During his freshman year at ABAC, Cook Holliday set the state junior college pole vault record. In a variety of categories on the athletic field and in life, Holliday has been vaulting over the bar ever since. On March 3, the ABAC Alumni Association will present Holliday with its top honor, the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Born in Rochelle, Holliday attended Wilcox Central High School before coming to ABAC as an agriculture major in 1963-65. He became the first ABAC track athlete to qualify for the National Junior College track meet. The ABAC student body raised enough money for him to travel by train to Big Springs, Texas, for the national meet. En route, his steel pole was misplaced, and he used a borrowed pole to finish fifth in the nation.
Holliday also played on the ABAC basketball team, earning the nickname, “The Baldwin Blaster,” for his shooting skills. He helped to lead the Stallions to the state basketball championship during his sophomore year.
The University of Wyoming awarded Holliday a track scholarship where he competed in the pole vault, javelin, and triple jump. He set the school outdoor pole vault record while with the Cowboys.
Holliday then coached for 34 years, seven at Treutlen High School, 25 at Winder-Barrow High School, and two at Greater Atlanta Christian. He led his teams to six state titles, five in track and one in cross country. He compiled an incredible 234-9-1 record with his track teams. Holliday was named the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) Track and Cross Country Coach of the Year (State At Large and Region Coach of the Year) 33 times. In 1984 he was given the Key to the City of Winder.
Now living in Monroe, Holliday has been inducted into the GACA Hall of Fame, the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame, the Georgia Track Hall of Fame, Barrow County Sports Hall of Fame, and the inaugural Winder-Barrow High School Hall of Fame. He is a supporter and volunteer with The Tree House, Inc., a children’s advocacy center whose mission is to reduce the impact and occurrence of child abuse.
