The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Georgia Southern University player Julius Jenkins is the basketball team's all-time top scorer, with 1,870 points during his college career.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Georgia Southern basketball player Jeff Sanders (jersey number 42) is one of the university's best-known players. After excelling on the collegiate level during the late 1980s, Sanders went on to play for a few teams in the NBA, including the Atlanta Hawks.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Johnny Mills holds the Georgia Southern University basketball records for best career average and best season average for points scored. He played for the Eagles in the early 1970s.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Michael Curry played basketball for Georgia Southern University from 1986 to 1990. One of the Eagles' best-known players, Curry broke records for the school before going on to play for the NBA.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Between 1911 and 1927 native Georgian Sherry Smith played for fourteen years in the major leagues. His team played in the World Series twice. Later in his career, Smith returned to Georgia to coach for the Macon Peaches in the Southeastern League.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Baseball player Willard Nixon is pictured in 1951 as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He was especially effective pitching against the New York Yankees and earned the nickname "Yankee Killer."
Courtesy of Boston Red Sox
The Atlanta team of the Southern League is pictured circa 1890. The Southern League, founded in Atlanta by Henry W. Grady in 1885, was the first professional minor league baseball association. The league collapsed several times before disbanding for good in 1899.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
The 1968 lineup for the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League included, from front to back, Vic Crowe, Freddie Mwila, Gordon Ferry, Brian Hughes, Ray Bloomfield, Emment Kapengwe, Ron Newman, John Cocking, Graham Newton, Vic Rouse, and Peter McParland. The original team folded in 1972, but a second incarnation of the Chiefs competed in the NASL from 1979 to 1981.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Soccer star Pele in Atlanta for a match against the Atlanta Chiefs in1968. Pele scored three times in the game, and the Santos defeated the Atlanta Chiefs, six to two. Pele, who later played in the North American Soccer League for the New York Cosmos, is seen as integral to the growth of American soccer.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archive.
Soccer in the Streets began in Atlanta in 1989 to bring soccer and other activities to disadvantaged youth in urban areas. The program exists in cities nationwide.
Photograph from the Atlanta Beltline
Professional golfer Larry Nelson has won ten PGA Tour events and nineteen Champions Tour events. In 2000 the Marietta resident was named Senior Player of the Year.
Courtesy of Georgia Golf Hall of Fame
A Vidalia native, Mel Blount played with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the 1970s and early 1980s as part of the team's famous "Steel Curtain" defense. Blount helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
In their first preseason game of 2006-7, the Thrashers beat the Florida Panthers six to three. In this photo, the Thrashers' Ilya Kovalchuk (right) scores his second goal of the night.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In their final home game of the 2005-6 season on April 15, the Thrashers beat the Boston Bruins four to three. This photo shows the Atlanta team celebrating its fourth and game-winning goal.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena), in the heart of downtown Atlanta, was home to the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 to 2011. It has since served as a venue for many concerts and is the home of the Atlanta Hawks. Â
Photograph by Doug Waldron
The Atlanta Crackers (1901-1965) played at Ponce de Leon Ballpark in their hometown.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Lane Brothers Commercial Photographers Photographic Collection, 1920-1976.
In 1954 Nat Peeples, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, played two games with the Atlanta Crackers, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Southern Association. He was the first and only Black player to be recruited by a team in that organization.
Photograph from NBC
Members of the 1950 Atlanta Crackers team carry the Southern Association pennant into Ponce de Leon Ballpark. The Crackers, a minor league team, won seventeen league championships between the team's formation in 1901 and its final season in 1965.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Collection.
By 1960 the Atlanta Crackers, a minor league baseball team, had lost a number of fans to such new attractions as television. In 1962 the team won its final championship, the Junior World Series, before playing its final season in 1965.
The Atlanta Crackers, a minor league team in the Southern Association, formed in 1901 under the leadership of Charles Abner Powell. The origin of the team's name is unknown, although several theories exist.
Courtesy of Atlanta History Center, Atlanta History Photograph Collection, #
VIS 170.173.001.
The Atlanta Crackers club dominated the Southern Association until the league's demise in 1961. Ted Cieslak, at bat, played in the major leagues during World War II.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Atlanta Crackers, a minor league franchise, played at Ponce de Leon Ballpark from 1907 until 1965. Attendance at Crackers games broke Southern Association league records in 1946 and 1947, with counts of 395,699 and 404,584 respectively.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bryan "Bitsy" Grant, a native of Atlanta, was a champion tennis player during the 1930s. In both 1935 and 1936, he was ranked as the third best player in the world, and he won the U.S. Championships (later the U.S. Open) three times.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Glenn "Pop" Warner, shown here in Athens in 1895, coached the University of Georgia football team around the end of the nineteenth century. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
clr093.
