In the spring of 1994, George Lombard was best known as "the next Herschel Walker." After a nationwide recruiting battle, the Atlanta native had signed with the University of Georgia to play football. But the Atlanta Braves dismayed the state's football fans by signing Lombard.
Recently George Lombard sat down with Royce Webb of SportsJones for an extensive interview on his high school glory days, the arduous transition to baseball, the secrets of success, and his family. Follow the arrow at the bottom of each page, or jump to these pages: Making the transition to a prep school; running track; Mr. All-America The recruiting wars: Lou Holtz, Bobby Bowden, and O.J. Simpson Wooed by the Braves; Hawaii; the pressure to sign on the dotted line Failure; the big crisis; Andruw Jones Making the adjustment; a new kind of conditioning; the long view Complete career stats; fundamentals; hitting a baseball 540 feet Concentration; keeping command of the strike zone; seeing the ball Leadership; intelligence; off-field pursuits; bonus $$ The civil rights movement; paying dues; self-confidence; family |
