11 athletes enter Valdosta Sports Hall of Fame

By Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA �" Thursday night, 11 former standout Valdosta High School athletes entered the Valdosta Sports Hall of Fame.
Nine Wildcat football players, a Lady Wildcats basketball player and a longtime team doctor were enshrined at the Hall of Fame banquet on Thursday at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center.
John Bell, Dr. Jose Campa, Steven Everson, Leon Johnson, Dante Jones, Faye Lanier Lansdell, Lawrence Lowe, Chris Major, Glenn O'Neal, Jodie Sprenkle and Michael Tolbert became the newest members of the Valdosta Sports Hall of Fame.
“What a class group of people,” Tolbert said. “It's a great honor to be recognized and included in this great group of athletes being inducted tonight.”
All of the inductees who were physically able to attend were there. Several came from out of state for the ceremony (and every one of them commented on how it was nice to be back in their hometown). Campa and Lowe passed away earlier this decade, while O'Neal was ailing and could not attend, but all three had family members speak for them.
Each of the inductees spoke of their pride in playing for Valdosta High School , and being a part of the Wildcats' great tradition. Each expressed their gratitude at being chosen for the Hall of Fame, and said how much the honor meant to them.
The inductees all thanked their coaches and their teammates. Most of them said their coaches had a major impact on them, both in sports and in life. Most thanked their parents, their spouses and their families. Nearly every inductee thanked God.
Each inductee received a standing ovation from the audience when they came to the stage for their induction, then received another standing ovation when they were done giving their acceptance speeches.
Bell was a standout wide receiver for Valdosta's national championship team in 1992, and played for the Wildcats from 1990-93. He was chosen All-Area and All-Region, and also ran track for the Wildcats. He went on to play collegiately for the University of Louisville.
“I admit that when I got the call from Mr. (David) Waller (about the Hall of Fame), I was shocked,” Bell said. “It feels good to be home.”
Bell entered the Hall with Everson, who was his quarterback at Valdosta, and is now his brother-in-law.
Everson was the starting quarterback for the Wildcats from 1991-92. He was an All-State and All-Region quarterback, and his record as Valdosta's starting quarterback was 25-1. He wore No. 1 at Valdosta, and in 1992, he led the Wildcats to No. 1 in the country. He went on to play football for Boston College. He was also drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1993, and also played baseball for Boston College.
“ Valdosta High School , that was our pro team. They set the example for us,” Everson said. “The guys that I watched (growing up) set the example for us ... At Boston College, I played for Coach Tom Coughlin (now the coach of the New York Giants) and Coach Dan Henning (a longtime NFL coach), and both of them knew what a great program Valdosta had.”
“I want to thank the community for embracing us,” Everson added. “Friday nights are not the same (in other places). No devotion compares to that devotion this community had for us on Friday nights.”
Campa was Valdosta's team doctor for nearly 30 years, and had a reputation for taking excellent care of the players. For many years, he gave his time, his money and other resources to the Wildcat program, not to mention athletic programs at other schools and the Valdosta Boys and Girls Clubs. He used to close his office at 2:30 p.m. so that he could make it to VHS for practice. He had a brilliant mind when it came to sports medicine, and constantly advised players and coaches on the proper treatment and prevention of injuries.
He had six biological children, but to him, the Wildcat players were also “my boys.”
Martin Campa spoke on his late father's behalf, and told the audience that the Valdosta Wildcats were a big deal to his dad.
“The Wildcats and Valdosta meant a lot to my dad,” Martin said. “He was a foreigner, and Valdosta accepted him and embraced him ... I am proud to be his son, and proud to be a part of the Wildcats.”
Johnson was a nose guard in Valdosta's old 5-2 defense in the early 1980s. He was All-State and All-Region, and also was chosen Valdosta's Most Valuable Defensive Player his senior year. He was also a standout wrestler. Johnson went on to play four years at nose guard at Eastern Kentucky.
“I'm glad to be back in Valdosta,” Johnson said. “I am (a deputy sheriff) in North Carolina. Sometimes I'll be in my car, and a car with a Lowndes County license plate will drive by, and I want to pull them over, just to ask about Valdosta.”
Johnson went into the Hall of Fame with his cousin, Major.
Major was a hard-hitting defensive back for the Wildcats in 1981-82. He was a part of a defense that set a school record with 38 interceptions in 1982. He was chosen All-State and All-Region. He played four years at the University of South Carolina. Then he spent three years with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, and made the CFL All-Star team. In 1988, he led the Stampeders with 10 interceptions. He later spent three years with the British Columbia Lions of the CFL.