One of the most successful coaches in college football history, Glenn "Pop" Warner coached the University of Georgia football team to their first undefeated season in 1896.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Glenn "Pop" Warner coached football at the University of Georgia for two seasons, leading the team to its first undefeated season in 1896-97. Warner enjoyed a long collegiate coaching career after leaving Georgia in 1897, and in 1929 he founded the Pop Warner Youth Football League, which exists today as the Pop Warner Little Scholars Program.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs DivisionÂ
This 1997 postage stamp commemorates Glen "Pop" Warner's career. Warner coached for forty-four years at six different colleges.Â
Courtesy of Smithsonian National Postal Museum
A native of Clayton County, Cecil Travis earned honors as both a hitter and a fielder during his major league baseball career with the Washington Senators, from 1934 to 1941. In 1975 he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Photograph by the Boston Public Library
Nap Rucker, pitcher for the Brooklyn Superbas (later Brooklyn Dodgers) from 1907 to 1916, winds up a throw. Rucker, a Georgia native, is often credited with the invention of the knuckleball in 1905, along with Augusta native Eddie Cicotte.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Nap Rucker, a native of Crabapple, pitched for the Brooklyn Superbas (later the Brooklyn Dodgers) throughout his career in major league baseball, from 1907 to 1916. Rucker is pictured on a baseball card issued in 1911 by the American Tobacco Company.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Benjamin K. Edwards Collection, #LC-USZC2-1363.
The Georgia Southern Eagles football team celebrates its national championship win in 1989 after a 15-0 season.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Defensive back David Young of Georgia Southern University tackles an opposing player from Furman University. The Georgia Southern Eagles won six national championships between 1985 and 2000, making the team the most successful in the NCAA I-AA division.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Erskine "Erk" Russell coached the Georgia Southern Eagles to three national championships during his tenure as head coach from 1981 to 1989. Before coaching the Eagles, Russell was the UGA Bulldogs defensive coordinator for seventeen years.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Tracy Ham, an All-American quarterback, led the Georgia Southern Eagles to national championships in 1985 and 1986.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Defensive tackler Freddie Pesqueira (number 44) of Acworth helped Georgia Southern's Eagles win back-to-back national championships in 1999 and 2000.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Chaz Williams, pictured circa 2003, broke records for touchdowns in the Southern Conference as a quarterback for the Georgia Southern Eagles.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Young Stribling (left), a heavyweight boxer, trains in North Carolina with Jack Dempsey, circa 1930. Stribling was well known across his home state of Georgia for his civic involvement, which included service as a lieutenant in the Army Air Reserve Corps.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Photographic Collection.
Young Stribling, a native of Bainbridge, was a well-known professional boxer. His career began in 1920 with his first professional fight in Atlanta and continued until 1933, when he died in a motorcycle accident in Macon. Stribling fought in more than 285 professional fights, winning 221 of the bouts.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Young Stribling, a boxing champion during the 1920s and early 1930s, trains in North Carolina for a match against Paul Berlenbach. A Georgia native, Stribling was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Photographic Collection.
Lou Hudson (left) of the Atlanta Hawks plays against the Buffalo Braves, circa 1970. Known by teammates as "Super Lou" or "Sweet Lou," Hudson is one of only three Hawks players to have his number, twenty-three, retired by the team.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Hawks player Al Harrington (left) attempts a rebound during a game with the Phoenix Suns at Philips Arena (later State Farm Arena) in 2006. The Hawks franchise moved to Atlanta from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1968.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks scores against the Indiana Pacers, circa 1985. Known as the "human highlight film," Wilkins joined the Hawks in 1982 and ten years later became the team's all-time leading scorer.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jon Koncak (left) and Duane Ferrell (right) of the Atlanta Hawks attempt to block a shot made by Glen Rice of the Miami Heat in 1992.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Lon Kruger coaches during an Atlanta Hawks home game, played in October 2000 at Philips Arena (later State Farm Arena). Kruger served as the head coach for the Hawks from 2000 to 2002.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Two members of the dance squad for the Atlanta Hawks pose with the team mascot, Harry the Hawk. The twenty-member dance team performs at all the Hawks' home games, which are played in State Farm Arena.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hubie Brown coaches the Atlanta Hawks on January 3, 1979. Brown served as head coach of the Hawks from 1976 until 1981, winning the NBA's coach of the year award in 1978.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons player Brian Finneran (left) fights for the ball with Buffalo Bills player Nate Clements in 2005. In 1965 the Falcons franchise came to Atlanta, where the team plays home games at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tommy Nobis joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1965. A graduate of the University of Texas, Nobis won rookie-of-the-year honors after the team's inaugural season in Atlanta in 1966-67.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski practices under the guidance of head coach Leeman Bennett. Bennett joined the franchise in 1977 and led the team to three play-offs between 1978 and 1981.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dan Reeves, head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003, observes warm-ups before a 1999 game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1998 Reeves led the team to its first Super Bowl, which the Falcons lost to the Denver Broncos.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (left) stands with head coach Mike Smith. Both joined the Falcons in 2008 and led the franchise to a winning season and the NFC South division title. Smith left the Falcons in 2014.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Herschel Walker played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 1980 to 1982, before beginning his professional career. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Herschel Walker, considered to be one of the best college football players in history, won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. After playing for the University of Georgia from 1980 to 1982, Walker played professional football for the New Jersey Generals, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Nancy Lopez competes while a student-athlete at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. Lopez enrolled at the university in 1974 on a golf scholarship, and in 1976 she was named an all-American. The following year she left school to begin her professional career.
