Damon Boddie, a Master Barber and cosmetologist, runs his own luxury barbershop, DamonGeorge Luxury Grooming Suite, in Sacramento. Photo by Mike Marando

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Damon Boddie is used to making cuts. 

Whether it was a juke move on the football field for the Cordova Lancers in the late ’80s and early ’90s or with a set of hair clippers in his area barbershop present day, the Cordova High Class of 1991 graduate has always worked well on his feet.

Now with the recent news that he has been selected for induction into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame, Boddie will be recognized for all he has accomplished. 

In 1990, Boddie set the then-single season rushing record for the Lancers while amassing a whopping 2,345 yards on the ground in his senior season. That year, the Lancers finished 10-0 in the regular season and won the Metro League title, largely behind the tough running of Boddie. That stellar season would be the start to a journey that sent him around the world and eventually back home here in Rancho Cordova. 

Boddie went on to excel at the University of Montana and had a brief stint as a member of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. After his playing days ended, Boddie enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served a combined six tours between Afghanistan and Iraq between 1999 and 2014. It was during that time that the combat veteran discovered he had a talent for making a totally different kind of cut that had nothing to do with football, as he began cutting hair. 

“Spending time in the barbershop really became therapeutic for me,” Boddie said. “Leaving California, transitioning from the sports world into the military world, it gave me an opportunity to know a lot of people. Barbering really took on a major role while I was in the military. I was a soldier but I was a barber too.”

In 1990, Damon Boddie set a then-single season rushing record at Cordova High School, totaling 2,345 yards on the ground. Photo by Mike Marando

Boddie became a licensed master barber and cosmetologist and opened his own barbershop in Tennessee before eventually returning to Rancho Cordova. In 2020 Boddie opened DamonGeorge Luxury Grooming Suite at 2626 Fulton Ave. in Sacramento and has continued his work ever since.

For Boddie, being a barber has been about more than just cutting hair. 

“It's something that helps me deal with my combat PTSD,” Boddie said of his barbershop. “I'm 100% disabled for that amongst other things. That alone, coming out of combat after being overseas so often, it's been a major transition. Trying to find myself after getting out of that environment and plug back into society, it's been a journey."

Boddie’s journey has now landed him in the Hall of Fame, where he will join other area greats whose stories he is very familiar with.

When asked what he remembers most about his playing days at Cordova, Boddie answered going to Lancer football games as a child, understanding what it meant to play under legendary former football coach Max Miller and how motivating it was as he came up through the ranks playing football before ultimately starring on the field.

These days, Boddie gives back to his alma mater through a youth program at Cordova High, offering free haircuts to student athletes who maintain a 3.5 or higher-grade point average. 

Now that he is being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Boddie said that he has a new mission to accomplish as he continues giving back to his community. 

"It's an honor," Boddie said about being selected for induction. "I'm very honored. It's an accomplishment. But from here on out, it's not over. We still have work to do, being inspirational to those people who are coming up behind us. I love Rancho Cordova; I love what it's done for me and my life. It's just an honor and I'm going to wear it proudly."

The Cordova Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 at Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at https://form.jotform.com/cordovacouncil/rcaa-reception-tickets-2025.