-
Daniel Mayfield
The Toccoa Stephens County Schools Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for the Class of 2021. I have a nomination that I believe is well deserving of this honor. That person is the Daniel Mayfield. Mayfield is one of the Stephens County basketball legends that has graced the Stephens County basketball gym back in the 70s. He was a superstar back in the day.
Mayfield is a 1978 graduate of Stephens County. During his time at SCHS he was a member of the SCHS basketball team. He was a super star. He helped lead SCHS to two final 4 appearances in a row and a region championship along with a state runner-up finish. He was also the No. 1 recruited guard in the state of Georgia. At the end of his basketball career Mayfield became the all-time leading scorer in school history scoring 1,334 points in his career at SCHS. He accomplished that before the three-point shot was introduced to high school basketball. His all-time scoring record finally got beat 40 years later in 2018! After playing basketball at SCHS he played basketball at Clemson and Middle Tennessee State where he graduated. Afterwards he coached and taught at Stephens County high school and was an assistant boys basketball coach. During his 12 years the team has made multiple playoff appearances.
People in the community told me of his superstar ways back in the day. One of them is my boss Tom Law. Back when he was playing basketball at Rabun County he played against Mayfield and the Indians. He told me he remembers his quickness and his specialty of driving to the hoop and scoring. 1978 SCHS grad David Byargeon remembers going to the games and seeing the Daniel Mayfield show.
“He was heck of a basketball player and a monster of an athlete,” Byargeon said. “He was freaking good he put on a show he was crazy good. I do think he should be in the hall of fame.”
One of Mayfield’s former colleagues speaks highly of the former Indian star. Former SCHS head coach Chad Bridges worked with Mayfield while he was coaching the Indian boys’ basketball program.
“I am a big fan of Daniel,” Bridges said. “He is Stephens County basketball and should be in the hall of fame. I think he should be there as a player and a coach. He was an integral part of our success there during my time. And his performance as a player is legendary.”
So, you don’t have to take my word for it. The hall was established to recognize outstanding graduates and former educators of the Toccoa and Stephens County school systems. Nominees may include those who have excelled in service to the community, military service to their country or in educational, professional or athletic endeavors. To be eligible for consideration for the Toccoa-Stephens County Schools Hall of Fame individuals must have graduated from a local high school (Stephens County, Toccoa, Toccoa Falls, Toccoa Colored or Whitman Street), or retired from the professional educational system of Stephens County at least 10 years prior to nomination.
Nominations should include the name of the nominee, address, phone number high school attended or worked for, date of birth, place of birth and signed by the person making the nomination. A resume must be submitted with complete information. Nominations shall remain in effect indefinitely and can be updated at any time. Resumes should include a section on high school achievements, sports, or other accomplishments as well as post-secondary record including education, academic achievements, careers pursued, community service activities and honors and awards received. Send the nominations to the Toccoa-Stephens County Schools Hall of Fame, c/o Brenda Kelley, 210 Traveler’s Point, Toccoa, Ga., 30577. Deadline for nomination submissions is Thursday, Aug. 1. The selection committee, made up of the hall of fame board of directors, will make the selections. The directors are Buddy Smith, Brenda Kelley, George Sanders, Kenny Waters and Bettye Henderson. The schools hall of fame was started in 1989. Members of the first class of inductees were Paul Anderson, Pope Furman Brock and Stephen McAllister. Because of the corona-virus pandemic, there was no Class of 2020.