Courtesy of Tulsa Athletic Media Relations
Nancy Lopez is one of the most successful golfers in the Ladies Professional Golf Association, with career tournament winnings of more than $5 million. Inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1998, Lopez sponsors charity golf tournaments in Albany and Stockbridge each year.
Courtesy of Georgia Golf Hall of Fame
Walt Frazier, a guard for the New York Knicks, plays in a 1969 game against the Seattle SuperSonics. Frazier, a native of Atlanta, played for the Knicks from 1967 until 1976, during which time he often led the team in both assists and scoring.
Photograph by Wikimedia
The 2005-6 women's swim team at the University of Georgia pose at the beginning of the season. In 2005 the team won an NCAA championship, the fourth in the team's history.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
The Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities has been home to the University of Georgia swimming and diving teams since 1995. The center's swimming facilities are housed in the Gabrielsen Natatorium, which features a 50-meter competition pool, a diving pool, and seats for 2,000 spectators.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Photographic Services
The men's swim team at the University of Georgia won the SEC conference championship in 1952 for the second consecutive year. The team would bring home another championship in 1955.
Courtesy of UGA Sports Communications
Bobby Dodd was the head coach of the Georgia Tech football team from 1945 to 1966. In addition to coaching the Yellow Jackets to the 1952 national championship, Dodd is remembered for leading the team in a thirty-one-game winning streak from 1945 to 1966. He is the first man to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Dodd Stadium, named for former head coach Bobby Dodd, was built in 1913 by students at Georgia Tech and is today the oldest on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I-A football. Renovated in 2003, the stadium is home to the Georgia Tech football team.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Tommy Aaron, a native of Gainesville, won the Master's Tournament in Augusta in 1973. He was later inducted into both the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tommy Aaron became an amateur golf champion during his high school years in the 1950s. After turning professional in 1961, Aaron became one of the Professional Golf Association's top money earners. In 1969 and 1973 he played for the Ryder Cup team.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archive.
Rudy York (left) sits with teammate Roy Henderson in 1930, when the two played together on the company team for the textile mill in Atco. York later went on to play professionally for the Detroit Tigers.
Photograph from Collection of Bartow History Center, Cartersville
Rudy York examines a baseball bat in the late 1960s with three young boys wearing Atlanta Crackers jerseys.
Photograph from Collection of Bartow History Center, Cartersville
Davis Love III, a professional golfer who makes his home in Sea Island, played for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1983 to 1985. He was named an all-American three times, as well as an all-Atlantic Coast Conference golfer, during his collegiate career.
Courtesy of UNC Athletic Communications
Davis Love III, a resident of Sea Island, was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. A professional golfer since 1985, Love was listed in 2004 as the fourth all-time money winner on the Professional Golf Association tour.
Courtesy of Georgia Golf Hall of Fame
After retiring from his career as a track runner, Edwin Moses began to campaign against steroid use. He also served on the International Olympic Committee and worked in support of the Goodwill Games and the Special Olympics.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Edwin Moses competes at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. Moses shares the honor of being a two-time Olympic champion of the 400-meter hurdles with only one other man. This distinction is especially remarkable because his two wins occurred eight years apart.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Evander Holyfield, the only boxer to become the heavyweight champion of the world four times, trained for his second title fight at the Atlanta gym of Lee Haney, an eight-time Mr. Olympia.
