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Large group gets HOF nod
• One of the biggest classes is inducted into the Rome-Floyd
Sports Hall of Fame during a sold-out ceremony.
 By Jeremy Stewart
Sports Editor
[email protected]
 02.28.17
ROME­FLOYD SPORTS HALL OF FAME
Kind tributes and lessons of life were part of an evening of recognition that saw an influx of talent and
leadership join the ranks of the Rome­Floyd Sports Hall of Fame.
A total of seven individuals were formally inducted into the hall of fame Monday as part of a banquet and
ceremony held at the sold­out Krannert Center on the campus of Berry College. Those honored
represented standouts from basketball, baseball and football that had made Rome and Floyd County
their home during their careers.
Recognized as amateur athletes were former Cave Spring High and Georgia Tech basketball player
Bonnie Tate Goff, former Berry College basketball standout Alvin Ragland and David McCluskey, who
was a star running back for West Rome High and the University of Georgia.
Inducted into the professional athlete category were former Darlington and Chicago White Sox minor
league pitcher Chris Jefts, and East Rome all­star athlete Johnny Tutt, who played baseball for the
Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres.
Andy Akin and Mike Hodges were honored in the lifetime achievement category. Akin served nearly 35
years as a high school basketball coach in Rome and Floyd County, while Hodges led the West Rome
Chieftains to back­to­back football state championships as a coach in 1982­83.
Hodges, who built a record of 53­6­1 during his five seasons at West Rome, imparted some wisdom to
the crowd, many of whom remember the school's heyday before East and West Rome were
consolidated in 1992.
"Stay in the moment," he said. "That means don't get ahead of the moment or behind the moment; like
tonight."
The 67­year­old Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee also urged people to
never quit, saying that while he is in his "fourth quarter," he doesn't want anyone to see him quit.
"How we finish our race in life defines the legacy we leave for our family and friends," Hodges said.
The group of new inductees was the largest in recent memory and referred to as "unprecedented" by the
evening's master of ceremonies, Randy Davis. Part of the reason is the formation of a veterans
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committee last year that was developed to help identify prospective hall of fame candidates that have
yet to be nominated through the voluntary nomination process.
According to Davis, an inductee himself, the number of honorees is equal to the number inducted as
part of the hall of fame's first class in 1971. Eight were inducted the following year as the new hall of
fame was beginning to take shape.
One of the evening's most heartfelt tributes came as Charles Smith inducted his longtime friend Tutt with
stories of them playing for East Rome's football team in the late 1970s.
"During those years, I realized what kind of leader he was," Smith said. "If he had a goal, he wanted to
bring people along with him. He dreamed, and he cared about your dreams. He had a huge heart. He
made people better and wanted everyone to succeed."
Tutt helped lead the Chieftains to a state championship in 1978 before being drafted by the Pittsburgh
Pirates out of high school.
He instead chose to attend Auburn University on a football and baseball scholarship where he was
named to the SEC All­Tournament team in 1980 before being drafted in 1981.
Jefts was a seventh­round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1984 and stayed in their organization for
some time. He served as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia from 1991­95.
Akin coached the East Rome boys' basketball team to three Sweet 16 appearances, two Elite Eights
and a Final Four from 1983­87. He then continued his career at Model, where his girls' teams enjoyed
equal success, even making it to the state championship game in 1997.
The evening, presented by the Rome­Floyd Parks and Recreation Department, also recognized the
achievements of 12 area student­athletes as nominees for the John Pinson Jr. Outstanding Student
Athlete Scholarship. Model football player Hunter Hays was named the Outstanding Male Student
Athlete, while Darlington basketball player Anna Claire Atha was named the Outstanding Female
Student Athlete.
The other students who were nominated were: Maddie Dulaney and Will Leonard, Armuchee; Cassie
McFather, Coosa; Elijah McKoy, Darlington; Alex Quarles, Model; Jesse Burkhalter and Jake Ross,
Pepperell; Morgan Padgett and William Douglas, Rome High; and Hannah Eddins, Unity Christian.
For more information, visit the Hall of Fame website at www.romefloydsportshalloffame.com.
'If he had a goal, he wanted to bring people along with him. He dreamed, and he cared about your
dreams. He had a huge heart. He made people better and wanted everyone to succeed.'
Charles Smith
Rome
MORE ONLINE
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Read this story online to see a link tot he Rome­Floyd Sports Hall of Fame and a Google map of Berry
College's Krannert Center.
 Jeremy Stewart/Rome News-Tribune
Mike Hodges (from left), Chris Jefts, Bonnie Tate Goff, Alvin Ragland, Andy Akin, Johnny Tutt
and David McCluskey are inducted into the Rome-Floyd Sports of Hall of Fame during a
ceremony Monday at Berry College's Krannert Center.
 Jeremy Stewart/Rome News-Tribune
Fromer West Rome High football coach Mike Hodges (left) speaks
after his induction into the Rome-Floyd Sports Hall of Fame as
Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Cowling stands
by during the ceremony.
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 Jeremy Stewart/Rome News-Tribune
Local high school student-athletes nominated for this year's John Pinson Jr.
Outstanding Student Athlete Scholarship are Rome's Morgan Padgett (from left),
Coosa's Cassie McFather, Armuchee's Will Leonard and Maddie Dulaney, Rome's
William Douglas, Unity Christian's Hannah Eddins, Darlington's Anna Claire Atha,
Pepperell's Jake Ross, Darlington's Elijah McKoy, Model's Alex Quarles and Hunter
Hays, and Pepperell's Jesse Burkhalter. Atha and Hays were named the winners at
Monday's banquet.
 Jeremy Stewart/RN-T
Former Berry College
basketball standout Alvin
Ragland is welcomed
onstage as he accepts his
induction into the RomeFloyd Sports Hall of Fame
during a ceremony Berry
College's Krannert Center.
 Jeremy Stewart/Rome News-Tribune
Charles Smith (from left), Rome-Floyd Parks and
Recreation Director Kevin Cowling and former
East Rome standout Johnny Tutt pose with
Tutt's plaque marking his induction into the
Rome-Floyd Sports Hall of Fame during a
ceremony.
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 Jeremy Stewart/RN-T
Former East Rome and Model basketball
coach Andy Akin (left) listens to emcee
Randy Davis during his induction.
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