Macon, Ga. – Georgia Tech All-America golfer Stewart Cink, winner of seven PGA Tour events, and record-setting quarterback Joe Hamilton, the 1999 Davey O’Brien Award winner, have been named to the Class of 2021 for the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the organization announced Tuesday.
Cink and Hamilton join a class that includes veteran college football writer Tony Barnhart, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine, University of Georgia and USA Basketball star Janet Harris, NFL and Major League Baseball star Brian Jordan, 35-year high school coaching standout Ray Lamb, and University of Connecticut and WNBA basketball star Maya Moore.
Originally from Florence, Ala., but calling the Peach State his home, Stewart Cink attended Georgia Tech, playing golf for the Yellow Jackets. After graduating in 1995, he turned professional, joining the PGA Tour in 1997 and garnering Rookie of the Year. A consistently successful golfer, Stewart placed third in the Masters (2008), PGA Championship (1999), and the U.S. Open (2001). He then won the British Open in 2009 after a four-hole playoff against Tom Watson. Winner of seven PGA Tour events, he was the recipient of the Tour’s Payne Stewart Award in 2017 and the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award earlier this year. Each fall, Cink and fellow professional golfer and Atlantan Billy Andrade host the East Lake Invitational which benefits the East Lake Foundation.
Regarded as one of Georgia Tech’s greatest quarterbacks, Joe Hamilton was Tech’s highest finisher in the Heisman Trophy race. From 1996 to 1999, Hamilton set ACC records in career yards for total offense and in pass efficiency, still ranking second in both categories today. His senior year with the Rambling Wreck was a productive one, with Hamilton being named a Heisman finalist, winning ACC Player of the Year honors, and being awarded the Davey O’Brien Award for most outstanding quarterback in college football. He was selected as part of the inaugural class for ACC Football Legends in 2005 and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTAthletics), Facebook, Instagram or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
