MACON SPORTS HALL OF FAME
CLASS OF 2021
CYNTHIA CORNELIUS BOOKER
Cynthia Cornelius Booker was one of Georgia’s best mile and two mile runners when she competed for Northeast High School. In 1979 she set the State 2-mile record with a time of 11:39 which still stands as the best in Northeast history. Her mark of 5:36 in the one mile run is another long-standing school record. Cynthia also ran the third leg of the Raiders AAA Mile Relay team that claimed the State Championship. She was a member of two State Championship teams at Northeast helping win the Track and Field title in 1979 and the girls basketball crown in 1981. Cynthia earned All-Region honors in both basketball and track and field. In basketball she won the team’s Best Defensive Award her senior season. After graduating, Cynthia received a basketball scholarship to Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina where she was a four year starter for the Panthers. She played in 109 games scoring 809 points and dished out 551 assists with 737 during her four seasons at Claflin and was an All Conference selection in 1985.
JOEY HILLER
Like several other members of the Hall, Joey Hiller has excelled as both an athlete and coach. Hiller, who now serves as Athletic Director, Head Baseball coach and Head girls Softball coach at Tattnall Academy prepped at Central for two seasons before transferring to Stratford Academy for his senior season. At Central he earned All-City football honors as a kicker and punter, and at Stratford he kicked a successful 52-yard attempt. As a baseball pitcher he was All-State winning ten games with a 0.35 ERA. He was drafted following his high school senior season, but did not sign professionally. He played collegiately at Middle Georgia College and at Columbus State where he won All-Region and All-Conference honors. Hiller was drafted again, this time in the 18th round by the Milwaukee Brewers and spent one season in their farm system before injuries cut his professional career short. Since joining Tattnall in 1997 as Head Baseball coach he has won more than 600 games and 11 State Titles. As Head Girls softball coach, he has one State Title and more than 420 wins.
MICHAEL HUNT
The 1979 Southwest Boys Basketball team is arguably the best team to ever play in this state and one of the best ever in the nation. The Pats “Big Three” included 6’8 forward Terry Fair who led the 1983 Georgia team to the Final Four, Jeff Malone who would have a stellar career at Mississippi State and then in the NBA and Michael Hunt, the glue of the team, who averaged 18.4 points and 7.5 rebounds on the team and was the Patriots Defensive Stalwart. Hunt received a basketball scholarship to Furman University where he earned All-Southern Conference Freshman Honors while helping lead Paladins to NCAA tournament, their last visit to the prestigious event. Following his player career, Hunt was a Graduate Assistant at Florida State, Assistant at Towson in Maryland, Fordham, The University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia, and The University of Miami. He also was Head Coach at Towson in Maryland for three seasons before moving to Miami and joining the staff at Doral Academy High School in Miami, Florida. That team won a state championship in 2018 during a 50 game winning streak.
TOMMY SEWARD
Tommy Seward was “Mister Everything” at Lanier High School when he was named Best Athlete in 1963. He was a three-year letterman in football and lettered in basketball and baseball for two seasons. On the gridiron he was a first team All-State guard. He received a football scholarship to the University of South Carolina, playing one season there before transferring to Gordon Junior College where he played both baseball and football. After completing college, Tommy was an assistant football coach at Central for Gene Brodie and was on the staff that won the 1975 state title. He moved with Brodie to Tifton in 1976 and served on the football staff as well as Head baseball coach where his Blue Devils won Region Championships in 1983, 1984, 1988 and 1990 with Final 4 appearances in 1988 and 1990. In 1991, Seward went to Houston County for three seasons. He returned to Tift County and became head football coach and Athletic Director for four seasons. Seward was named to the Tift County Hall of Fame in 2019.
ROBERT SLOCUM, JR.
Robert Slocum, Jr. joins his father Robert Slocum, Sr. as a member of the Macon Sports Hall. Junior has been a mainstay of athletics at Mt. de Sales for almost five decades. He was a standout athlete for the Cavaliers in the early 1970’s playing football, basketball and baseball. He was a member of three championship team including the 1973 undefeated squad when he led the Cavaliers in rushing with 1,236 yards. He was named the team’s best offensive player his senior season. After his high school playing days, Slocum attended Savannah State on a football scholarship and was a three-year starter for the Tigers. He was named All-GIAC his junior and senior seasons. After graduating, he returned to Mt. de Sales where he served on legendary Coach Mike Garvin’s staff. When Garvin retired in 1991, Slocum was named head football coach. His 1996 team won a GISA State Title and his 1997 team finished as Runner-up. He also served as the Cavs head basketball coach winning State Championships in 1992 and 1993 in addition to 2 Runner-up finishes.
RANDY STEPHENS
Randy Stephens is synonymous with Tennis in Middle Georgia but he didn’t pick up the sport until after his first year in College. Randy started out playing basketball and golf at Campbellsville University in Kentucky after playing both sports in high school at McEachern in Cobb County. But during his sophomore year, he transferred to Georgia State and began his tennis career playing as the Panthers number two singles and number one doubles. He served as Head Tennis Professional at the Country Club of Roswell from 1977-84 until he moved to Macon to become the Tennis Director for the City of Macon. He held that position until 1997 and was instrumental in luring top tournament events to our city. The Macon Board of Commissioners named the new Tennis Center in South Macon, the Randy Stephens Tennis Center in his honor. He is a member of several Halls of Fame including the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame, the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame and the Idle Hour Hall of Fame.
JEFF TREADWAY
Jeff Treadway had a stellar Major League baseball playing career, however his managing and coaching in Macon is the reason he was chosen for induction into this Hall of Fame. He managed the Macon Braves for two seasons and has been a teacher and coach at Stratford Academy. His girls Softball teams won four State Titles under his leadership and he coached the Eagles Baseball team to one State crown. Treadway was a standout player at Griffin High School and signed at Middle Georgia in Cochran. After his two-year stint, Treadway accepted a scholarship to the University of Georgia where he batted .392 and .368 over his final two seasons. He signed a free agent contract with Cincinnati spending six seasons in the Reds organization, before moving to Atlanta. Jeff played on the Braves World Series teams in 1991 and 1992. After the ’92 season, Treadway signed a free agent contract with Cleveland. The following season he was with the Dodgers and then a brief stint in Montreal before retiring with a career .281 batting average. He is a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
BRANNEN VEAL
From the outset it looked as though Brannen Veal was destined for a career in Professional baseball. He was an outstanding player at Tattnall Square Academy in Macon. He played Junior College baseball at powerhouse Middle Georgia College where he was named Honorable Mention All-American after batting .380 as a freshman and .330 as a sophomore. He transferred to Auburn University, hit .330 and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his entire college career, Veal hit 27 homeruns with 240 RBI. He migrated into the golf business after graduation to the Robert Trent Jones Trail Course near Auburn, starting in outside service and working his way up the chain to Assistant Golf Professional. He moved to Sea Island and was offered a Co-Head Professional position at Sea Island. In 1999, Veal took over as Head Golf Professional at the Lodge, overseeing the Plantation and Seaside courses. He became the Director of Golf at Sea Island in 2005 and in 2011 became Director of Golf for the Sea Island Company.