Six new members selected for Sports Hall of Fame induction

By Sonny Turner
sonny@athensnews-courier.com

March 08, 2008 09:07 pm

— Six people have been selected for induction into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame in June.
The 2008 class, which is the sixth induction class, was selected this week by the Hall of Fame board of directors. The six will be inducted during a June 7 dinner banquet at Athens State University. Limestone County District Court Judge Jerry Batts will be guest speaker.
Tickets will go on sale May 1 to the public at The News-Courier.
Those selected for induction include the following:
• Johnny Bailey: A three-sport letterman at Ardmore High School from 1958-1961. He quarterbacked the Tigers to an overall 31-2-1 record and a state championship while playing for HOF inductee Eugene Cooper. In 1961, Bailey ran for 22 touchdowns and passed for eight more. He went on to play football for Florence State College three years playing both offensively and defensively for the Lions.
• Bailey Leopard: A former editor with the Alabama Courier and Democrat, he also was a sportswriter for the newspaper and with the Athens High School newspaper while in school from 1952-55. In 1955, while working in the sports department with the Birmingham Post-Herald, he received a scholarship to Birmingham Southern College. He covered all sports in the Birmingham area and in 1958 started covering the University of Alabama football program. In 1961, he returned to Athens as editor of the Courier and Democrat and in 1973 started his own newspaper, The Williamson Leader, which he sold in 1998. He won many writing awards in Alabama and Tennessee during his newspaper career.
• David Martin: He played high school football at Athens High School from 1950-1953 where he was an All-State player. He went on to play at Middle Tennessee State from 1954-55. He later transferred to Florence State College and was one of only three players at that time to letter four times. He earned Most Valuable Player honors in 1958 and 1959 and was selected by his teammates as co-captain for the 1959 season. In 1989, he was named to the All-UNA team dating back 40 years from 1949-1989.
• Mary McCoy: The wife of 2007 HOF inductee Larry McCoy, she coached at Athens High School and East Limestone High School before joining Calhoun Community College from 1969-1983 where she started the women’s athletic program. She was named Alabama Community College Tennis Coach of the Year in 1981.
• Freddy Smith: He rushed for 2,156 yards and scored 38 touchdowns to lead Athens High School to a state football championship in 1975. He was a high school All-American and went on to play football at Auburn University where he was an All-Southeastern Conference linebacker. He played professional football with the Minnesota Vikings, the USFL Birmingham Stallions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
• Randy White: He won three state basketball championships while coaching the Athens High School Eaglettes. He finished with a 412-98 record and had back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2002 and 2003. His teams recorded a record 69-game winning streak. He also coached the AHS softball team for 15 years with an overall 521-245 record. His teams won state championships in 1989, 1990 and 1999. He received 18 various Coaches of the Year honors in his career.