Denson Hamby

In 2013 Denson Hamby learned that several schools and counties in Georgia had established athletic halls of fame. The hall of fame concept piqued his interest and he thought about the possibility of organizing a similar endeavor in his native Fannin County. Denson is an accomplished historian and avid researcher who holds degrees in history from Reinhardt College and West Georgia College so the prospect of starting a hall of fame for Fannin County athletes was a natural job for him to undertake. Denson played football under Coach Raymond Montgomery from 1963-1966 and he had acquired an extensive knowledge of athletics at West Fannin High School. His vision, however, imagined a hall of fame honoring athletes, coaches and contributors to athletics from East and West Fannin High Schools, the current Fannin County High School at Blue Ridge plus the older high schools at Epworth, McCaysville, Blue Ridge and Morganton. Semi-professional baseball, softball, golf and other sports also have rich local histories so he felt that those sports should also be considered in the project. Denson was an athlete in his own right. At Tennessee Military Institute he won the table tennis singles and doubles titles in 1965 and 1966, and threw the discus for the track and field team in 1965. At Reinhardt College he won the table tennis championship in 1968 and 1969, played on the intramural championship football teams of 1967 and 1968 and the intramural championship basketball teams of 1967-68 and 1968-69, and won the weight lifting tournament in 1969. To put the project in motion, Denson contacted a number of former athletes and others who had the knowledge and abilities to contribute to the fledgling idea. After numerous conversations and meetings, he assembled a board consisting of 20 members to establish rules and guidelines and to begin the process of selecting the finest athletes, coaches and contributors in the history of the county for induction into the newly named Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. His savvy selection of board members is evidenced by the fact that eleven of the original 20 board members remain with the group today. The Hall of Fame selected an initial group of twelve individual inductees and one team. The idea seemed to appeal to Fannin Countians and the first induction banquet held at the Fannin County High School cafeteria in April, 2013 drew an overflow crowd. As years passed the Hall of Fame expanded its scope to include the periodic selection of an Athlete of the Year and the awarding of scholarships to deserving Fannin County High scholar-athletes. Following the induction of the 2021 honorees the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame will boast a membership of 81 individuals and 8 teams. All thanks to the vision of Denson Hamby. In addition to his duties with the Hall of Fame, Denson is also active in historical research in a number of other areas. He founded Facebook groups devoted to preserving the history of the Northwest Georgia Textile Baseball League, athletics at the University of West Georgia as well as a group gathering pictures and information about the Tipton family of Copperhill and McCaysville. Joe Tipton was a local sports legend in his day and Dot Tipton Hardeman was one of the finest basketball players, man or woman, in the history of the Fannin area. Both have been inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. Brothers Earl, J.B., Perry and Dwight also left their mark on the athletic landscape of the area. In his spare time, Denson does genealogy research of the Hamby and related families. After college, Denson spent some time working for his uncle Baltzelle in Texas, served in the US Navy, held management positions at Safeway and Specialty Food Sales Company and worked for the Postal Service until his retirement in 2009. Denson and his wife Jackie were married in 1979 and have two grown sons, Derek and Devin.