Staff Reports

MONTGOMERY – Former Gaylesville, Spring Garden, Cherokee County and Piedmont basketball coach Tommy Lewis was one of 12 inductees to the latest Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame class on Monday evening at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Spa Convention Center.

Lewis, a 1979 Spring Garden graduate, compiled a 602-342 career coaching record in 31 years, which included taking three different schools to the AHSAA state tournament. He had 20 teams win 20 or more games and coached his teams to 22 area championships. His 2006 Cherokee County team had a 31-2 record and reached the state tournament.

Lewis won more than 200 games at Spring Garden from 1988-99 and at Piedmont from 2006-18. He guided the Bulldogs to three regional titles and three state tournaments. The 226 wins at Piedmont is the most in school history.

Joining Lewis in the 30th hall of fame class was administrator Luke Hallmark; football coaches Carrol Cox, Steve Mask and Fred Yancey; basketball coach Yvonne Simmons; track coaches Aaaron Goode and Keith Wilemon; wrestling coach Joseph Dasaro; soccer coach Rick Grammar; wrestling official Toney Pugh, who was also an outstanding wrestling coach and football coach; and coach/administrator Samuel ‘Hamp’ Lyon. Lyon was inducted in the old-timer category.

The latest class was originally set to be inducted in March of 2020, but the COVID pandemic shutdown forced postponement, and as a result there were no selections for the Class of 2021. The process will resume next fall for the Class of 2022.

The first hall of fame class was inducted in 1991. The 12 members in the Class of 2020 run the total inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame to 365.