The 17th annual Greater Augusta Sports Awards Gala will be the biggest one yet.

The Greater Augusta Sports Council will be honoring three sets of athletes at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites.

Greater Augusta Medals for Excellence in Sports awards winners and Ray Guy Award winner Durant Brooks of Georgia Tech will be honored. Brooks, the lone punter chosen in last month's NFL Draft, was selected in the sixth round by the Washington Redskins.

Also, the inaugural class of the American Football Kicking Hall of Fame will be inducted.

"It's a great opportunity for the community to celebrate the best in amateur athletics in Augusta as well as our Ray Guy winner," GASC event manager Randy DuTeau said. "It's a real unique honor to host the first American Football Kicking Hall of Fame induction."

The Greater Augusta Sports Council and prokicker.com announced in January the formation of the American Football Kicking Hall of Fame. The following month, former football greats and NFL Hall of Famers Sammy Baugh, George Blanda, Lou Groza, Jan Stenerud and Jim Thorpe were chosen for the hall's initial class.

Baugh is the only punter to ever average more than 50 yards a punt during a season.

Blanda, nicknamed "The Fossil," retired as the oldest NFL player at age 48. He has the most career extra points and attempts.

Groza, who has 1,608 career points, hit a 16-yard field goal in the waning moments to give Cleveland the 1950 NFL Championship.

Stenerud retired with the most field goals in NFL history. He is the lone pure kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Thorpe scored a touchdown and four field goals for Carlisle Indian Industrial School in an upset of Harvard.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.