By his own admission, the past 30 years haven't been great for him in the statistics department. Zero tackles, zero assisted tackles, zero sacks, zero interceptions and zero fumble recoveries. No championships either. Or awards or anything else.

Mind you, these things tend to happen to guys who retired in 1988.

But it does raise the question: Why is Ben Zambiasi going into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame now instead of, say, three decades ago. What's happened in the ensuing years that makes him more worthy today than back then? No, playing lots of golf doesn't count.

"I know," he chuckles. "It's amazing."

Next week, those 30 years after his final professional game and 40 years after his final college game at the University of Georgia, he's being inducted alongside one-time Detroit Lions receiving star Calvin Johnson, former New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira and former Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes, among others.

The crazy thing is, he almost didn't find out.

Some time ago, his phone rang here in Hamilton but he didn't answer because he didn't recognize the number. It started with a 478 and that wasn't registering as familiar. Could have been a bill collector, he jokes. Not long after the phone rang again. Same number. Same result. Then again and again and again. With no answer, no answer and no answer.

He's not sure exactly how many times he ignored the call. It was a bunch. Nothing personal, he says, he just prefers to know who's calling.

"I wasn't taking the call for the first week," Zambiasi says.

Then a family he'd lived with during his days in Georgia texted and told him to pick up the phone. It was important. The next time it rang, the former Hamilton Tiger-Cat linebacker picked up.

Already a member of the Ticats' Wall of Honour, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Macon Hall of Fame, his high school's hall of fame and a few others, the news he got that he was heading into another hall of fame — especially this one — was a real shock.

"I'm still speechless," the 62-year-old says.

You know about his pro career. He was the CFL Eastern Division rookie of the year for the Ticats in 1978, the most outstanding defensive player the next season, an eight-time all-star, four-time participant in the Grey Cup and won a title in 1986.

That's not why he got this call, though. Not completely. It's for what he did back home before he arrived here. Stuff that made him a legend. Which folks here may not know much about.

The son of a military man, Zambiasi was born at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta and moved to Germany before returning to Georgia as an 11-year-old after his dad finished a tour of duty in Vietnam. His high school career was remarkable. He won the state championship all three years he played at Macon.

"I never lost a game there," he says.

The fourth year of high school, Grade 11, he was back in Germany playing against schools from other military bases. That year, he made the all-Europe team.

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Eventually he went to the University of Georgia where his 467 tackles remain a school record 41 years after graduation. In his book About Them Dawgs: Georgia Football's Memorable Teams and Players, Patrick Garbin describes the undersized Zambiasi as the school's greatest-ever linebacker. Considering that 45 Bulldogs linebackers have been drafted into the NFL, that's saying something.

"No one played with as much fierceness as Zambiasi, who might also have been the defense's best at punishing opponents," Garbin wrote.

You wouldn't know that about Zambiasi today. Not only is he far from visually intimidating but after a lifestyle change at the end of his career, he hardly looks like a football player. Once an avowed carnivore, he became a vegetarian. Then cut way back on the bread and beer. He walks around close to 30 pounds below his playing weight.

Other than a bad shoulder, a bit of neck pain and a wonky knee — when the folks at the Georgia hall asked if he could make it, he told them he had a replacement planned for around that time but he's decided to put it off for a while — he says he's in great shape. Enough to work for the city as a greenskeeper and maintenance guy at Chedoke Gold Course and play as often as he can.

The shoulder doesn't impede with that?

"It doesn't prevent me from playing golf," he says. "It prevents me from hitting it far."

But back to that question. Why now? Why induct him after all this time when he's been worthy all along?

The short answer? Who knows. The real answer? Who cares?

He's going in. That's more than enough for him.

sradley@thespec.com

905-526-2440 | @radleyatthespec Spectator columnist Scott Radley hosts The Scott Radley Show weeknights from 6-8 on 900CHML