Marengo County Sports Hall of Fame turns 10 years old

In the summer of 2007 Tom Boggs, Tony Speegle and Johnny Brooker met to discuss how to recognize and publicize the tremendous sports history of Marengo County with emphasis on recognizing individuals, teams, and how to exhibit memorabilia concerning events, teams and individuals.

The Marengo County Sports Hall of Fame was born from those first meetings on the 27th of November 2007 when the corporation was officially organized and filed with the Probate Office of Marengo County, subsequently receiving tax exempt status under Section 501 (c ) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The goals set were to select individuals who have made an impact on Marengo County through their exploits in sports over the years, to host an annual induction ceremony, to recognize championship teams, to award an annual scholarship to a high school senior, and to provide a place for display of Marengo County Sports memorabilia, so as to instill pride in the entire County.

A 12-person Board of Directors was organized, and on the second Monday of February, 2009, the first banquet and induction ceremony was held at the Demopolis Civic Center with a sold out crowd.

There were six inductees that year, and although all six of those individuals had excelled in football, the following eight banquets have featured men and women covering not only football, but basketball, baseball, softball, track, boxing, wrestling and even umpiring.  The Tenth Annual Banquet and Induction Ceremony is planned for the second Monday of February, 2018 at the Demopolis Civic Center.  The board voted to move the start time to 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m., with a gathering period at 5:30 p.m.    Tickets will be made available starting around December of 2017, with the price for the night’s entertainment and an excellent meal remaining at $25.00 each.

There will be a special emphasis on encouraging past inductees to be present for this 10th anniversary, and there will be a souvenir program featuring not only the new inductees, but all 46 of the past Hall of Fame members.

There is still time for submission of nomination packages to be delivered to Tom Boggs or to Tony Speegle, the package to include a picture, letter of recommendation, and a vita sheet setting out information about the family of the nominee, as well as a summary of athletic accomplishments.

The memorabilia collected for the last ten years is exhibited by courtesy of the Demopolis Library Board in a back room at the Demopolis Public Library, and everyone is encouraged to visit those exhibits to share in the pride of the County.