E.A. Sports Today

McMinn among ASHOF inductees

Anniston gymnast who starred at Georgia in 50th anniversary class

By East Alabama Sports Today

BIRMINGHAM — Anniston and Calhoun County will have strong representation in the golden anniversary induction class of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Anniston gymnast Kathy McMinn and former Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame director Bill Jones have been announced as part of the 2018 50th anniversary class of the nationally-renowned sports Hall.

The Class also includes Stewart Cink, Johnny Davis, Chan Gailey, Tim Hudson, Terrell Owens and Dabo Swinney.

It will be inducted in ceremonies in Birmingham April 28, three days after McMinn’s 56th birthday. The Hall now has 345 members.

McMinn, born in Anniston, was a four-year gymnastics All-American and Academic All-American at the University of Georgia. She won seven individual SEC Championships and five individual Regional titles while leading the Gym Dawgs to their first appearance in the NCAA Championship her senior year.

She received the Marilyn Vincent Award as UGA’s graduating female student-athlete with the highest GPA. In 2008, UGA named her the recipient of the Bill Hartman Award, one of highest honors given to a former UGA student-athlete. In 2009, she was one of six recipients of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, given to student-athletes who have excelled in their chosen profession 25 years after their graduation.

After finishing her collegiate athletic career she returned to Birmingham to attend medical school and currently practices medicine in the Atlanta area.

Jones is the former Jacksonville State basketball player and coach who directed the Gamecocks to the 1985 Division II national championship. He retired from coaching in 1998 as the program’s winningest coach.

This story will be updated.

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