TIFTON — If a visitor hopped aboard a time machine and headed back 50 years and visited the Tiftarea, they would find a very different sporting world.

Tift County had three high schools in 1962, Tifton, Omega and Wilson. The former was located on Tift Avenue, currently the site of the government building with the old gym still standing at the rear. Tifton High had existed since at this location since the 1910s, but it would only serve in this purpose until 1965, when it consolidated with Omega. Wilson’s high school would last until 1970 when it fully integrated with Tift County.

Tift was not the only area county with multiple high schools. All had at least two. In Ashburn were the Turner County Rebels and Eureka Tigers. Ocilla had the Irwin County Indians and Ocilla High and Industrial Wildcats. Nashville’s two were the Berrien Rebels and Nashville High and Elementary Falcons. In Adel, the Cook Hornets and Cook County Training Rams. Sylvester, the Worth County Rams and Holley Wildcats.

Ben Hill County had separate school systems for county and city students. Fitzgerald High served both city and county students, but the African-American students were divided into two. City kids were Monitor Eagles, but county ones were Queensland Wildcats, the school being located in the community in the north of the county.

Tifton, long known for being in the state’s biggest classification, were one short in 1962. Class AAA was the largest in the land at that time and the Blue Devils were in Class AA, where some of their mates in Region 1 might be a bit of a surprise. They were joined by Cairo, Crisp County, Lowndes County, Bainbridge and Berrien. Lowndes County was a few years away from their own transition. In 1962, Hahira still had its own high school and Lowndes, which had opened in 1959, carried the nickname of Golden Eagles.

Tifton played football games in Eve Park 50 years ago, a field they shared with Wilson. Both had strong starts in 1962. The Devils opened with shutouts of Berrien and Brooks County (then known as the Tigers) and Wilson had knocked off Monitor and Hutto of Bainbridge. Tift would end the season 4-6 under Kermit Perry, though, while Arthur Mott’s Tigers soon faded from view. Omega, which had gone through varying nicknames of Planters and Blue Jays over the previous few seasons, played no football, but fielded solid basketball teams. In 1962-63, they were one year off from sending the girls team to state, where they had lost in the first round to West Haralson.

Worth County was the youngest school in the Tiftarea, with all county high schools combining in 1960. Holley High was slightly older, its name being changed from Oak Hill in 1956 and getting a new building in 1957. Holley would also be the last school of those open in 1962 to add football, the Wildcats not suiting up until 1965.

Football at GIA schools was a tricky business, with the funding always being a question. A decade earlier, it seems to have been considered at Ocilla High and Industrial, their name appearing on an early schedule of Monitor’s. The teams would not play, though, and OH&I’s name would never be mentioned again in grid season.

Fifty years ago, scheduling Fitzgerald in basketball was sometimes considered a bit of a hassle. Five years earlier, the Purple Hurricanes eliminated their girls basketball program, with one of the reasons listed that it was harmful for girls to compete at that level. The ban would remain in place until 1978. While Fitzgerald was concerned about the health of their girls, both Monitor and Queensland continued to field squads.

In Berrien, basketball times were good. For starters, both schools were no longer nomads with two new gymnasiums opening during the calendar year. From the opening of the new buildings in 1954 for both, the hoops teams had to travel to play home games. Nashville High and Elementary had no gym at all while Berrien had to rely on the buildings in other parts of the county. They would sweep the sub-region tournaments in their new home in 1963, but both would lose out in region, just one step short of state.

Times were even better in basketball for the Turner County. Making their first trip to state in the 1962-63 season, the Class B Rebels slipped by Fort Valley and Clarkston before destroying the West Gwinnett Blue Devils by 29 points in the finals. West Gwinnett would revert back to their old name in 1963 — Norcross. Norcross now competes in Class AAAAAA.

Cook County would have the best seasons in the Tiftarea in 1962 in football. The Hornets would be the only area GHSA squad to make the playoffs, losing in region to eventual state champions, Americus, and finishing the year 8-2-1. Cook County Training would go a step further. The Rams made state in 1962 and advanced all the way to the semifinals before being eliminated by Wayne County Training.