NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Granby High School in Norfolk is recognizing some of its star coaches, athletes and supporters with a brand new sports hall of fame.
Granby Athletic Director Chris Harris wants to celebrate the stories and lives of Granby’s first sports hall of fame inductees, which include:
- Basketball legend Lefty Driesell, who’s been dubbed the greatest program builder in the history of college basketball. The now 90-year-old Norfolk native coached at four different Division 1 schools: Davidson College, Georgia State University, James Madison University, and the University of Maryland.
- Billy Martin Sr. is known as the father of wrestling in Virginia. He organized the sport and won 21 state titles, coaching more than 100 individual champions.
- Two-time Olympic wrestler Gray Simons, who also coached at Old Dominion for 17 years.
- Former NFL offensive tackle Levi Brown, who was drafted by Arizona in 2007.
- Gloria “Mama” Meeks, who “spent 20 years [at Granby], she was the football mom,” Harris said. “She cooked all the dinners for them every week and never asked for a penny, she was the basketball team mom.”
The induction dinner and awards ceremony at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club on Saturday night will also be a fundraiser to help build new success stories.
“This past spring we went up to Riverside High School in Northern Virginia for the softball and baseball tournament and their field, it looked like a college campus,” Harris said.
Granby’s campus has no pole vault pit, needs a new track, and Harris thinks one of the top softball teams in the state deserves a state-of-the-art field.
“Your facility is great, you’re going to play great. I mean that’s just human nature,” he said.
Harris will hang inductee plaques in the hall alongside pictures of current athletes as a source of inspiration, knowing there is potential in everyone.
“The one thing I found interviewing all of these inductees is it’s just hard work they all put in the time. And hard work doesn’t cost any money, anybody can do it.”
If you’re interested in tickets, click here, they’re selling out fast.