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Published Thursday, February 09, 2012 in Sports

Coweta Sports HOF: Hill to be inducted Saturday

By Chris Goltermann

The Newnan Times-Herald

Roosevelt Hill may have been one of the last people close to him to realize he had been selected as one of the next members in the Coweta Sports Hall of Fame.

He had remembered receiving a letter. But it wasn't until family and friends read about Hill's achievement in the newspaper that he truly realized the magnitude of its message.

"It's an honor and a privilege," he said. "I'm really overwhelmed by it. Being fifty, my playing days have been well behind me, so I hadn't even thought of anything like this."

The former Newnan High football standout starred at linebacker and strong safety during his varsity career. The Cougars went 34-11 during the span while reaching the state quarterfinals his junior season. The team reached the region finals his senior season after Newnan elevated to Class AAAA for the first time, finishing 9-3 under head coach Max Bass.

"It brought back a lot of very fond memories. I went through a lot of old photo albums," he said. "I run into those guys all the time."

Hill went on to play at Alabama for another legend, Bear Bryant, playing in four consecutive bowl games after watching the Tide win the 1979 national championship, having played on Alabama JV team that year.

"There were definitely some similarities," Hill said of the two coaches. "We didn't see a lot of Coach Bryant. He'd be up in the tower watching."

Following a senior year of high school where he was named All-State by Atlanta newspapers while also earning a trip to the North-South All-Star Game, Hill jokingly remembers what it was like to attend his first position meetings in Tuscaloosa having been one of Newnan's larger defenders at 190 pounds.

"I walked in the linebackers meeting and I thought it was the linemen," he joked. "Somebody asked me who I was looking for and I said, 'the linebackers.' They go, 'This is it.' All of them had to be at least 220 pounds."

Hill played in every game during his junior year, which ended with a victory over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl, Bryant's final game prior to his retirement. Fourteen of his 26 tackles were unassisted.

After redshirting in 1980, he played in seven games including the Cotton Bowl in 1981 while making eight tackles while wearing No. 56.

Both Hill and retired Newnan High coach Harold Goodman will become the 70th and 71st members of the Sports Hall during ceremonies on Saturday at the Coweta Fairgrounds. They also comprise the 10th class in its history since 15 original members were inducted in 2003.

The Coweta Sports Hall will make a special presentation in recognition of its 10th year while also honoring the athletic success of the Newnan High during the 1950-51 school year. It included trips to the state football and basketball finals in addition to a Class A state baseball championship.

Former five-time All-Pro offensive lineman Kent Hill, a teammate of Newnan's late Drew Hill at both Georgia Tech and the Los Angeles Rams, is scheduled to be Saturday's guest speaker. Kent Hill is now a successful entrepreneur with Kent's Country Cookies, based out of metro Atlanta, while also doing speaking engagements.

Tickets for the dinner banquet are $25 and can be obtained by calling Elizabeth Crain at 770-253-1235.

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