SILAS JAMISON

Silas Jamison was the star quarterback for Booker T. Washington’s 1958 Georgia Interscholastic Association Class AA championship team and the Bulldogs’ 1959 Class AA runner-up campaign. Jamison was identified by long-time GIA football coach Raymond “Tweet” Williams as the greatest football player and all-around athlete from Atlanta during the GIA era, which went from 1948 until Atlanta schools joined the Georgia High School Association in 1966. Jamison passed for three touchdowns and scored another in Washington’s 33-6 victory over Macon’s Ballard-Hudson for the 1958 championship. It was Washington’s fourth GIA title, the most of any school at that time, all under Georgia Sports Hall of Fame coach L.C. Baker. Jamison turned down several college football opportunities, including one from Indiana, when he signed a bonus contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played four minor league seasons. “He was the top ball player in Atlanta, an all-around athlete,” said Williams, who coached outstanding teams at rival Turner High. “We had beaten Washington about five-straight times until Jamison came around. He was great.’’ Former Spencer player and long-time Carver-Columbus coach Wallace Davis confirmed Jamison’s reputation, saying: “He had a receiver named Joe Allen. You weren’t going to beat Washington with them boys.’’