Drew Sutton, Sha Brooks, Jim Hardegree, Isaac “Ike” Lassiter and Leonard “Mush” Smith will become the 32nd class to be inducted when the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame ceremony is held April 20 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
- Drew Sutton, a 2001 graduate of North Side High School made his Major League Baseball debut with the Cincinnati Reds, July 2, 2009.
He completed his Major League career hitting .256 with 72 base hits, four home runs and 37 RBI in 281 at bats.
Sutton also played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates.
With the Pirates, Sutton enjoyed his most memorable moment when he hit a walk-off home run against the team that selected him in the 15th round of the 2004 MLB Draft – the Houston Astros.
Sutton’s home run – July 3, 2012 – was the final touch to an 8-7 win.
“Being from Jackson makes this amazing, and it will be quite an event,” Sutton said. “It’s also amazing to have a career capped off like this. To think, when I look back at the team I played with at North Side High School – I was the one who got to the Major Leagues.”
A graduate of Baylor University, Sutton makes his home in Prosper, Texas with his wife Staci and two sons.
Drew and Staci own Jersey Mike’s Sub Shops in Plano and Allen, Texas.
- Sha Brooks, graduated from North Side High School in 2005 and played four years at the University of Florida, where she became a unanimous selection All-SEC her senior year in 2009.
Brooks, who resides in Whites Creek, held the University of Florida school record for consecutive starts (123), free throws made (430) and games started (125).
- Jim Hardegree is an assistant football coach and defensive coach at the University School of Jackson.
Hardegree also served as head football coach at Jackson Central-Merry High School and North Side High School.
He also has experience at the college level as head football coach at Lambuth University and assistant coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
- Isaac “Ike” Lassiter III excelled in football as a lineman at Jackson High School from 1959 to 1963, where he helped lead the Golden Bears to the state’s No. 1 ranking overall.
Lassiter, who lives in Hot Springs, North Carolina, graduated third overall at Jackson High, and signed to play football with Georgia Tech University.
Married and the father of seven children, Lassiter is a teacher of physical science at Crosby High School in Crosby, Tennessee.
- Leonard “Mush” Smith accepted a scholarship to play football at the University of Mississippi, after a highly successful high school career at Jackson High School, where starred as a running back and defensive back.
Jerry Gist, mayor of the City of Jackson is the 2017 recipient of the Billy Schrivner Distinguished Service Award.
Jackson native Ed “Too Tall” Jones, an all-pro football player with the Dallas Cowboys and 1993 Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame inductee will be the guest speaker.
“We feel very fortunate to someone who is so significant,” said Fran Chandler, president of the sports hall of fame. “We also have five inductees who are very worthy.”
(PHOTO: Sports Hall of Fame board members Beth Sedberry, secretary/treasurer, left, and Fran Chandler, president of the hall)
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