Photograph by John Kloepper
Evander Holyfield poses with his championship belts in 1990, after becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Aside from boxing, Evander Holyfield is involved in various religious and philanthropic activities, including a college fund for minority students and a family community center.Â
Photograph by Glenn FrancisÂ
Despite being interrupted repeatedly by injuries, Spud Chandler's career was exceptional. With the highest winning percentage in major league history among experienced pitchers, and having pitched for six world championship wins, Spud Chandler received the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1943 and is a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
As a young boy, Spud Chandler, shown here in his Yankees uniform between 1937 and 1947, was a fan of the New York team. While at the University of Georgia, he rejected offers from professional football teams and from other professional baseball teams so that he could play for the Yankees, with whom he spent his entire pitching career.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
The UGA men's basketball team, holding its third-place NCAA trophy, poses with Uga, the school mascot, on the tarmac of the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1983 the team played in its first NCAA tournament, advancing to the Final Four before losing to North Carolina State University, the eventual champion.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
The Bulldogs' progression to the 1983 NCAA Final Four is a highlight in the history of the men's basketball program at the University of Georgia. The team, playing in its first NCAA tournament, beat the University of North Carolina to make it into the semifinals.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
D. A. Layne, a former UGA guard from Marietta, drives down the court during a 2000-2001 season game. Layne, a consistent shooter, broke a school record when he scored ninety-one three-pointers in a single season.
Courtesy of James Hipple
Orlando "Tubby" Smith coached the men's basketball team at the University of Georgia from 1995 to 1997. During his tenure, Smith led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen tournament.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
Jarvis and Jonas Hayes, identical twins and fan favorites, played together for the UGA men's basketball team during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Jonas played an additional season for the Bulldogs in 2004 after Jarvis left to play professionally for the Washington Wizards.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications Office
The University of Georgia gymnastics team won its fifth national title in 1999. The Gym Dogs, coached by Suzanne Yoculan, won their first national title in 1987.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
The University of Georgia gymnastics team, known as the Gym Dogs, won the national title in 2005 for the sixth time in its history. The 2005 team also received a total of seventeen all-American honors.
Photograph by John Kelley
Suzanne Yoculan became the head coach for the University of Georgia Gym Dogs in 1984, and she retired in 2009. Named the NCAA coach of the year five times during her tenure at Georgia, Yoculan led the team to ten national titles and sixteen Southeastern Conference titles.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
Pre-meet entertainment takes place in Stegeman Coliseum, where home meets of the University of Georgia gymnastics team are held. Student support for the Gym Dogs is among the highest of any college gymnastics team in the nation, and home meets regularly sell out.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
Bobby Ross, a successful football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, poses with Georgia Tech's 1990 national championship trophy. Ross served as head football coach for the Yellow Jackets from 1987 to 1991.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, coached by Bobby Ross, beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1990 to secure their fourth national championship in NCAA Division I-A football.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Ross began his long coaching career after graduating from Virginia Military Institute in 1959. After more than forty years of collegiate and professional coaching, including five years at Georgia Tech, Bobby Ross retired in 2000. He returned to the sport in 2003 as the head coach for the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Photograph by U.S. Army
David Greene, a native of Snellville, set a number of school and SEC records during his tenure as a quarterback for the University of Georgia. The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame selected Greene as a part of the National Scholar-Athlete Class in 2004, which is awarded for superior athletic ability, academic accomplishment, and leadership.
Photograph by Steve Guyer
Home of the Georgia Bulldogs football team, Sanford Stadium is the second-largest on-campus stadium in the South and the fifth-largest in the nation, with a capacity of 92,020.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Members of an early University of Georgia football team gather on the field sometime between 1895 and 1900. The Bulldogs played their first game on January 25, 1892, against Mercer College (later Mercer University).
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
clr146.
Charley Trippi runs a play with the 1942 University of Georgia football team. The team was declared a national champion after winning the Rose Bowl against the University of Califorinia at Los Angeles.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Uga IV served as the team mascot from 1981 to 1989. Uga IV attended a bowl game every year of his service and he was the first live mascot ever invited to a Heisman Trophy presentation. After his death in 1990, UGA IV was awarded a Georgia varsity letter, the highest honor available to UGA Mascots.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
UGA football coach Vince Dooley was named NCAA National Coach of the Year in both 1980 and 1982, and was honored as Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year seven times over his twenty-five year tenure as head coach.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Mark Richt became the twenty-fifth head coach for the University of Georgia football team in December 2000. In 2002 he led the Bulldogs to their first SEC championship in twenty years.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Uga VI served as the mascot for the University of Georgia from 1999 until his death in 2008. He made his debut during the UGA vs. South Carolina football game on September 11, 1999. Uga VI took over for his father, Uga V, who retired after serving as mascot for nine years.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Frank "Flatfoot" Sinkwich earned the first Heisman Trophy awarded to a southern college player. He brought national recognition to the University of Georgia's football program by taking his team to the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
David Pollack, a defensive end for the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 2001 to 2004, is a native of Snellville. Pollack was named an all-American three times and won several prestigious national awards during his career at Georgia.
