9 months ago
Back in 1956, the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame began.
A few years later, it expanded to include professional, college, and olympic athletes.
Now, you can help celebrate the museum's tenth birthday in Central Georgia.
Jacquelyn Decell runs the Sports Hall of Fame.
"For one thing, we want to remind people we've been here for ten years," she said.
For the birthday bash, they brought together some of the biggest inductees over the past decade.
You can check out swimmer Angel Martino's goggles and Larry Mize's Master's flag.
The man who donated the A's gear is still close to his cleats.
"John Odom was there the other day. He comes in once a year to make sure his stuff is on display. We told him he'd have his hat and socks in this, so that seemed to please him," Decell said and chuckled.
Harley Bowers wrote for the Macon Telegraph and helped lobby to get a building for the Sports Hall of Fame.
It came to life in 1999.
"He fought hard to get the site here. I hope he'd be as proud as we are," Decell said.
Harley would probably sport that classic smile when he found out the hall just designated a room as the Harley Bowers Archives and Research Center.
"We just got this collection. It's a chronicle of women's golf in Georgia. They didn't have a place to keep it, so they brought it here," Decell said.
You'll find taped interviews with every inductee that's worn a blue jacket.
And the boxes contain articles, pictures, and notes including Harley's.
"New sports hall of fame stuff," Decell quoted while looking through Bowers' things.
The hall has a decade under its belt, and every moment of it is logged and ready for future generations to enjoy the past.
It is free for you to go in and explore the state's sports history tapes and articles, but you do have to make an appointment before you visit.
