Two Georgia Tech greats, Joe Hamilton and Whack Hyder, will be inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame on Friday.
As a quarterback for the Yellow Jackets from 1996-99, Hamilton became one of the more popular players in team history and set ACC records for total offense, touchdown passes and total touchdowns. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Hamilton won the Davey O’Brien Award in 1999 as the nation’s top quarterback and was second in voting for the 1999 Heisman Trophy behind Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne.
Hyder was 292-271 in 22 seasons at Tech and held the school record for most all-time wins until Bobby Cremins broke the mark in 1996. Hyder coached Tech’s first two All-Americans, Roger Kaiser and Rich Yunkus, and led the Jackets to the first NCAA Tournament appearance, in 1960. He also was a four-sport letter-winner at Tech. Hyder died in 2003 at the age of 90.
Hamilton and Hyder will be joined by two Braves greats, center fielder Andruw Jones and pitching coach Leo Mazzone, and Falcons running back Gerald Riggs.
The ceremony will be held at the Emory Conference Center Hotel.
Inductees with Tech ties include Bill Curry, Bobby Dodd, John Heisman, Bobby Jones, Mark Price, Homer Rice, Randy Rhino, Tim Singleton, Cremins and Kaiser.
About the Author