Photograph by Phillip Faulkner
Fran Tarkenton's offensive unit drew the nicknames "Tarkenton's Raiders" and "Tarkenton's Music Makers." He led the Southeastern Conference in passing completions and set a conference record for completion percentage in 1959, earning him All-SEC quarterback honors. He also led the Georgia Bulldogs to an Orange Bowl victory over Missouri in 1960.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Photographic Services
Alexander Memorial Coliseum, nicknamed the Thrillerdome, in Atlanta is named for former men's coach William Alexander, who revitalized Georgia Tech's basketball program in 1919. The coliseum has been the home of the Yellow Jackets since 1956.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Luke Schenscher attempts to score for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the 2004-5 basketball season.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Jarret Jack dribbles down the court for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, coached by Paul Hewitt, during a 2004-5 season game.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
John "Whack" Hyder coached the Georgia Tech men's basketball team during the 1960s and 1970s. He led the team to its first NCAA tournament game in 1960 and continued over the next two decades to build up the strength of the program.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Cremins coached the Georgia Tech men's basketball team to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 1985. The all-time winningest coach for the Yellow Jackets, Cremins served as head coach of the team from 1981 to 2000.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Isma'il Muhammad, a player for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 2004-5 season, dunks the ball during a game. Georgia Tech has produced a number of outstanding players, including dozens who were drafted by professional teams.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
P. J. Daniels, a running back for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, makes a play during the 2004-5 season.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
The Georgia Tech football team won this National Championship Trophy in 1990. The team also won national championships in 1917, 1928, and 1952.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
William Alexander began his coaching career at Georgia Tech in 1908, becoming head coach of the football team in 1920. Alexander led the Yellow Jackets to all four major bowl games during his career, as well as to the 1928 national championship.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Cheryl Haworth trains in 2004 at the Anderson/Cohen Weightlifting Center in her hometown of Savannah. Haworth has won numerous awards, including a bronze Olympic medal in 2000, during her weightlifting career.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Paul Anderson, a heavyweight champion from Toccoa known as "the Dixie Derrick," lifts two beauty pageant contestants in the 1950s or 1960s. In 1955 Anderson became the first lifter to press more than 400 pounds.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
clq113.
Cheryl Haworth rests during a 2004 training session in Savannah. In 1998, at age fifteen, Haworth became the youngest lifter to hold senior American records.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bob Montag, an outfielder for the Atlanta Crackers during the 1950s, was a fan favorite who hit 113 home runs for the team before his retirement in 1959.
Courtesy of Bob Montag
Dominique Wilkins, who began his career at the University of Georgia, was one of the most popular players for the Atlanta Hawks from 1982 until 1994, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Wilkins later played for the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, and Orlando Magic, as well as for professional teams in Greece and Italy.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The FedEx 400 is a part of the Sprint Cup Series.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Roy Hall was one of the most important early stock car racers, memorialized in the Jim Croce song "Rapid Roy, That Stock Car Boy." He dominated the stock-car racing scene in the Southeast and Midwest in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association Incorporated
Cars prepared by the Atlanta garage owner and mechanic Red Vogt (left) dominated NASCAR's early years and launched the careers of such legends as Red Byron (right), the 1949 NASCAR Grand National champion.
Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association Incorporated
Bill Elliott is one of the most successful drivers in the history of NASCAR Winston Cup racing.
Photograph by Ted Van Pelt
A wreck at the Columbus Speedway, circa 1950. The number 8 car was driven by Billy Carden, of Mableton, a successful NASCAR driver.
Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association Incorporated
Atlanta Motor Speedway fans stand for a restart during the Bass ProShops MBNA 500. The speedway holds a total number of 124,000 permanent seats and 141 luxury suites.
Courtesy of Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Atlanta Braves play at Turner Field (later Center Parc Stadium) in July 2005.
Photograph by John Ashley
In 1995 the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians and won the World Series. The team that had once been a laughingstock became the world champion of baseball. It was the first time any Georgia sports franchise won a major world championship.
Turner Field was originally built for the 1996 Olympic Games, held in Atlanta. The stadium was renovated and served as the Atlanta Braves' home stadium from 1997-2016. It was redeveloped for Georgia State University in 2017 and later renamed Center Parc Stadium.
Photograph by ValerieÂ
After his first season in the majors (1954), Hank Aaron hit at least twenty home runs a season for the next twenty consecutive seasons, with thirty home runs or more in fifteen of those seasons. The feat remains unmatched today.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Outfielder Dale Murphy, the most popular player ever to wear an Atlanta Braves uniform, won two consecutive Most Valuable Player awards in 1982 and 1983.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 1991 Bobby Cox led the Atlanta Braves on their famous worst-to-first charge. Cox was named National League Manager of the Year, an award that he would take home again in 1993 and 1999.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Earl Mann, also known as "Mr. Atlanta Baseball" and the "Baseball Genius in Dixie," owned and operated the minor league Atlanta Crackers from 1949 to 1959.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Collection.
The legendary Georgia Institute of Technology football coach John Heisman also served as baseball and basketball coach for the school. Heisman (middle, with megaphone) coached Georgia Tech's baseball team from 1904 through 1917.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
ful0157.
