Hampton, Roberts named to Morgan Co. Hall of Fame

By Staff
Hartselle native Logan entertains as guest speaker
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
DECATUR – State senator Tommy Ed Roberts – who played offense, defense and punted for J.P. Cain's Morgan County Tigers in 1955-57 – and one-time Hartselle and Jacksonville State standout Mark Hampton were among seven enshrined at the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday.
"It's a great honor; I'm very humbled by it," Roberts said following the ceremony. "It came as a surprise. I never really thought I was an outstanding athlete."
Roberts served as a state senator from 1994-2006 before deciding not to seek re-election this year. But before his time in Montgomery, Roberts was a standout on the Morgan County football team and was set to continue playing football at Jacksonville State before a knee injury ended his playing career in 1959.
Hampton also played football at Jacksonville State, helping the Gamecocks reach the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 1980 and 1981 and the semifinals in 1982. As a defensive lineman for Jacksonville State, he made 25 sacks and 199 tackles in his first three seasons. He missed most of his senior season with a knee injury.
"To get to this point means you've had a lot of people help you along the way," Hampton said. "I've so thankful for my coaches, teammates and friends over the years who have helped put me in the position to get an honor like this."
The induction ceremony took place at Decatur Holiday Inn and was attended by Morgan County legends from all decades, including former Hartselle football coach and stadium namesake J.P. Cain and current Tigers baseball coach William Booth. It was a chance to bring together members of previous classes to honor the seven inductees for this year – Hampton, Roberts, Rick Chenault, Bobby Jones, George Nancarrow, Stewart Stephenson and Phil Garrison.
"(This year's class is) very deserving and we want to take the time to honor them tonight," Morgan County Hall of Fame president Wallace Sanders said in his introduction.
Hartselle native Don Logan, who graduated from Morgan County High School in 1962, was the guest speaker at the ceremony. Logan is current co-owner of the Birmingham Barons' professional baseball team and served as the chairman of Time Warner's Media and Communications Group from 2002 through 2005, living in New York City during that time.
"There was a time when I asked some of my corporate friends in New York their opinion on how the SEC would do that year," Logan said in his speech. "And they all looked at me like I was crazy because they thought that I was talking about the Securities and Exchange Commission."
With his aw-shucks demeanor and nearly-endless list of anecdotes, Logan kept the audience entertained.
"Living in New York City and working for Warner, we'd always have parties and things where you could go and meet celebrities," Logan said. "But I'm a country boy and always will be. I told a reporter once that I'd rather be beaten with a stick than attend a black-tie party."
Logan, who the New York Times once called a 'squirrel eatin' Southerner' after he told them of hunting squirrels as a boy, related stories of famous people he met through his years with Time Warner.
Of Ted Turner, he said, "He was an interesting guy and fun to be around, as long as he took his medication." Concerning Martha Stewart, Logan quipped, "She and I got along just fine. Not well enough that I went to go visit her in jail, though."
Then there were the times when Logan met a celebrity but couldn't place the face. He prompted a laugh from the audience when telling of his embarrassment after asking a celebrity "now what do you do again?"
"(The celebrities) don't really like that," he joked.
Following his speech, Logan was presented a picture of the 1961 Morgan County Tigers football team, of which he was a member. Master of ceremonies Glenn Thompson then introduced the members of the Class of 2006 and presented each with a watch and plaque.
Jones, a standout at Courtland (now R.A. Hubbard) High School and UNA, spoke on behalf of the Class of 2006.
"We want to thank the board for selecting us for this group that not only recognizes us for sports but also for the good things we can do to help our community, said Jones, who joked that he was selected to give the speech because he "drew the smallest straw" and was the youngest.