Gary Allen - 2009
Gary Allen was a 1956 graduate of Savannah High School. Gary excelled at football, baseball and basketball. In football Gary was a 2 year letterman with All-City and All-Region honors in 1954 and 1955. Gary started on both offense and defense for Savannah High and the team won the Region Championship, District Championship and was the State Champion runner-up in 1954. In baseball, Gary was a 2 year starter where he played both pitcher and shortstop. As a pitcher Gary compiled a 11-1 record in his 2 years as a starter and he pitched the winning game in the Region Title Game in 1955. In basketball, Gary was a 3 year starter and team captain. Upon finishing high school, Gary was pursued by several major colleges to play football. Gary was offered and accepted a 4 year scholarship to play football at the University of Georgia. Gary was the starting fullback on the UGA freshman team until he was contacted by a representative of the Cincinnati Reds and asked to pitch in an exhibition game where he was subsequently signed to a contract. Gary had to give up his football scholarship but he was given the opportunity to play for one of the Cincinnati Reds farm teams in New York. In 1957, Gary came back to Savannah where he completed his college sports career on a basketball scholarship at Armstrong Junior College.