HOF Honors First Rabbit Champs

HOF Honors First Rabbit Champs
By Gordon Pynes
 

The Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame will induct three who led the Rabbits to their first state championship in any sport with the 1989 track win. Thursday night at the Rabbit/Liberty-Eylau game, Rod Rowe and Carlos Simmons will be honored for their roles in running the Rabbs to a 52–28 point total win over Marlin at University of Texas Memorial Stadium. Their coach, Gordon Pynes, will also be inducted with his two trackmen. Rowe won gold in the 400 meters. Then Simmons led off the Rabbit 4x400 relay team, giving them a good lead, but Rowe, as anchorman, had to come from behind a wide lead and brought the team to a state meet record in the race.

Both Rabbits went on to strong college careers running in some of the nation’s biggest college track meets. Each earned All-American honors in their sport. Rowe was a key member of Blinn’s national junior college champs, while Simmons ran for Ranger Junior College and Southern Arkansas University. Pynes established powerful cross country and track teams and was a key football assistant. All three played a major role in bringing about a new all-weather track and Rabbit Stadium in the mid-1990s.

Prior to the induction ceremony, a reception for the three will be held in the high school cafeteria between 5 and 6:15 p.m. prior to the Rabbit/Liberty-Eylau game on Thursday, October 22nd. Then the formal HOF ceremony will take place on the football field prior to kickoff. Fans, friends, teammates, classmates, and former students are all invited to the reception and to come down on the field in support. Black granite plaques for each inductee will be mounted on the stadium entrance wall. It should be noted that the game will be on Thursday instead of the usual Friday due to a shortage of referees.

The Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame was begun in 2018, and this trio will be the Class of 2026. Private donors and now the sponsorship of State Bank support the organization.