Written by Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer, published 6/8/08
There were plenty of Georgia high school coaching greats in the ballroom of the Northwest Georgia Trade Center Saturday afternoon. Former East Rome and Darlington coach Jerry Sharp would have been fine just being there to chat with some of his longtime friends from around the state. But he was one of the main reasons his peers were there in Dalton - to celebrate the career of one of Rome's own.
Sharp was inducted into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Coaches Hall of Fame at the GACA's Annual Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet, capping off a career that will reach a chapter end on June 30 when he officially retires as athletic director at Darlington School.
"This is probably one of the highest honors I've ever received," Sharp said of being added to the Hall, which is housed inside the trade center. "I look at all of the great coaches of the state and you look at the wall downstairs and all of the plaques there, it humbles you to be a part of that."
Elbert County High School athletic director Bobby McAllister presented SHarp Saturday in Dalton. "It is an honor to present such a deserving Georgia coach who has most definitely earned his place among the great coaching legends of our state," McAllister told the crowd.
Sharp was one of six inductees in the Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. Also recognized was Trion graduate Randy Hill, the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Lowndes County. He was the first recipient of the GACA Assistant Coach of the Year Award.
Sharp, a Rome native who spent his high school years as a multi-sport athlete at East Rome, played football at Carson-Newman College before returning to coach for the Gladiators. He then began a 14-year run as head coach of the East Rome football team that saw them take the state championship in 1977 and 1978 under his guidance.
In 1985, Sharp took over the Darlington football program. His time with the Tigers reached a peak in 1998 when they defeated traditional powerhouse Lincoln County in Lincolnton for the Class A state title. "That's one nobody thought we would do," Sharp said. "And that means a lot to me; it really does. That was special."
In 2001, he moved from the sidelines to the office as he stepped down as head football coach and took on the full-time role of athletic director. In his 33-year coaching career, Sharp complied a record of 229 wins, 101 losses and nine ties. That includes three 15-0 seasons that led to the state titles and nine region titles. He is one of only five coaches in Georgia's history to win state championships at two different schools.
Saturday was not hte first time the well-decorated man of athletics has been honored. Sharp has been inducted into the East Rome Hall of Fame, the Rome-Floyd County Sports Hall of Fame and the Darlington School Hall of Fame.
"As a kid growing up, I remember reading in the paper about these different coaches and to have your place on the wall with them ... it's a great honor," Sharp said. "It's a great way to end a career that's meant a lot to me."
