CLASS OF 1994
JOHN BOND
John Pennington Bond grew up in Toccoa and attended the University of Georgia. While attending UGA, Bond participated in both football and track for the Bulldogs. He was captain of the 1935 football team and helped lead his class that went 21-9 from 1933-1935. He was also very involved with groups and organizations on campus, serving as president of the Campus Y.M.C.A., and the "G" Club, and holding memberships in prestigious organizations like Sphinx, Gridiron, and Scabbard and Blade. In the 1935 Pandora, Bond was voted the most popular young man on campus. Bond was All-SEC and All-American in 1935. After graduation, he attended the State Medical College at Augusta and later served as surgeon in World War II.
GEORGE BRODNAX
George H. Brodnax III graduated from Atlanta’s Boy's High School in 1945. He was a superb overall athlete but went on to play football at Georgia Tech from 1945-1948. He was a four year letterman at Tech and was All-SEC and All- American in 1948. He played in the College All Star game in Chicago in 1948. A great blocker and pass receiver at Tech, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions and played in nine games with the Lions before returning to Atlanta to begin a successful business career. He was also heavily involved in many charitable organizations in the Atlanta. He is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Atlanta Athletic Club, President from '76-'78, serving while the AAC hosted the 1976 US Open Golf Championship.
RALPH "COUNTRY" BROWN
Ralph “Country” Brown grew up in Summerville in 1921 and went on to become one of the most popular baseball players in state history. In 1946, at the age of twenty-five, Brown signed with the Tampa Smokers, a Class C farm team for the New York Yankees. He won the league batting and Most Valuable Player awards with the Smokers, and then received those same honors again the following season with the AA Augusta Tigers in Augusta. He made his way to Atlanta where he played with the Atlanta Crackers from 1947 to 1952. An outfielder with great speed, he led the Southern Association with 33 stolen bases in 1949 and was a member of the 1950 Atlanta Cracker Southern Association Championship team. He finished out his career in 1957 with the Chattanooga Lookouts. Brown returned to Summerville and began a career in law enforcement and ultimately served 25 years a magistrate judge.
VAN DAVIS
Van Andrew Davis was born in Philomath and was an outstanding football and baseball player at the University of Georgia in the 1940s. An outstanding pass receiver and defensive end, Davis was a member of Georgia’s 1942 SEC Championship team. That team also claimed the school’s first bowl win in the Orange Bowl against TCU, and they claimed the school’s first National Championship. Davis played three years of professional football with the New York Yankees, before beginning a successful minor league baseball career. He starred for Douglas in the Georgia State League from 1952 to 1954, setting a league record with 44 home runs in 1953. Davis led the GSL in home runs and RBIs in 1954. He also served as manager of the Douglas team in 1952. Later, Van would become a high school principal.
LARRY NELSON
Larry G. Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth. Nelson was an excellent athlete, but did not take up golf until he was 21 years old after serving a tour in the Army during the Vietnam War. He qualified for the PGA Tour at 27, and his breakthrough year came in 1979, when he won twice and finished second on the money list. Nelson won 10 times on the PGA Tour including three major championships: the PGA Championship in 1981 and 1987; and the U.S. Open in 1983 at Oakmont. At the Open, Nelson rallied from seven behind at the halfway point to defeat Tom Watson by a single shot. Nelson fired 65-67 over the last 36 holes at the difficult Oakmont course. He would finish his career with a total of 41 professional wins. Nelson also played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1979, 1981, and 1987. He is member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
ELMER RIDDLE
Elmer R. Riddle grew up in Columbus and started out as a second baseball before eventually becoming an outstanding major league pitcher. Riddle spent a total of 10 years in the Big Leagues, playing with both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was part of the Reds’ World Series Championship team in 1940 and was an All-Star for the Pirates in 1948. He had two wonderful seasons with Cincinnati, winning 19 games in 1941 and 21 games in 1943, before trouble with his pitching shoulder forced him to take a break from baseball. He returned with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1948 and posted a record of 12-10, before returning to the minors and then retiring in 1951. Riddle was also one of the best hitting and fielding pitchers of his era. His career record was 65-52 with a 3.40 ERA and 342 strikeouts. Riddle is considered one of the greatest pitchers the state of Georgia has ever produced.
PAT STEPHENS
Patrick D. “Pat” Stephens was born in Atlanta and was an outstanding athlete at Boys High School. He averaged over 20 points per game in and was an All-State selection in 1923. He went on to play for the Atlanta Athletic Club where he led the team in scoring six times. He was the Atlanta Athletic Club’s all-time leading scorer. He is considered one of the greatest basketball players of his era from the Atlanta area.
CLEVE WESTER
E. Cleve Wester Jr. was born in Lowndes County and raised in Albany, where he became a football standout at Albany High School. He went on to Auburn University where he was a three year letterman and a member of the Tigers’ 1957 National Championship team. Wester went on to become a successful businessman and popular community leader in his hometown of Albany. He spent his entire life promoting Auburn University and its athletic programs throughout Southwest Georgia. The Southwest Georgia Auburn Club has a scholarship named in Wester’s honor.
LUCINDA WILLIAMS ADAMS
Lucinda Williams Adams was raised in Savannah and joined the long-line of outstanding track athletes who went to Tennessee State University. Like many of her fellow Tigerbelles, Lucinda carried her talents into international competition and she made her Olympic debut in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to making her second Olympic appearance in Rome, she took the sprint triple winning the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the 4×100 m relay (with Isabelle Daniels, Barbara Jones, and Wilma Rudolph) at the 1959 Pan American Games. At the 1960 Olympics she ran in the 200 meter, but failed to make the final; however, she won a Gold Medal in the relay. Williams won the AAU 220 yard in 1958 and the indoor title in 1957 and 1959.
