RAY DONALDSON

Ray Donaldson, a six-time Pro Bowl Center and 17-season NFL player, began his historic football career as a three-sport star for East Rome High. He played two varsity football seasons and earned letters on both the basketball and baseball teams as well. He starred as a fullback, tight end and linebacker on the gridiron. As a senior in 1975, he was named a First-Team AJC All-State player and was also an All-American selection. The University of Georgia recruited Donaldson to play linebacker for the Bulldogs before he was switched to center. He was named First-Team All-SEC and Third-Team All-American for his efforts on the field. The Baltimore Colts drafted Donaldson in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft (No. 32 overall). He is believed to be the first African American full-time starting center in NFL history. He made 228 career starts and made four-straight Pro Bowls (1986-89) for the Indianapolis Colts, with the franchises’ move from Baltimore, in addition to being named Second-Team All-Pro in 1987. Donaldson made his final two Pro Bowl teams at age 37 and 38 with the Dallas Cowboys and was a member of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl XXX championship team for the 1995 season. Donaldson was inducted into the Rome Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006