Tift County football luminaries help dedicate a locker to Gene Brodie at the stadium.

TIFTON — Gene Brodie’s legend is now more visible for Tift County football players after a locker dedication at Brodie Field.

Blue Devils head coach Jeff Littleton and several Tift coaching legends came together to help dedicate the locker last week.

Brodie, who head coached the Devils from 1976-93, won 131 games over 18 seasons, including the Class 4A championship in 1983 and second place in 1979. He also won a state title with Central (Macon) in 1975.

“We’re here to celebrate the tradition that Coach Brodie brought to the Tift County Blue Devils football program, and really to the entire school and community,” said Littleton in his intro.

Littleton said he was familiar with the Brodie way. He played at Worth County High for head coach Milt Miller, albeit just before the Rams and Devils renewed their gridiron rivalry.

“I know the kind of coach Coach Brodie was,” he said. Littleton said he wants to honor those types of coaches, as those were the ones who inspired him.

Brodie’s teams were excellent on the football field. However, Brodie was not solely dedicated to football. Under his watch, Tift County added permanent track teams (as well as a track), cross country, swimming and soccer.

He also modernized the field itself. Tift nearly doubled the size of the stadium in 1979 with extensive renovations that switched the home and visiting sides, adding a second level to the new home side. The fieldhouse was tremendously improved and the the large ’T’ in the north end zone, one of the school’s most visible features, came under his reign as well.

Several past and present Tift coaches, players and managers attended and spoke at the dedication.

Brodie’s locker is located next to the memorial locker for Bert Jones, a Brodie player who was killed in a car accident in 1992.

“It’s a great addition to this locker room,” said Littleton. Players “can all remember Coach Brodie and the proud tradition he built here.”

Tift County Stadium was dedicated as Brodie Field in 2001. Gene Brodie died in 2002 after a battle with cancer.