School officials announced Friday that Darlington’s football field has been named in honor of former Athletic Director Jerry Sharp, who retired last year after 22 years of service to the school.
“I am proud to welcome you to the Jerry Sharp Field at Chris Hunter Stadium,” said Headmaster Tom Whitworth. “There is no one more deserving of this honor than Jerry, who dedicated more than two decades of his career to enhancing Darlington’s athletics program. I am also pleased to announce that a new merit scholarship will be awarded to a deserving student in Jerry’s name. This scholarship will raise over $300,000 in his honor, and we are counting on Darlington’s athletic community to help us secure these funds as part of our Second Century Campaign.”
The announcement was made during a special pre-game program honoring alumni who were members of state championship teams and, specifically, the 1998 state championship football team, coached by Sharp. The former coach was also recognized as one of six inductees in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame this summer.
Sharp, a Rome native who spent his high school years as a multi-sport athlete at East Rome, played football at Carson-Newman College before returning to coach for the Gladiators. He then began a 14-year run as head coach of the East Rome football team that saw them take the state championship in 1977 and 1978 under his guidance. In 1985, Sharp took over Darlington’s football program. In 2001, he stepped down as head football coach and took on the full-time role of athletic director.
In his 33-year coaching career, Sharp compiled a record of 229 wins, 101 losses and nine ties. That includes three 15-0 seasons that led to three state titles and nine region titles. He is one of only five coaches in Georgia’s history to win state championships at two different schools, and is also a member of the East Rome Hall of Fame and the Rome-Floyd County Sports Hall of Fame.
