Class of 2020 inducted into Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame

Jun. 20—OXFORD — It took a little longer than expected, but the members of the Class of 2020 can finally call themselves hall of famers.

Ted Boozer, Jerry Cole, Arthur Hardy, Roland Houston, Brooke McCarley Suda and Jeramie Moore were inducted into the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame at Oxford Civic Center on Saturday night, bringing the total number of inductees to 100.

The Class of 2020 was announced in early March of last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the induction banquet.

"This class had a unique situation this year," said Ken Grissom, the president of the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame. "Theoretically, they would have been inducted last year, on June 20th, but for reasons that we all did not see coming, it just didn't happen. So we're thankful to be able to bring these guys here tonight."

Lou Scales helped Boozer, who played football and basketball at Alexandria High School, land a scholarship offer to play football at Texas A&M for Paul "Bear" Bryant after coaches from Alabama told him he was too slow and coaches from Auburn told him he was too small. Boozer spent one year at Texas A&M and another at Allen Military Academy before coming home to play his final two seasons for Don Salls at Jacksonville State.

Boozer thanked both Scales and Salls for the impact they had on his life and career.

"I have been very fortunate to have men like Coach Salls and Coach Scales influence my life," Boozer's grandson Brian Owens read from a prepared statement Saturday night. "Their advice, example and assistance enabled me to achieve my goals."

Cole played football at Jacksonville High School and at Jacksonville State before becoming JSU's first full-time director of athletics, a role he held for more than 25 years.

He died Dec. 7, 2009, at the age of 74, and was inducted posthumously. His son, Jason, talked about how much being JSU's athletics director meant to his father.

"I guarantee you that dad truly loved the university," Jason Cole said. "I think he would have done it for free."

Hardy, who starred in both basketball and track at Weaver, preached acceptance throughout his speech.

"I find this night to be really special for me because I'm being accepted, but to be honest with you folks, I was accepted a long time ago," he said.

After attending an all-Black school in first grade, Hardy moved to Weaver Elementary, where he "found no one who looked like me in my first class." By the end of his first day, however, an initially intimidated Hardy had made two friends.

That theme continued throughout his time at Weaver. Hardy thanked classmates, teammates, teachers and coaches for the impact they had on his life.

"Throughout Weaver, everywhere I went, I felt like I was always accepted," he said. "I've spent the night in homes of teammates across the entire city of Weaver, and their parents always accepted me and treated me like I was one of their own. That always made me feel special. It built my confidence. It made me become the man I am today."

After playing football at Oxford High School, Houston got into coaching. He was an assistant under Bill Burgess at Oxford and again at JSU, where he was a part of the Gamecocks' 1992 Division II national championship.

"Little did I know that when Coach Burgess asked me to be a student coach at Oxford High School that it would affect the rest of my life," Houston said. "and that I would spend over 20 years working with Bill Burgess and Charlie Maniscalco. I mean it don't get any better than that."

Houston would go on to serve as the head coach at Weaver High School before finishing his coaching career as the head coach at Jacksonville High School.

McCarley Suda played basketball and volleyball at Alexandria before embarking on an outstanding collegiate volleyball career at Auburn.

"I just want to say thank you to all of my coaches I had in high school for volleyball and basketball," she said before thanking her family. "They really did mold me into what I was going to become as an Auburn volleyball player."

Moore played football and baseball at Alexandria. He went on to play one year of college baseball at Enterprise State Junior College before finishing his career at LSU, where he won a national championship in 1996.

Closing out the induction banquet, an emotional Moore discussed "three T's in life" that are important to him.

"Remember when you leave, be thankful, be tough and be the best teammate you can be," he said.

Assistant Sports Editor Jared Gravette: 256-235-3572. On Twitter: @Jared_Gravette.