Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2019

By David Elwell
The Decatur Daily

Jan Sanders picked up her first bowling ball when she was just 8.

“My brothers started going to the bowling alley, so I just went with them to see what it was about,” Sanders said.

The Decatur native had no clue that she would discover the sport that has carried her across the country competing in bowling tournaments and earned her national recognition.

“I’ve always been a competitive person,” Sanders said. “In the summer I would compete in swimming and diving. In the winter I turned to bowling. It’s the perfect sport for me.”

Sanders is one of eight in the Class of 2019 for the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame. The other seven are Randy Lewis, Billy Miles, Curtis Miller, Greg Screws, James “Chick” Sparkman, Jerry Warren and Jody Witt. They will be inducted at a banquet on May 4 at the Ingalls Harbor Pavilion.

Screws played basketball at Hartselle before starting a career in television news and sports. He’s a news anchor for WHNT Channel 19 in Huntsville.

“I was floored when I out found out about the selection,” Screws said. “I’m really flattered. This is a really cool honor.”

Hall of fame honors are not new for Sanders. She was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

“Basically, bowling became my passion,” Sanders said. “It still is.”

Sanders doesn’t travel the country competing in tournaments like she once did, but she’s still competitive. She bowls in three different leagues each week. If there’s ever a bowling league in the area looking for a sub, Sanders is always available.

Here’s a look at the Class of 2019:

Randy Lewis, 64, starred in basketball and baseball at Danville in the 1970s. He was an All-State selection in basketball in 1973 and a three-time All-County selection. He also played on two county championship baseball teams.

Billy Miles, 65, spent 25 years guiding athletes at Austin. He joined the Black Bears in 1980 as an assistant on Tom Calvin’s football staff. In 1983, the Black Bears played for a football state championship. Miles also coached Austin’s baseball team and girls basketball team to state finals.

Curtis Miller, 77, was a star athlete in basketball, football and track at Decatur’s Lakeside High School in the 1950s. He played basketball at Alabama A&M. Miller was also one of the Decatur Roughriders, a semi-professional football team that posted a 66-2 record over four seasons.

Jan Sanders, 64, made her mark in bowling in the late 1980s. In 1989 she was the Alabama champion in the competition for Team USA and finished 15^th nationally out of 22,000 to earn a spot on Team USA. In 1990, she competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival and took home a third-place medal. She was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

Greg Screws, 59, found fame on the basketball court for the Hartselle Tigers in the 1970s. He played two years at Wallace State before graduating from Alabama. Screws went into broadcasting and worked his way up from a sportscaster to being a new anchor for WHNT Channel 19 in Huntsville.

James “Chick” Sparkman, deceased, was a baseball and softball legend in Decatur in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. Back before television began to bring baseball to homes across the country, Decatur’s Legion Field on Sixth Avenue was the place to be entertained by the game. Sparkman was one of the stars.

Jerry Warren, 64, was a scoring machine for the Danville Hawks in the early 1970s. He averaged a double-double when the Hawks won a combined 51 games in 1970-71 and 1971-72. After one year at Calhoun, Warren went on to star at UAH. In two seasons at UAH, he scored in double figures 20 times.

Jody Witt, 44, closed out his basketball career at Austin with a state championship in 1993 when the Black Bears beat Tuscaloosa County for the Class 6A crown. Witt was a three-year letterman, team captain and honored for his rebounding and defensive play.