Sports teams in former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s home state of Georgia expressed their condolences Sunday, honoring a former leader who also served as the state’s governor and had an extensive record as an athlete and sports fan.
The Atlanta Falcons football team held a moment of silence before their game Sunday night.
The team’s owner, Arthur Blank, called Carter “a great American, a proud Georgian and an inspirational global humanitarian.”
The Atlanta Hawks basketball team said Carter “represented all the best of Georgia.”
“From his rural upbringing that he never strayed from, to his passion for Atlanta sports, Carter was proud of his home state and left a legacy for Georgians to be proud of, too,” the team said in a statement.
Carter was most known for being a fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, whose games he and his wife, Rosalynn, attended for decades.
The team celebrated his 100th birthday in October, and on Sunday it said Carter “served both his country and home state with honor his entire life.”
“While the world knew him as a remarkable humanitarian and peacemaker, we knew him as a dedicated Braves fan and we will miss having him in the stands cheering on his Braves,” the team said in a statement.
Carter was in attendance in 1974 when Braves player Hank Aaron set the Major League Baseball record for most career home runs.
In 1995, Carter threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the sixth game of the World Series, which the Braves won to capture their first championship since moving to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966.
As an athlete himself, Carter was fond of playing softball, including during his time as president.
While in the White House, Carter was also part of a boom in running in the United States that saw recreational running rapidly expand during the 1970s.
His competitive running career included time on the U.S. Naval Academy cross-country team.
Carter also enjoyed playing tennis and watching car racing, and he participated in the presidential tradition of welcoming championship sports teams to the White House.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press
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