News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-5056 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE JANUARY 29, 2009

VICKERS WAS FIRST ABAC WOMEN’S COACH TO WIN NATIONAL TITLE

TIFTON — In 1991, Ellen Vickers became the first women’s coach in the history of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to win a national championship. As a result of that title with the Fillies’ softball team and her other coaching achievements with the Fillies’ tennis team, Vickers will be inducted into the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 13.

Other inductees include Dorsey Brooks, who played on the 1937 men’s state championship basketball team; Cook Holliday, who was the first ABAC athlete to qualify for the National Junior College track meet in 1962, P.W. Bryan, Jr., a standout baseball and basketball player at ABAC in 1955-57, Newell “Sarge” Dorsey, who served for 12 years as Intramural Director at the college, and the 1984 national championship men’s tennis team coached by Norman “Red” Hill.

Tickets are now available at a cost of $20 per person for the 4:30 p.m. dinner on Feb. 13 in the Grand Lobby of ABAC Lakeside. Tickets can be purchased from the ABAC Athletics Office by calling Shirley Wilson at (229) 391-4930.

The honorees for this year’s Hall of Fame class will then be recognized at the ABAC tennis match at the Red Hill Tennis Center.

ABAC initiated the Athletics Hall of Fame during the 100^th birthday celebration last year. The first inductees included Thomas Cheney; Bruce Gressette, Norman “Red” Hill, Orion Mitchell, Philip Simpson, and Milena Stanoytcheva.

ELLEN VICKERS

Vickers was named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Coach of the Year in 1991 when her team captured the national slow pitch championship. Her 1990 team finished second in the national tournament.

The Fillies won six NJCAA Region XVII softball titles when Vickers was the coach. She was named Coach of the Year each time in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1994.

Vickers was also named Coach of the Year in women’s tennis when her teams won NJCAA Region XVII titles in 1984, 1985, and 1986. She was a finalist for the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Junior College Coach of the Year in 1987.

A graduate of Wrens High School, Vickers received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Georgia Southern College. She was a faculty member in the ABAC Division of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation beginning in 1966 until her retirement in 1994.

DORSEY BROOKS

Brooks attended ABAC from 1936 until 1939 when he played guard and forward on the basketball team. The 1937 team won the state title, and the 1939 team finished second in the state tournament. He completed his education at the University of Georgia.

Brooks began his coaching career at Tucker High School in 1947. His baseball teams won numerous district championships and in 1956, the Tucker High baseball squad captured the school’s first ever state championship in a major sport.

Brooks also coached football, basketball, and track. He guided Tucker’s transition from six to 11-man football in 1952. Brooks was also instrumental in getting the Tucker Little League baseball program started.

Today, Brooks has helped to establish and fund an education program for “at risk” children at Jefferson Middle School. He has been a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Jefferson for over 50 years.

P.W. BRYAN, JR.

Bryan attended ABAC in 1955-57. The Thomasville High School graduate took his baseball skills to the diamond in Tifton by becoming the ace of the staff in his first year with five wins and two losses. He struck out eight batters in a row in his first start.

Bryan was also co-captain of the basketball team. Besides playing on the men’s team, he was selected to coach the women’s team at ABAC after Coach Bruce Gressette had a heart attack one week before the season opened. He led the ABAC women’s team to a 13-1 record.

Despite a shoulder injury which ended his pitching career, Bryan gained a baseball scholarship to the University of Georgia for his expertise at first base. He led the team in extra base hits and hit .286.

Georgia Coach Wally Butts asked Bryan to coach the men’s freshman basketball and baseball teams at UGA, based on the success that Bryan had at ABAC.

A member of the Thomasville Sports Hall of Fame, Bryan is a former Glen Arven Country Club tennis singles’ champion. He also has raised seven world champion Tennessee Walking Horses.

COOK HOLLIDAY

Born in Rochelle, Holliday attended Wilcox Central High School before coming to ABAC in 1962-64. During his freshman year, he set the state junior college pole vault record.

Holliday also became the first ABAC track athlete to qualify for the National Junior College track meet. The ABAC student body raised enough money for him to travel by train to Big Springs, Tex., for the national meet. En route, his steel pole was misplaced, and he used a borrowed pole to finish fifth in the nation.

Holliday also played on the ABAC basketball team, earning the nickname, “The Baldwin Blaster,” for his shooting skills. He helped to lead the Stallions to the state basketball championship during his sophomore year.

The University of Wyoming awarded Holliday a track scholarship where he competed in the pole vault, javelin, and triple jump. He set the school outdoor pole vault record while with the Cowboys.

Holliday coached for 32 years, seven at Treutlen High School and 25 at Winder-Barrow High School. He led his teams to six state titles, five in track and one in cross country. He compiled an incredible 234-9-1 record with his track teams. Holliday was named the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association At Large Track Coach of the Year three times. In 1984 he was given the Key to the City of Winder.

NEWELL “SARGE” DORSEY

Dorsey is perhaps best remembered for the 12 years he spent as Director of Intramurals at ABAC beginning in 1981. For his devotion to intramural athletics, he received the National Intramural and Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA) Region II Award of Merit. The award acknowledges exceptional performance or dedication, to encourage creativity and innovation, and to establish a standard of excellence in professional achievement.

ABAC recognized him with the Staff Forum Award and with a 1983 Pacesetter Award. Dorsey put in countless hours maintaining the ABAC athletics facilities. He also made the best popcorn around in the ABAC concession stand and served as mentor to many of the intercollegiate and intramural athletes at ABAC.

He helped to start the first boys’ track program at Tiftarea Academy in 1975 and initiated the first track program for girls at Tiftarea in 1976. The 1984 Tiftarea girls’ track team won the state title. Dorsey was named Coach of the Year seven times.

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant when he attended ABAC in 1970-72, Dorsey was quite an athlete himself. He competed in the Japanese National Running Races in 1951 and classified as a World Class Runner in the 400 meter and 1600 meter relays. He was selected as the track coach for the 9^th Air Force track team which competed in the World Wide Air Force Track and Field Championships.

The logo on Dorsey’s intramural t-shirts at ABAC is legendary, “Winning and losing are only temporary…friendships are forever.”

NATIONAL TITLE TEAM OF 1984

Hill had already put the ABAC men’s tennis program on the map, but in 1984, his team conquered the best the United States had to offer. The Stallions won the NJCAA championship, the first national title in the history of ABAC.

The top six players received All-America recognition in singles and doubles. The group included Carlos Perez, John Luc Dumont, Michael Rice, Pat Breen, Chris Demarta, and Tony Giorgetti.

A fact that Hill is most proud of is that all six went on to complete their degrees at four-year colleges and universities.

Other members of the team who did not compete in the national tournament were Richard Carr, York Carter, and Reg Holden.

“That was one of the finest teams I have ever coached,” Hill said. “We had four continents represented, and they all got along. I wish the world today could be like that.”

Perez and Giorgetti were from South America, Dumont and Demarta were from England, Rice was from South Africa, and Breen was from New York City.

“They were all hard workers in the classroom and on the tennis courts,” Hill said. And together they lived out a dream for the national title on the courts in Ocala, Fla.

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