By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The city of Jacksonville announced on Tuesday that Bill Goldberg, the former University of Georgia defensive tackle who helped the Bulldogs win three of four games against the Gators, will be among the 2024 inductees into the game’s Hall of Fame.

Goldberg will be inducted with Florida cornerback Fred Weary, a Mandarin High graduate, former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson, and UGA cornerback Mike Fischer of Jacksonville, a Bolles graduate.

Goldberg was a two-time All-SEC player and lettered four years for the Dawgs from 1986-1989. He’s still ninth in Georgia history with 348 tackles.

But when injuries curtailed his NFL career after stops with the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg dropped his first name and became one of the dominant professional wrestlers with a career of more than two decades that culminated with his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.

Using moves such as “The Spear” and “The Jackhammer,” Goldberg was a five-time world champion in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and at one point was reputed to have gone on a 173-0 streak.

He wrestled competitively off and on from 1997-2018 and also has dabbled in mixed martial arts and acting. He appeared in Adam Sandler’s remake of “The Longest Yard” and was a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Fisher, who began his college career at Furman, transferred to Georgia as a walk-on and earned a scholarship in 1978. He played on three Georgia teams that went 3-0 against the Gators from 1978-1980 and had an interception against the Gators in the 1979 and two in 1980.

Fred Weary played for the Gators from 1994-1997 and was on three winning teams against Georgia, including the two games that were played on the campuses in 1994-1995 when UF won by combined scores of 104-31.

Weary had 15 career interceptions to lead Florida, six in his senior season. He was first-team All-SEC.

Weary played six years in the NFL, for New Orleans, Atlanta and the St. Louis Rams. He had seven interceptions as a pro.

Mike Peterson, a Gainesville native who played high school football at Alachua Santa Fe, stayed home to play for the Gators and was on three teams that beat the Bulldogs in four years from 1995-1998. Peterson had 249 tackles in four seasons and also was first-team All-SEC.

Weary and Peterson both started for the Gators’ first national championship team under Steve Spurrier in 1996.

Peterson played in the NFL for 14 years, with Indianapolis, the Jaguars and Atlanta. He had 883 tackles and 19 interceptions. He is currently on the Florida coaching staff.