitfield. He scored two touchdowns on runs of 10 and 12 yards in that game. At the end of the season Leon was named to both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Associated Press Class AA Honorable Mention All-State teams.

During the latter part of the 1957-58 year, Leon accomplished another first in West Fannin sports history. He was a member of the Mile Relay Track team in the spring of 1958, along with his brother Carlton, Bill Franklin and freshman Rene Godfrey. These boys finished second at the Region 3AA track and field meet, entitling them to participate in the State meet. These four boys were the first athletes in the history of West Fannin athletics to compete at the state level.

Leon was selected as the Most Athletic Boy by his classmates in 1958. He also served as Vice-President of the senior class and the Key Club. He was the epitome of the Big Man of Campus in all areas of endeavor.

After graduation from West Fannin, Leon attended the University of Georgia and earned his degree in 1963. He joined the Army Reserves in 1965 and retired in 1997 as a full Colonel. Running has been one of Leon’s passions throughout his adult life. He has run several marathons with his best time of 3:36:46 coming in the 1980 Huntsville, Alabama ‘Joe Steele Rocket City Marathon’.

Leon is retired now and lives in Chattanooga with his wife Jane. They are avid scuba divers having participated in that pastime in many places around the world.

The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame is proud to welcome Leon Guthrie to its ranks that already includes two of his brothers, Carlton and Robert.