While he enjoyed playing in college and in the CFL, his years with Valdosta remain special ones.
“It was a great experience. I played football for Valdosta in 1981 and 1982, and those were two of the best years I've ever had,” Major said. “Nothing compares to playing for the Wildcats ... In Florida (where I live), the high school football games are not even what our junior high games were.”
Jones was a standout safety for Valdosta from 1979-82. He was an All-American, All-State and All-Region selection. He was chosen Valdosta's top defensive player his senior year. He went on to play four years at Georgia Tech, and was chosen the Yellow Jackets' Most Valuable Defensive Player his junior year.
He was also an outstanding student, graduating 18th in his class at VHS, and was a senior superlative and was voted Best All-Around Senior.
He received the National High School Award for Excellence, was named to the Society of Distinguished American High School Students and Who's Who Among American High School Students, and received the State of Georgia and University of Georgia Certificate of Merit.
At Georgia Tech, he was the president of the ANAK Honor Society, the school's highest honorary organization.
Longtime Valdosta defensive coordinator Jack Rudolph introduced Jones, and said he was one of the two smartest players he had ever been associated with at Valdosta.
Rudolph wrote a poem about Jones and read it before the former safety came up to the podium.
Jones also wrote a poem, for his parents (”Hall of Fame parents,” he called them), which he read. Like many of the other inductees, he mentioned what a great privilege it was to play for the coaches at Valdosta.
“When you played at the college level, you realized what great coaches we had at Valdosta High School ,” he said.
Lansdell was a forward on the Valdosta girls basketball team that won the state championship in 1957. She averaged 16 points per game that season, and was named All-State. In the state championship game, she led all scorers with 20 points, and sank two crucial free throws at the end of the game to help the Lady Wildcats win the title. She, Libby Carter Deavours (Class of 2007) and Tracy Blanton Jackson (Class of 2008) were the Lady Wildcats' forwards that championship season, and now all three of them are members of their school's athletic Hall of Fame.
“I don't think I was this nervous when I made those two free shots in the state championship game,” said Lansdell, after coming on the stage to accept her induction. “I'm on an emotional high, and I'm filled with gratitude.”
Lowe was a safety for Valdosta on Nick Hyder's first three Wildcat teams, from 1974-76. He was an All-State selection his senior year. He also played basketball for the Wildcats. He went on to play strong safety at Georgia Tech. He later joined the Georgia State Patrol.
At the ceremony, he was represented by his nephew, Curtis Lowe, another former Valdosta player.
“Lawrence's family wants to thank you all for putting Lawrence in the Hall of Fame,” Curtis said.
O'Neal was a fullback for the 1942-43 Valdosta teams. Then, before his senior year in 1944, he left high school to join the U.S. Navy and fight in World War II.  His coach, Wright Bazemore, was also serving in the military at that time.
O'Neal has two brothers and several members of his extended family in the Valdosta Sports Hall of Fame. His grandfather, John Robert O'Neal, had at least 21 grandchildren play for the Wildcats.
O'Neal's son Pat, who played on Valdosta's 1971 national championship team, accepted the award in his dad's honor.
“It was an honor to play on the same football field (Cleveland Field) and for the same coach (Bazemore) as my dad,” Pat O'Neal said.
Sprenkle was a standout offensive tackle for Valdosta's 1986 national championship team, and was also a member of the 1984 national champions.
Jerry Don Baker, who coached offensive linemen for 25 years at Valdosta, called the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Sprenkle one of the best offensive linemen he'd ever coached, and said, “He was a mountain of a man, yet he was a gentle giant with a big old heart.” Sprenkle was a Super-11 selection and played in the Georgia-Florida All-Star Game.
He signed a scholarship to the University of Georgia. Sprenkle has spent 19 years coaching high school football, and is now an assistant at Bainbridge.
In Sprenkle's three years on varsity, Valdosta went 39-3.
“What I am is the product of an environment,” Sprenkle said. “I do know what these (coaches) meant to me, what coming from an awesome family meant, and what it means to be a part of the Wildcat tradition.”
Tolbert played defensive end, and was Sprenkle's teammate on the 1984-86 Wildcats teams that went 39-3 and won two national championships.
He was the team's Defensive Lineman of the Year his senior year, and was the Player of the Week the week of the state championship game in 1986.
He also played baseball for the Wildcats. He later went on to play football at South Carolina, where he was joined by three Wildcat teammates.
“Throughout my playing days, I was very fortunate to be surrounded by a long list of people with great character and wisdom, who provided many valuable lessons,” Tolbert said.
Most of the Hall of Fame inductees went on to play sports in college, and nearly all of them have college degrees.