Greenville High inducts 5 to hall of fame
Published 6:06 pm Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Greenville High School will add five new members to its storied Hall of Fame Thursday.
Dr. Max Autrey, Lionel Ed Rainey, Jake Powell, Alvin Briggs and Jody Powell will join a laundry list of renowned inductees when the bunch is inducted Thursday night prior to the Greenville Tigers’ final game of the season against Hillcrest-Evergreen.
Autrey was a standout offensive lineman for the Tigers in the early 1940s, and he played on teams that went 25-9-1 from 1940-1944.
He later signed with Auburn University where he played one year before leaving for military service in 1945, only to return and lead the Tigers to an upset against Alabama in 1949. Autrey was named lineman of the year for Auburn that same year.
Rainey totaled 2,136 total yards of offense and scored 110 points in 1966 for Greenville High School, and he ran for 1,048 yards and 15 touchdowns that season.
He also completed 82 of 161 passes for 1,080 yards and eight more touchdowns. For his efforts, Rainey earned first-team all-state honors from the Birmingham News and the Associated Press.
Rainey went on to play at Tory University.
Jake Powell helped the Greenville High School offense roll up more than 3,000 yards of total offense as an offensive lineman during the 1983 season.
The 340-pound lineman earned consensus all-state honors following the 1983 season, and he was also named MVP of the Wiregrass Lion’s Club Charity Bowl.
Powell signed with the Alabama State University Hornets following the ’83 campaign.
Briggs played on Greenville High School teams that posted a three-year record of 30-7 from 1980-1982 and contributed to their success on both sides of the ball.
He averaged 24.7 yards per catch and grabbed five touchdown passes on a run-oriented Tigers team in 1981.
In 1982, he was recognized with a selection to the Alabama All-Star game for his play as a defensive back and receiver.
A four-year letterman at Auburn University, Briggs also served as head coach for Greenville High School and Florence, and he currently serves as director for the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association.
Jody Powell led the Greenville Tigers to a 25-3 record between 1987-1988 as a quarterback at the helm of the Tigers offense.
Powell’s ground-oriented game helped GHS claim area championships in 1987 and 1988, and it won the 5A state championship in 1987 under Coach Willis Wright with a memorable 21-20 double-overtime victory over Russellville.
He is one of only two GHS players to be named 5A player of the year, and one of only three to be name to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Super 12 Team.
Powell signed with the University of North Alabama following the 1988 campaign.
The Greenville High School Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at Tiger Stadium Thursday, beginning at 6:15 p.m.