Coach Bill Curry will be inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame and it will be right here on campus on Saturday, June 12, at the Rialto Center.
Joining coach Curry in the 6th-ever class are future baseball Hall of Famer and Atlanta Braves 305-game winning pitcher Tom Glavine, 10-time PGA tour winner and three-time majors winner Larry Nelson and 27-year high school football coaching legend Buck Godfrey. Glavine was a two-time Cy Young winner and the 1995 World Series Most Valuable Player. Nelson won two PGA's and one U.S. Open, while finishing in the top five in the Master's in his home state. Nelson was picked for three Ryder Cup teams. Godfrey has won more than 75% of his games while turning out countless NFL players and graduating players who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance.
Curry will be introduced into the Hall by current Hall member and Atlanta Falcon legend Tommy Nobis, a LB who played against Curry in his NFL days. Former Falcon greats Jeff Van Note and Claude Humphrey will also be present.
Nelson will be introduced by award-winning golf writer and nationally renowned journalist Furman Bisher, with Bobby Jones IV on hand to represent the Jones golfing family.
Glavine will be introduced by Atlanta Braves president and former GM John Schuerholtz. Pitching coach Leo Mazzone and broadcaster Pete Van Wieren will also represent Glavine's biggest boosters.
Tickets are now on sale for the 6:30 p.m. ceremony. A reception with appetizers begins at 5 p.m. with a silent auction and raffle for great prizes as well as sports memorabilia. A VIP party follows at 8 p.m. Tickets for the evening are priced at three levels and all include the reception and appetizers and soft drinks.
The bronze $20 tickets include the reception and loge seating (rows DD to AA, 15 to 27). The silver $50 tickets include the reception with appetizers and two wine/beer tickets, with seating in row K or CC (7 to 14). The $100 evening includes the VIP reception party with the Hall of Fame inductees, the appetizers and two wine/beer tickets, as well as the VIP Post Ceremony Party. The VIP gold seats are in the first six rows.
For tickets, call 770-394-3359 or visit AtlantaSportsHallOfFame.org.
The Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame was started six years ago to honor the area's sports heroes. The goal is to remember and preserve the past from which future generations can learn and take pride.
Curry is, indeed, a true Atlanta sports star. Born and raised in College Park and a graduate of College Park HS, William Alexander Curry played at Georgia Tech under coaching legend Bobby Dodd (1962-64). Bill went on to play as a center in the NFL for 10 years with Green Bay, Baltimore, Houston and Los Angeles. He was a two-time NFL Pro Bowl pick. Curry was fortunate to hike the ball to NFL Hall of Fame legendary QB's Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. His teams won three NFL championships (1965, 1966, 1970) and he played in three Super Bowls (I, III, and V). Curry played for NFL coaching legends Vince Lombardi and Don Shula. He was also president of the NFL Players Association. But, Bill Curry was just getting started.
After serving as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and then Green Bay, Curry was picked as the head coach at Georgia Tech in 1980. He was the ACC Coach of the Year in 1985. Curry moved on to Alabama where he was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1989 and the National Coach of the Year as well. He coached his third college team, Kentucky, from 1990-96.
Curry served as an ESPN television analyst and contributing writer for football games from 1997-2007.
Georgia State jumped at the opportunity to hire him as the head coach of its new program in 2008 and he has been preparing for that inaugural game and season that begins on Sept. 2.
Curry is married to Carolyn, who earned her master's and Ph.D. from Georgia State.
