Glenn Jacobs, also known by his ring name ‘Kane,’ a former professional wrestler and currently the Mayor of Knox County, TN, was the guest speaker, when the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame held its 39th annual event at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, Thursday.
Members of the class of 2025 are Josh Aldridge, Paula Fuller, Bo Hardegree, Jake Overbey, and Tony Shutes.
Tom Britt, a 30-year news anchor and producer at WBBJ TV in Jackson, and a mainstay for four decades (1981-2021) on the University of Tennessee Martin Skyhawk Sports Network, was the recipient of the 2025 Billy Schrivner Distinguished Award.
“Everything I’ve learned about success in life … achieving goals – I really learned from sports,” Jacobs said. “I always wanted to be a professional athlete. When I was a little guy, I wanted to play baseball for the (St. Louis) Cardinals – I grew up about two hours north of St. Louis.”
Jacobs said it was a great plan – but just one little problem.
“I was a terrible baseball player,” he said. “(But) hard work, dedication, teamwork, leadership – everything I do as Knox Couny Mayor is really about building the team – it’s about the leadership I learned as an athlete.
“It’s about working hard. But also, you don’t do it for yourself … you do it for the success of the team.
“All the lessons I learned from sports – they apply to life as well.”
Josh Aldridge, who was unable to attend the event, was honored for his accomplishments as a collegiate football coach and as a football player at Harding University and Jackson Christian School.
A Jackson native, and two-time, all-state defensive end at Jackson Christian, he helped the Eagles become the 2006 Class 1A state champions when he was a junior. Jackson Christian is the only Jackson school to have won a football state championship since playoffs began in 1969.
Aldridge, 35, earned his bachelor’s degree at Harding University, where he realized he wanted to coach football.
Aldridge begins his 13th year as a collegiate coach. After a two-year stay as a defensive assistant at Auburn University under head coach Hugh Freeze, Aldridge is the new defensive coordinator at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.
A Madison County native, Paula Fuller was honored for her accomplishments as a basketball player and administrator.
A 6-foot forward, she was a four-year starter and two-time, Jackson Sun All-West State basketball player at West High School in the Denmark community, graduating in 1979.
She started her college career at Jackson State Community College, where she was all-conference, all-region and honorable mention All-America. Fuller finished her playing days at Memphis State, earning All-Metro Conference honors as a senior when the Lady Tigers won the Metro title and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Bo Hardegree, who grew up in Jackson, was honored for his accomplishments as a professional and college football coach and his success as a high school and college athlete.
A star quarterback and state-champion tennis player at Jackson Central-Merry High School, Hardegree signed a football scholarship with the University of Tennessee in 2003. After graduation in 2007, he was a student assistant coach at UT, a graduate assistant at Duke, and an assistant coach at LSU before going to the pros.
Hardegree, 40, began his coaching career in the National Football League in 2014 with the Denver Broncos and has coached with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans, where he is presently the quarterbacks coach.
Jake Overbey, a Jackson native, was honored for his accomplishments as a college and high school baseball player and for his stellar football career at University School of Jackson.
He was a three-year starter at quarterback at USJ and the first Jackson player to win the TSSAA Mr. Football honor twice (2009, 2010). He was a finalist three times.
At USJ, Overbey passed for 8,408 yards and 103 touchdowns and ran for 21 TDs. In 2009 he had 44 TD passes, which ranks sixth for a single season in the TSSAA records. In three seasons as the starting quarterback, he led USJ to a 29-6 record and a state runner-up trophy. He completed 62 percent of his career passes.
Overbey, 32, played for Mickey Marley, who was the head football coach at USJ from 1989 to 2015 and is now the USJ Football Alumni Coordinator.
Overbey’s talents were not limited to the football field. He was a three-year starter at shortstop at USJ and was named all-state, all-region and all-district in baseball in 2011. His senior season he batted .400 with 10 home runs, 28 doubles, and 54 RBI while scoring 56 runs. The winner of the Most Valuable Player award in the West Tennessee All-Star game, Overbey traveled throughout the nation playing with the Memphis-based Elite Dulin’s Dodgers.
Tony Shutes was honored for his 34 years as a head basketball coach at University School of Jackson (30), Jackson Central-Merry (1) and Jackson Christian (3).
In 30 seasons as girls basketball coach at USJ his teams won 22 district championships and seven regional titles. The Lady Bruins played in 20 substate games and 10 state tournaments, advancing to the state semifinals five times and the finals twice.
With over 650 wins as a head girls basketball coach, he is averaging 19 wins a season. This year’s Jackson Christian team, his third, clinched a second consecutive 20-win season in tournament play. Last year’s 20-win season was the school’s first since 2014.
(PHOTO: from left, Tom Britt, Tony Shutes, Jake Overbey, Glenn Jacobs, Paula Fuller and Bo Hardegree. Josh Aldridge was not present for the event)
1 thought on “‘Building the team’ – Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame inducts class of 2025”
I just remember one player from the Jackson Golden Bears from the 60s. It was Al Hubbard, and he was a dominant force in the success of the Golden Bears. (FYI I am from rival Brownsville.)