John Heisman was the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta from 1904 to 1919. He led Georgia Tech to the first of its four national championships in 1917 and posted a career record of 102-29-7 in sixteen seasons.
From Heroes of the Heisman Trophy, by B. Libby
Jackie and Rachel Robinson with their three children, David, Sharon, and Jackie Jr. in 1956.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Look Magazine Photograph Collection, #LC-L9-54-7021-A, #15.
Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, posed and ready to swing. In 1954 at the age of thirty-five, he became the first National Leaguer in nearly twenty-six years to steal his way around the bases.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Look Magazine Photograph Collection, #LC-L9-54-3566-O, #17.
Jackie Robinson played shortstop for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs in 1945.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Visual Materials from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, #LC-USZ62-119886.
A still from the 1950 motion picture, The Jackie Robinson Story, showing (from left to right) Richard Lane (as Clay Hoppice), Ruby Dee (as Rachel Robinson), Jackie Robinson (as himself), and Billy Wayne (as Clyde Sukeforth).
Library of Congress, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
This historical marker in Cairo marks the birthplace of Jackie Robinson, the "first African American in Major League Baseball." In 1998 the Georgia Historical Society assumed responsibility for the state's historical marker program and since that time has erected more than 100 markers around Georgia.Â
Courtesy of Georgia Info, Digital Library of Georgia.
Jackie Robinson's life story and career inspired a movie, a play, and a comic book series, among other endeavors. This issue of the comic book was publsihed in 1951.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Serial and Government Publications Division
The U.S. Postal Service featured Jackie Robinson on this 1982 postage stamp.
Courtesy of Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Of Coach Vince Dooley's six Southeastern Conference championship titles, three came in the 1980s (1980, 1981, and 1982).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley became the head coach for the University of Georgia football team in 1963. He led the Bulldogs to two Southeastern Conference championships that decade (1966 and 1968).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley coached the University of Georgia football team (the Bulldogs) for twenty-five years, leading them to the 1980 National Championship. He served as UGA's athletic director from 1979 to 2003, overseeing the rise of Georgia's athletic program to one of the nation's finest.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
Vince Dooley worked first as an assistant coach and then as freshman coach at Alabama's Auburn University before accepting the position as head football coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs in December 1963.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A passionate Dooley became a fixture on the sidelines at the University of Georgia.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archive.
In the hands of Coach Vince Dooley, the UGA Bulldogs suffered only one losing season, in 1977.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley, selected in 2011 as a Georgia Trustee, adds his name to a list of the original Trustees of the Georgia colony at the induction ceremony in Savannah. The Georgia Trustees honor is bestowed annually by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor.
Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
Longtime NASCAR competitor Bill Elliott was the first to win the Winston Million Prize in 1985, earning him a million dollar prize and the nickname "Million Dollar Bill."
Photograph by Freewheeling DaredevilÂ
One of the most popular professional baseball players in Atlanta history, Ralph "Country" Brown was a member of the minor league Atlanta Crackers from 1947 to 1952.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Photographic Collection.
Atlanta Braves manager Chuck Tanner watches over spring training practice in 1988. It would be Tanner's last season as Braves manager.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Chuck Tanner, Atlanta Braves manager from 1986 to 1988, promised Atlanta a world championship, but his Braves teams finished last and next to last. When the Braves fired him in May 1988, the team had won twelve games, lost twenty-seven, was in last place, and already out of contention for the division title.
Courtesy of Atlanta National Baseball Club, Inc. Copyright 2002. All Rights Reserved.
Whitlow Wyatt, pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves (1966-67), was a former star pitcher for New York's Brooklyn Dodgers and manager of the Atlanta Crackers.
Courtesy of Atlanta National Baseball Club, Inc. Copyright 2002. All Rights Reserved.
Whitlow Wyatt was named to the National League All-Star team four times and is a member of the Brooklyn (New York) Dodgers Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Courtesy of Atlanta National Baseball Club, Inc. Copyright 2002. All Rights Reserved.
The minor league Atlanta Crackers played at the Ponce de Leon Ballpark.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Ponce de Leon Ballpark, on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, is pictured in 1957. The park was home to the minor league Atlanta Crackers until the mid-1960s. The former Sears building is visible in the background, and today a shopping center stands on the site of the park.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
ful0951-85.
This magnolia tree, which once stood in centerfield of the Ponce de Leon Ballpark, is all that survives of the former home of the minor league Atlanta Crackers. Legendary professional players Babe Ruth and Eddie Mathews are the only two men ever to have hit home-run balls into the magnolia.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Dobbs.
Pearl Sandow (right) in her usual seat at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium greets two other loyal Braves fans, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter.
