About Inductee

Calame Sammons was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, but moved to Huntsville before he was one year old. He attended Huntsville High School and was the starting tackle on the football team in 1967 and 1968. Calame would have had some college offers except for a career ending injury, which resulted in knee surgery following the Fayetteville game. Tom Owens was the coach at Huntsville High at this time and had this to say, Calame Sammons is a gentleman of unquestioned integrity and character. He is respected and admired by all who know and associate with him. After high school, Calame attended Vanderbilt University, where he received his BS Degree in 1973 and then went to medical school at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. After receiving his MD Degree in 1978, he did his internship and residency in Birmingham and in Atlanta. Dr. Sammons moved back to Huntsville in 1983 and has been a big part of the athletic programs of this city since that time. He has been the Team Physician for Huntsville High School since 1983 and was the Team Physician for Lee High School from 1984 to 1989. When the Huntsville Stars came to Huntsville in 1985, Dr. Sammons became their team physician until 2002. He has also been the team physician for Randolph School from 1998 until the present. Dr. Sammons had this to say about the two people that have been very influential in his life. The first was my father, Robert Sammons, M.D., who demonstrated a true love for the healing arts as well as an immense interest in sports. From my early days carrying his doctors bag to Goldsmith-Schiffman field, later joining him as a team physician at my alma mater, Huntsville High, he always set high standards for care and devotion to athletes. He was an incredible role model forging a broad path to follow in his footsteps. The other was Tom Owens. He taught us at an early age not to be afraid of hard work, preparation and determination. There is great comfort in self-satisfaction knowing that you did your best, while striving to obtain victory. I thank them both for molding my life and interest in the medicine of sports.