Hoping to inspire the next generation of Bradwell Tiger athletes and boost school spirit, the school’s football defensive coordinator, Jeff Miller, is seeking community support for a project.
In one of Bradwell’s hallways, directly across from the athletic director’s office, Miller is building a “wall of fame.” Six poster-sized, framed action photos of former Tigers playing at the college or professional level have been hung.
The featured athletes are:
• Reggie Cockerm, a former Tiger football player who went on to play at Valdosta State.
• Gregory Cooke, the Tigers’ current soccer coach and a former student who played at USC Aiken.
• Raymond Blake a Tiger football player turned Yellow Jacket for his college career.
• DeLisha Milton Jones, a Tiger alum who played basketball for Team U.S.A. and currently plays for the WNBA’s LA Sparks.
• Will Pettis, the most decorated iron-man player for the former Dallas Desperados Indoor Arena Football League team.
• Gary Guyton, a two-year NFL linebacker and recent Liberty County Hall of Fame inductee. The former Tiger now calls the Northeast home, playing for the New England Patriots.
“Seventy-five percent or more of our students that graduate from Bradwell are not from Hinesville,” Miller said. “They have no idea the history of the school or who has come through these doors.”
He said current students are somewhat familiar with Milton-Jones, Pettis and especially Guyton because of their television exposure.
“But there are a lot of kids who walked through these doors, who have gone off to college, played a sport, any sport, and now they are contributing to either the community here in Hinesville or making a good living for themselves in another community based on the education they received due to athletics.”
Scanning through the list of former Tiger student athletes who played sports at the college level is a virtual “who’s who” among the familiar names in Hinesville, including current and former city and county officials like Kenneth Howard, Allen Brown and William Boyd. Current Lady Tiger basketball coach Faye Baker was a Georgia Southern softball and basketball standout and her brother, Daryl Baker, played in the minors for the Expos.
Miller said he’s compiled a list and has been busy on the phone trying to get action photos of as many former Tigers as possible, but it’s been an arduous task.
He said it’s been especially difficult obtaining photos and information about the earlier graduates. Many pictures can’t be reproduced to poster-size. Miller said asking families and friends to search their old photographs might be the only way to obtain photos they can scan and use.
“There are a lot of people who can help me that I might not know about,” he said. “This project is way bigger than one person, but I just happened to be the one who got it going and now I need everybody’s help.”
He said by shedding light on his project, Miller hopes people will become involved and help him.
Some of the former Tigers Miller needs of action photos of include:
David Kunda, Faye Baker, Robert LaBlanc, Eric Slaughter, Raymond Gross, Greg Cooke, Erin Magaw, Zach Cradock, David Paulk, John Stewart, Robert Campbell, Kashean Lathem, Teddrick Brown, Sultan Cooper, Daryl Baker, Latoya Horton, Ronnie Brett, Allen Brown, Candler Boyd, Spencer Clark, Keith Colson, Dominique Blasingame, William Boyd, Quinton Lewis, Raymond Gross, John Stewart, Ronald Johnson, James Lattimer, Alphonso Stephens, Gerand Shorter, Keith Ray, Ken Howard, Bob Bitzer, Mike Shanner, Carl McRay, Gwynn Vaughn, Delano Little, Jame Baker, John Barbee, Bill Stanford, Mark Wesley, Edward Jones, Jerry Lloyd, Marty Hutcheson, Jimbo Watson, Sean Gainey, Artis Morrison, George Coffee, Ambrose Alvin, Bryant Gilliard, Richard Matthews, Pat Butler, Ricky Fabian and Brian Turner.
If you have photos, mail them and a self addressed stamp envelope for return to:
Bradwell Institute
100 Pafford St.
Hinesville, Ga 31313
Attn: Jeff Miller
Or e-mail photos to jmiller@liberty.k12.ga.us. For more information call: 368-6123.