High school sports legends headed for Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame

Many Savannahians know Ken Griner as a TV sportscaster who worked for three Savannah stations over a 35-year career.

To longtime locals, Griner is remembered as much for playing sports as reporting on them. A standout baseball and football players in his prep days at Savannah Christian, he went on to star for the Georgia Bulldogs baseball team.

He will soon be honored for his talents inside the playing field lines as he headlines the 2023 class of the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. The hall will induct Griner and five others during a commencement ceremony on Monday, May 8.

The hall will also recognize current local athletic star Veronica Sierzant of Islands with the Lawton M. Calhoun Award. Sierzant, a four-sport standout who is headed to Syracuse on a volleyball scholarship, joins a long list of prep stars to receive the prestigious honor.

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The GSAHF Awards Banquet starts at 6 p.m. on May 8 at the Alee Temple. A reception will be followed by dinner at 7 p.m. followed by the awards show. Tickets are available and cost $25. To purchase, contact Earl Etheridge at 912-351-3852 or 912-667-5484 or by email at EEtheridge@savannahga.gov.

Here is the Class of 2023 for the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ken Griner

Griner started a stellar athletic career at Savannah Christian where he starred as a quarterback and on the baseball diamond.

In three years under center, he went 24-4 as a starter and helped lead Savannah Christian to its first State Title in 1975, scoring the winning touchdown in the championship game. The team captain went 10-1 his senior season, earning All-Region and honorable mention All-State honors. Ken was a starter at first base for the SCPS baseball team from 1975-1977, earning All-State honors in 1976 and 1977.

He was the team MVP in 1976, batting .444 and was the team captain and MVP again in 1977. He lettered in baseball as a freshman at Middle Georgia Junior College in 1978, before moving on to Brewton-Parker Junior College 1979, where he was a team captain and helped led the team to the state tournament. Ken completed his collegiate career with the University of Georgia baseball team from 1981-1982, batting .317 his senior season. He was stellar defensively, not committing an error in 95 chances at first base.

Gary Cooper

A standout, three-sport athlete at Robert W. Groves High School, Cooper excelled in baseball, football and track. He was an All-City athlete in football and baseball. As a starting pitcher in baseball, Gary had a 19-3 record and threw three no-hitters. He dominated at the plate with a .454 batting average his senior year. Blessed with blazing speed, he was also a track star at Groves. He competed in the 100, 220, and the 440 relay events, and he once ran the 100-yard dash in 9.7 seconds.

After high school, Gary was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the third round. He played seven seasons in the minor and major leagues as a pinch runner and defensive specialist. In August of 1980 Gary was called up by the Atlanta Braves and was considered to be one of the fastest players in professional baseball.

Mark Mamalakis

Mamalakis was an excellent athlete who made his mark at Savannah High and Armstrong College in a memorable career.

A 1969 graduate of Savannah High, where he starred in baseball and basketball -- he enrolled at Armstrong College around the age of 16, when most teenagers are taking their driving tests.

He was a four-year starter on the baseball team with the Pirates and won the team's MVP Award in 1971 when he led the squad in homers, RBIs, hits, doubles and game-winning hits.

In the two years following, Mark made the list of "Outstanding College Athletes of America" and the "Who's Who in American College and Universities." He won the team's "Best Hustle" Award and made the NAIA All-District 25 Team. He finished with a .286 career batting average and 49 stolen bases -- earning a spot in the Armstrong Hall of Fame.

Royce Exley

Exley grew up playing in various youth baseball leagues in Savannah and was an All-City star at Savannah High from 1959-1961, where he led the team in batting average two out of his three years as a starter.

He earned a scholarship to Georgia Southern College, where he played shortstop and third base. He grew as a player and leader with the chance to measure his skills against Division l teams and twice helped led the team to the Regional and National NAIA tournament in his three years there.

Royce had a batting average over .300 during his collegiate career. After college, Royce moved on to competitive softball which led to his being inducted into the Savannah Softball Hall of Fame.

Jackie Hamilton

A deserving Citation Award winner this year is a popular one in Jackie Hamilton, the former Calvary Day athletic star who coached girls basketball at his alma mater for the last 18 years, before stepping down after another run to the Final Four this year.

A steady courtside presence who knows the game inside and out, Hamilton taught lessons on and off the court and created lifetime relationships with his players and their families.

He closed out his career with an impressive career record of 429 wins and 88 loses. His biggest win came in the 2008 GSHA Class A State title game, when the Cavs beat Terrell County to win the championship. Hamilton, know for his humble demeanor, has accomplishments that include: 18 State playoff appearances, nine Region Championships, four Sweet 16 appearances, five Elite 8 berths, four Final Fours and the State Championship.

Bobby Gee

Gee, another highly respected coach, is also a recipient of the Citation Award this year.

He started his career as a student teacher at Clarksville High School in 1963. He continued at Myers Junior High School, becoming its head football and head track coach, and athletic director.

He moved on to Windsor Forest High School, where he was an assistant football coach and head cross country coach, before becoming the head football coach and athletic director at Savannah High School, where he placed several players on the All-City and All-Coastal teams.

Twenty-three of Gee's players at SHS earned college football scholarships, and he earned Coach of the Year honors from the Savannah News-Press.

Coach Gee was appointed to the Savannah-Chatham County School System Director of Athletics, implementing the middle school athletics program and was named The Georgia Athletic Association's Athletic Director of the Year.Coach Gee’s last assignment was as offensive coordinator at Bradwell Institute until retirement. He said his biggest honor was to serve those who participated in sports under him. He said he hoped they learned as much from him as he learned from them.

Savannah Sports Council

The winner of this year's M.A. Spellman Award goes to one of the most important organization's in Savannah's sports landscape -- the Savannah Sports Council.

Founded in 1977 as a department under the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, today its a division of Visit Savannah. The Sports Council works to bring sports events and conventions to the city to bring tourist spending, while supporting the local sports scene.

Among the Council's biggest accomplishments is running the Savannah Hockey Classic, featuring four of the top college programs in the South, for the last 30 years.

The Sports Council also owns and operates one of the top running events in the Southeast in the Savannah Bridge Run. The annual race draws thousands each December with proceeds from the even donated to the Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion at St. Joseph's Hospital.

The council was also in charge of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon for a decade and operates the Savannah Women's Half Marathon and 5K, and brought the NAIA Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships to Savannah, while continuing in its mission to support a multitude of youth sports organizations.

Veronica Sierzant

This year's winner of the Lawton M. Calhoun Award is Veronica Sierzant from Islands High School who is headed to Syracuse University on a volleyball scholarship.

The 6-foot-3 senior is a gifted athlete in every sport in which she participates. She was a star on the Sharks' volleyball, basketball, soccer and track and field teams.

Sierzant was selected as the Savannah Morning News volleyball player of the year as a junior, and she is a two-time winner of the prestigious Hollis Stacy Award, givent to the most versatile female high school athlete in Savannah, and she’s a favorite to become the first three-time winner this spring.

Sierzant was also named the Savannah Morning News overall girls athlete of the year last June. She was also one of 73 Georgia high school volleyball players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Phenom List.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Members of Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame 2023 class