MACON, Ga. — The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inducted its 2020 class Saturday evening. The ceremony was held in the Macon City Auditorium. Eight new members joined the esteemed ranks of hall of fame status.
Before the evening induction, fans got a chance to have autographs signed by the 2020 class.
Several Central Georgians are a part of this year’s class. Bobby Pope is formerly of 13WAMZ sports and a longtime athletic director for Mercer University. Lonnie Bartley, former Fort Valley State University women's basketball coach, led the Wildcats to 27 straight winning seasons and 11 SIAC tournament championships.
Jeff Treadway played baseball at Middle Georgia College in Cochran for two years before heading to the University of Georgia and eventually playing for several major league teams including the Atlanta Braves where he played in two World Series.
“I tell you the biggest thing, it's a time to reflect. I came from Griffin Georgia. I played at Middle Georgia College, played at Georgia, played for the Braves, now I'm working at a fantastic school here in Macon at Stratford Academy. I'm just really thankful. It really makes you think about all the people that helped you along the way,” Treadway said.
A big draw to this Hall of Fame class is former Georgia Southern running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson ran for more than 6000 yards and won two national championships before playing 8 seasons for the Chicago Bears.
He holds the record for all-time leading rushing at the FCS level with 6,559 yards in regular season games. He was grateful to add another feather to southern's cap.
"We won a lot of games. We won a lot of games and that's one thing I'll remember most. Yeah, I had a lot of yards, a lot of touchdowns, but being a part of teams that won a lot of games is very special," Peterson said.
Each member had their moment in the spotlight walking down the aisle while a list of their remarkable accomplishments were read off. A special member introduced them. This year's emcee was NBA on TNT host and former 13WMAZ anchor Ernie Johnson.
Johnson worked at 13WMAZ from 1979 to 1981 before taking jobs in South Carolina, Atlanta and eventually joining the TNT crew.
He is a member of the 2019 Georgia Sports hall of fame class.