MACON SPORTS HALL OF FAME
CLASS OF 2010
JOE DAVIS
Joe Davis was quarterback of the Lanier Poets 1947 and 1948 teams that each won the State Championship as well as the 1949 team that won a Region crown. He earned All-Region honors in both ’48 and ‘49. He also played shortstop and third base for the Poets baseball team. Joe excelled at both sports in college at Auburn University. In football he played several different positions including quarterback, halfback, defensive back and kicker. His extra point kick in the 1951 game helped the Tigers clip Florida 14-13. He also played baseball for three seasons and captained the 1954 team. He turned to golf in his later years, organizing the junior golf program in Savannah in the early 1960's.
WILLIAM "BILL" FICKLING, JR.
William Fickling, Jr. “Bill” was a three-sport star at Lanier in the late 1940's. He was a member of the 1949 State Champion football team and was on the 1950 State Champion basketball team. He was a state All-Star and the leading scorer in the North-South hoops game. In Track, he earned State Championship honors in the high hurdles in 1948 and 1949. He helped the track team win a state title in 1948. He accepted a basketball scholarship to Auburn and started for three straight seasons. Fickling averaged 7 points and 6.8 rebounds on the 1951-52 team that featured teammates Vince Dooley and fellow Hall member “Coot” Veal. Bill was also on the Auburn track team and set a freshman SEC record in the 120-yard high hurdles and was SEC champion in the high hurdles in 1952 with a time of 14.9 seconds and again in 1954.
CAMILLE LOWE
Camille Lowe was a two-sport standout at Stratford Academy excelling in both softball and basketball. On the court, she and her twin sister Miriam were the dynamic duo that led the Lady Eagles. Camille holds the school single-game point record with 47 and also is number one on Stratford’s career points list and career scoring average. She was an All-State selection for three straight years. Camille signed collegiately at Georgia and was an All-SEC Freshman team selection as well as All-Conference in 1991 and 1993. Camille helped Georgia reach the championship games of the 1992 and 1993 SEC Tournaments. She poured in 26 points in a 70-66 win over Auburn to clinch the 1991 SEC title. She finished her career with 1,396 points, which ranked in the Top Ten in UGA annals at that point. She is a member of the Stratford Athletic Hall of Fame.
MIRIAM LOWE
Miriam Lowe was the other half of the Lowe twins who excelled in softball and basketball at Stratford Academy. Miriam batted over .600 during the 1988 season leading Stratford to the GISA State Championship. On the basketball floor, Miriam is third in career points scored and in the top-ten for career scoring average at Stratford. She joined her sister Camille at the University of Georgia and started as a freshman. One of her biggest games in her college career was when she scored 16 points in the SEC tournament as Georgia upset top ranked Tennessee 73-72 and snap a 20-game losing streak to the Lady Vols. Miriam is a member of the Stratford Athletic Hall of Fame.
GAY McMICHAEL
Gay McMichael was a multi-sport standout at Monroe Academy playing football, basketball, and golf until his graduation in 1976. He was a member of the very first golf team at Georgia College in Milledgeville, and enjoyed tremendous success as an Amateur golfer for several decades. He has won the Macon City Championship four times and the Middle Georgia Championship on three occasions plus took top honors in the Macon-Middle Georgia Senior division. McMichael has teamed with fellow Hall-of-Famer Jim Stuart to win numerous other events including the Peach Blossom at Idle Hour. Gay has also competed in the U.S. Senior Amateur at Wade Hampton Golf Club in Cashier’s, North Carolina. He has recorded 10 holes in one during his career.
JACK MORGAN
Jack Morgan played college golf at Mercer University, but made his name as an outstanding amateur player winning multiple events in Macon throughout his career. He won the first Macon City Golf Championship in 1951 and proceeded to win it again in 1952, 1953, 1957, and again in 1959. Jack teamed with Robert Wade to win the prestigious Peach Blossom Invitational in 1955. He dominated the Kaolin Invitational in Sandersville, winning that event an unprecedented 8 times.
JIGGY SMAHA
Jiggy (and yes that’s his real first name) Smaha was the AAA High School State Lineman of the Year in 1963 while playing at Lanier High School. He also starred in track and placed second in the State finals in the discus. Smaha had over 80 scholarship offers to play college football and chose the University of Georgia. Smaha was named SEC Lineman of the week four times during his career with the Bulldogs, and helped lead the Dogs to an 18-17 upset win over Alabama in 1965 with his constant bull rush on Tide quarterback Steve Sloan. It was the first nationally televised game at Sanford Stadium. Jiggy was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 14th round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played in the Canadian Football League with British Columbia for one season, and also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Sharks.
JIM STUART
Jim Stuart compiled one of the most enviable title collections in mid-amateur, college and junior golf competitions. None are more notable than consecutive U.S. Mid-Amateur championships, in 1990 at Troon Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona and in 1991 at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Those two victories earned him invitations to participate in the following years’ Masters Tournaments. The Minnesota native spent two years at junior college power Alexander City (now Central Alabama), where he earned All-American honors and won the 1978 national junior college individual title. Stuart then came to Georgia to Columbus College where he was part of the NCAA Division II national championship team in 1980 and was named a Division II All-American. He moved to Macon and helped lead River North Golf Club (now Healy Point) to the GSGA State Team title in 1991. He teamed with Bill Roberts to win the 1992 Four-Ball championship, was runner-up in the 1994 Georgia Amateur to Carter Mize and won the 1995 Georgia Mid-Amateur championship.