Georgia Dugout Club names Jefferson coaching legend to Hall of Fame

Tommy Knight retired as Jefferson High School’s baseball coach two years ago, but he can’t seem to stay away from the field.

“I didn’t miss a home game last year and probably saw three-fourths of the away games,” said Knight, who helped new coach Kyle Hardy (a former player and assistant coach at Jefferson) during the 2023 season before finally hanging it up. “I still love those kids. I’ve been around them for a while and I want to see them through until they get finished. I always want to be out there.”

Knight’s devotion to baseball and to his players led to many successful seasons for the Dragons. He led Jefferson from 1994-96 and again from 2005-22, winning more than 580 games. The Dragons won their only state championship in 2018, captured 10 region titles, made 20 state playoff appearances and reached the quarterfinals seven times and the finals three times.

In all, 51 players coached by Knight went on to play college baseball, with one — right-hander Chris Beck — making it to the Major Leagues.

Earlier this week, the Georgia Dugout Club named him one of five inductees in this year's Hall of Fame class. Other 2024 inductees include John Coen (who coached at Roswell), Byron Orr (Forsyth Central, North Forsyth, South Forsyth), Jeff Segars (Loganville) and Cliff Tankersley (Irwin County). The induction ceremony is set for Dec. 6 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta.

“Coach Dave McDonald, one of the guys who’s been in that organization for many, many years, called me and I thought, ‘Holy cow,’” said Knight, whose father, Godfrey Knight, coached for many years at Georgia Southwestern. “I probably sounded dumb because I really didn’t know what to say other than, ‘Thank you.’

“It’s an honor. You look at the list of coaches in that Hall of Fame and there are some really incredible people there, including some guys that were around when my dad was coaching and some guys that have had some influence on me and some guys I’ve coached with. It’s a very impressive group and I really don’t know that I stood in there with them, but I’m very much appreciative of the honor.”

Knight, who also coached at Sumter County, LaGrange College and Southern Polytechnic (now Kennesaw State), still stays busy around the Jefferson campus, teaching half days and cutting the football, baseball and practice field grass.

“There’s no better job for an old retired coach than to get to cut grass,” he said.

Upon his retirement two years ago, Knight — who said he’d been a member of a team since he was 5 years old — said he would most remember the relationships he made with players and assistant coaches.

“That meant the world to me to have those kids come back out and say, ‘Thanks, Coach. You were hard on me but I know you did it for my own good,” he said. “The relationships you build as a coach and the effect you have on young people, that’s what’s important.

“You want to win every ballgame and I’m a sore loser and always have been, but the part I’ve appreciated the most are the relationships. That’s what I’ll remember most. Those kids mean the world to me.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia Dugout Club names Jefferson coaching legend to Hall of Fame