Athens Drive High School has retired the jersey of one of its most famous alumni - former Major League Baseball player Josh Hamilton.
Hamilton graduated from Athens Drive in 1999 and was the number one pick in the MLB Draft that year. The Raleigh native famously wore number 32. Hamilton was joined by his wife and two daughters.
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"I told my girls today, before coming here, I said, 'This might be it, as far as you know, recognition or retirement, things, stuff like that,'" Hamilton said. "I'm taking it in today...it's really fun to be back here."
The Athens Drive baseball team retired the jersey during its Saturday game versus Cary High School.
While at Athens Drive, he led the school to its first appearance in the baseball championship series and was the 1999 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. Hamilton said the ceremony made he realize he doesn't come back as often as he should.
"It makes me think I need to come back more. You know, my mom and dad, I moved him out to Texas and built him a place out there. So that's where life is right now," Hamilton said.
After signing with the Tampa Bay Rays in 1999, Hamilton struggled with injuries including a 2001 truck accident that he said led to a cocaine habit.
Hamilton spent the entire 2004 season suspended after failing multiple drug tests. He returned to Raleigh for a reported sixth stint in rehab that year.
"Cocaine doesn't discriminate. It'll get anybody. It got me quick. It got me real quick," Hamilton told WRAL at the time.
Hamilton returned to baseball and in 2007 he made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds. The following year after being traded to the Texas Rangers Hamilton's career had a resurgence with him hitting 28 home runs in the first round of the 2008 Home Run Derby. He helped that team reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011.
Hamilton was a four-time All Star selection with the Rangers and was the 2010 ALCS MVP and the 2010 American League MVP.
After a stint with the Los Angeles Angels in 2013, Hamilton returned to the Rangers for his final season in 2015.
Hamilton made headlines in 2020 when he was faced a felony indictment for injury to a child for an incident involving his teenage daughter in Texas. In 2022, the charge was dismissed and Hamilton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charged of unlawful restraint.
"You're going to make mistakes," Hamilton said. "Don't stay in your mistakes. Learn from them. Move forward. That's just life."