POWERGRAMS

31 said I'd do it with a couple of stipulations: I wanted to pick my own commiee and I wanted to have a place to properly display items of the people being inducted. If we were going to do it, I wanted to do it right." In the middle of downtown now stands the Thomasville Sports Hall of Fame, a nonprofit backed financially by scores of companies and people from all walks of life. Many communities boast about their athletic prowess; Thomasville proves its point through permanency. The first class inducted in November 2014 was: • Dovey Anderson, Thomasville High football coach 31 years; basketball and baseball coach 20 years. • Buddy Anderson, Vestavia High football 41 seasons, and counting; National High School Hall of Fame. • Reid Cornelius, pitched for Montreal Expos, New York Mets and Florida Marlins. • Ivy Griffin, played for Philadelphia Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers. • Anthony Madison, won a Super Bowl with the Pisburgh Steelers. One month aer the inaugural class, the hall opened its doors. Anderson says more than 2,000 people have toured the museum in the first five years. Each new class is featured on one side of the museum with large individual showcases for the athletes. The opposite side features plaques and memorabilia of the previous inductees. The Class of 2016 was: • Eric Campbell, two-time NAIA All-American; pro basketball overseas. • Mike Griffin, coached Troy State to three golf national championships; Auburn 25 seasons; Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. • Bill McNair, Thomasville High football coach 12 seasons; state championship 1988; national private school coach of year at Patrician Academy. • Edward Phillips, three-year football starter for Auburn Tigers; 1988 Senior Bowl. • Gerald Stephens, junior college football All- American; Alabama 1961 national championship. • Tommy Joe Tarleton, coached two basketball and four golf state championships at Tuscaloosa High. The Class of 2018 was: • Alphonso Byrd Arnold, in National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. • William Donald Fendley, coached Thomasville High 17 years; state baseball championships 1988, 1989. • Silas Harrison, played for Detroit Lions and Brooklyn Dodgers in NFL. • "Chief " Ingram, coached Thomasville Travelers to World Series semi-pro baseball titles in 2002, 2008. • Jan Overstreet, started Thomasville High soball program that won four area championships, 339 games. • Crystal Wolverton, four-time NAIA basketball All- American at the University of Mobile. "The great thing is we're inducting classes every two years, so it won't become commonplace," says Anderson, who is 71. "We feel special about each class. In my lifetime, we won't run out of quality inductees. I can think of 20 people off the top of my head who deserve to be in the hall." After his playing days ended, Ivy Griffin was a major league scout for a decade before dying in a car crash. He filled out detailed cards about each player, including future stars he signed, such as Hall of Famer Billy Williams.

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