Courtesy of Atlanta National Baseball Club, Inc. Copyright 2002. All Rights Reserved.
Pearl Sandow (center) celebrated her 100th birthday in 2002. On her left is a statue of Sandow from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, that was shipped to Turner Field (later Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta and was on display at the party.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Georgia native Edith McGuire became the top sprinter of the 1960s, winning six Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships and an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, Japan, in 1964. McGuire was also the only American woman ever to hold three AAU titles at different times, in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump.
Image from Wikimedia
Wyomia Tyus (center) of the United States, Edith McGuire (left) of the United States, and Ewa Klobukowska (right) of Poland took first, second, and third place (respectively) in the women's 100 meter at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Photograph from Corbis
Mildred McDaniel became interested in track and field by accident. She won an Olympic gold medal and set a world record in the high jump in 1956.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Georgia native George Stallings, known to baseball fans as the "Miracle Man," managed one of the most renowned teams in the game's history, the 1914 "Miracle" Boston Braves.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection.
Boston Braves manager George Stallings. Stallings finished his career with 879 victories in 1,813 major league games.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Bain News Service photograph collection.
George "Kid" Woodruff coached the University of Georgia football team from 1923 to 1927, bringing the Bulldogs' program to national prominence. UGA's practice fields are named after him.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Information Department
Heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes trains at the Larry Holmes Training Center in Easton, Pennsylvania, for his September 21, 1985, title fight against Michael Spinks.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes (left) and fight promoter Don King (right) announce a series of heavyweight fights to be shown on HBO at a press conference held on January 17, 1986.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Considered one of the world's fastest women, track star and Decatur native Gwen Torrence is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After training seriously for six years Tiger Flowers earned an official challenge against the world middleweight champion, Harry Greb, in February 1926, winning the title and then defending it in a closely fought rematch.
Photograph from cyberboxingzone.com
After playing in 1920-21 as the Georgia State League, the Georgia-Alabama League was rekindled in 1928 with Carrollton, Cedartown, and Lindale as the Georgia teams.
The Atlanta Crackers (1901-65) was one of the longest-running minor league baseball clubs in Georgia.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Tracy O'Neal Collection.
Regarded by many as the fiercest competitor in baseball history, Georgia native Ty Cobb won a record twelve batting titles and established the all-time mark for highest career batting average with a .367.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
The Macon Braves moved to Rome and became the Rome Braves in 2003. The Rome Braves are a Class-A minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Photograph by dawgfanjeffÂ
In July of 1923 Shoeless Joe Jackson (not wearing shoes) signed on with the Americus team of the South Georgia League, after being implicated in the Chicago White Sox scandal of 1919.
Martha Hudson, a native of Eastman, attended Tennessee State University in Nashville on a track scholarship. During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, Hudson and three of her TSU teammates won the gold medal for the 400-meter relay.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Georgia native Martha Hudson is an Olympic track and field gold medal winner and an Amateur Athletic Union All-American.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Martha Hudson, an Olympic gold medalist in track and field, taught at Upson Lee North Elementary School in Thomaston for more than thirty years. She was inducted into the hall of fame at Tennessee State University, her alma mater, in 1983 and into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Wyomia Tyus was the first person to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100-meter dash. She also won silver and gold medals consecutively on 400-meter relay teams in the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games.Â
Image from Wikimedia
On July 8, 1948, Louise Suggs turned professional, and in her inaugural year as a pro she won the 1949 U.S. Open by a record fourteen strokes. Suggs continued to win tournaments and set records throughout her pro career.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Louise Suggs was one of the charter members of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and her competitiveness, accuracy, and "picture swing" led her to a phenomenal amateur and professional career in golf.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Louise Suggs won a number of amateur golf championships between 1941 and 1948 before turning professional in 1948. In 1996 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Sidney "Beau Jack" Walker, born in Waynesboro and raised in Augusta, was one of the boxing greats of the 1940s and 1950s.Â
Photograph from Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia
Noted for his swarming style and high punch volume, the 5-foot-6-inch, 133-pound Beau Jack was one of the greatest lightweight boxers of the 1940s and 1950s.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Frank Sinkwich (No. 21) led Georgia to a 40-26 victory over Texas Christian University at the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance. His performance has been called one of the best individual performances in Orange Bowl history.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Charles "Charley" Trippi, a University of Georgia halfback from 1941 to 1943 and 1945 to 1946, is widely considered the finest athlete in Bulldog football history.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After graduating from the University of Georgia Charley Trippi played professionally as a running back with the Chicago Cardinals for nine seasons, winning a world championship his rookie year (1947).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dot Kirby retired from tournament play in the mid-1950s; in 1974 she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1989 she was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1933 at the age of thirteen Georgia native Dot Kirby became the youngest female golfer to win a state championship. She was Georgia women's golf champion five times during her career.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 1974 golfer Dot Kirby was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Three professional golfers and their caddies walk up the eighteenth fairway during a practice round at the 2015 Masters Tournament in Augusta.
