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The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame’s 36-member inaugural class is set and will be inducted in a ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 22.
Board members of the Hall of Fame began submitting nominees in early spring and then held committee votes and appeals before the final ballot was narrowed down to 100 names in mid-June.
The board also decided that the nine Georgia high school players that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the most recent being Sandy Creek’s Calvin Johnson, will also be included in the inaugural class (Johnson, Champ Bailey, Mel Blount, Richard Dent, Ray Guy, Jim Parker, Shannon Sharpe, Fran Tarkenton, Rayfield Wright).
Once the ballot was set, each board member was required to vote for a minimum of two players from each of the eight eras represented (from pre-1950s to 2000s) and select a total of 36 players from the star-powered 100-person ballot.
The ballots were voted on and submitted by July 1, but a four-way tie for the final spot in the class forced the board to hold a separate run-off to complete the process. Johnson County graduate (1979 senior season) and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker was the only unanimous inductee that received votes from all 35 board members, while Stan Rome (Valdosta, 1973), Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward (Central-Thomasville, 1987), Garrison Hearst (Lincoln County, 1989) and Jeff Francoeur (Parkview, 2001) all tied for the second-most votes with 30.
Hines Ward (Forest Park, 1993), Eric Berry (Creekside, 2006), William Andrews (Thomasville, 1974), Buck Belue (Valdosta, 1977) and Takeo Spikes (Washington County, 1994) were also among the top 10 vote getters, and in the process, Belue became the first-ever board member to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Visit ScoreATL.com to buy tickets for the induction ceremony.
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