Photograph by Shannon McGee
First played in 1934, the Masters Tournament is one of golf's four "major" events, alongside the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. The tournament is staged every April at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Photograph by Torrey WileyÂ
At first Bobby Jones resisted the idea of competing in the tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, but partner Clifford Roberts convinced him that his participation might make the difference between the survival and failure of the tournament. Jones agreed to play.
Photograph from Wikimedia
Professional golfer Tiger Woods tied for seventeenth place in the 2015 Masters Tournament, held each April at Augusta National Golf Club.
Photograph by Shannon McGee
First played in 1934, the Masters Tournament is one of golf's four "major" events, alongside the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. The tournament is staged every April at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Photograph by pocketwiley
Hank Aaron holds up the ball that broke Babe Ruth's home run record after connecting for his 715th career homer on April 8, 1974, in front of a record crowd at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hank Aaron hit a record 755 home runs in his twenty-three-year career in major league baseball. Aaron also holds several other records, such as career runs batted in (RBIs) and number of All-Star game appearances.Â
Photograph by Chris Evans
Both on and off the field, Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron continued the struggle against segregation begun by Jackie Robinson in 1947.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hank Aaron (right), selected in 2010 as a Georgia Trustee, is presented his award by U.S. senator Johnny Isaacson at the induction ceremony in Savannah. The Georgia Trustees honor is bestowed annually by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor.
Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
Georgia-born Paul Anderson was an amateur weightlifter and professional strongman who gained widespread recognition in the 1950s and 1960s as the strongest man in the world. He became a national, world, and Olympic heavyweight champion, and a worldwide icon for strength and size.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Russians called strongman Paul Anderson chudo prirody, "a wonder of nature," and Anderson quickly became a cold war symbol of America's massive strength and superiority.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
At the age of twenty-eight, Phil Niekro was a late bloomer on the pitcher's mound. But he made up for lost time by pitching until he was forty-eight years old.
Photograph by Jim Accordino
A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, first baseman and Georgia native Johnny Mize was one of the most prolific home run hitters in the game's history. Graceful at the plate, the 6-foot-2-inch Mize was immortalized as the "Big Cat."
One of baseball's most revered players, Luke Appling was for nearly twenty years (1930-43, 1945-50) the star shortstop of the American League's Chicago White Sox. Before that he played for the Atlanta Crackers.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1995 Bobby Cox (on right) led the Atlanta Braves to the team's first World Series championship.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One of the greatest managers in the history of major league baseball, Bobby Cox (left) led the Atlanta Braves of the 1990s to an unprecedented domination of the National League.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 1911, in one of the greatest offensive displays in baseball history, Ty Cobb paced the American League in hits (248), runs scored (147), doubles (47), triples (24), runs batted in (127), and stolen bases (83).
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
In the first of his four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, "Pistol Pete" Maravich, right, was named to the National Basketball Association's All-Rookie Team. He gained a reputation as an accurate long-range shooter, and his ball handling and flair pleased crowds.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Alice Coachman clears the high jump bar with an Olympic record-breaking leap of 5 feet 6 1/8 inches, winning her the gold medal in the high jump at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.
Photograph from Corbis
One of the best third basemen in major league history, Eddie Mathews played fifteen seasons with the Atlanta Braves, dominating the game with his fiery playing style, a powerful bat, remarkable speed, and a strong arm.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A nine-time National League All-Star, Eddie Mathews ended his career with 512 home runs and 1,453 runs batted in. In 1978 Eddie Mathews was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.Â
Photograph by Wikimedia
Wally Butts Jr. coached the University of Georgia football team from 1939 to 1960, leading the Bulldogs to four Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles, one undefeated season, and eight bowl games.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Georgia Photo File.
The greatest amateur golfer ever, Bobby Jones dominated his sport in the 1920s. His most outstanding project in retirement was the creation of the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, and the annual invitational tournament it spawned, the Masters.
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones circa 1921. The greatest amateur golfer ever, Jones dominated his sport in the 1920s. In the eight seasons from 1923 to 1930, Jones won thirteen major championships, including five U.S. Amateurs, four U.S. Opens, three British Opens, and one British Amateur. On September 27, 1930 he became the only man to win all four major titles in one season, completing the "Grand Slam" of golf. Then, while still in his athletic prime at the age of twenty-eight, he retired from competition to devote more time to his family and his law practice.
Image from Wikimedia
In 1930 Bobby Jones became the only man to win all four major titles in one season, completing the "Grand Slam" of golf. Considered the greatest amateur ever to play the game, his achievements were commemorated on this 1981 postage stamp.Â
Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum
