By JORDAN POLAND
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame has announced the members of the Class of 2014 who will be enshrined in ceremonies on October 5th at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in the Wichita Boathouse.
The KSHOF Class of 2014 consists of ten members: Smith Center High School football coach and eight-time state champion Roger Barta; Riley native and University of Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds; eight-time high school football and two-time track state championship coach Bill Freeman of LeRoy; Stanford University All-American swimmer from Wichita, Caroline Bruce McAndrew; all-time leading rebounder in Kansas State University history Ed Nealy; Wichita State University baseball coach of seven College World Series teams, including the 1989 National Championship, Gene Stephenso; two-time NAIA track and field All-American from Emporia State Bill Tidwell; two-time University of Kansas basketball All-American Walt Wesley; and two-time Kansas State University basketball All-American Chuckie Williams. Charlie Hoag, a member of the 1952 KU National Championship team and Olympic gold medalist, will be honored posthumously.
The induction ceremony will be held on Sunday, October 5, 2014, at the Wichita Boathouse. The ten-person class raises the total number of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees to 237. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is in its 53rd year of operation.
ROGER BARTA – SMITH CENTER
Roger Barta, a native of Plainville, Kansas, and a 1967 graduate from Fort Hays State University, built one of the greatest high school football dynasties in the state’s history. As the head football coach of Smith Center High School from 1978 to 2013, Barta compiled a career record of 323 wins and 68 losses. During that span, the Redmen won eight state championships. Barta holds state records for career coaching win percentage, all-time undefeated seasons with seven, consecutive undefeated seasons with five, and consecutive wins with a streak of 79 straight victories from 2004 to 2009. Barta and his 2009 Smith Center team were the focal point of the book Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen by New York Times writer Joe Drape. Barta coached numerous collegiate athletes, including 2011 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Mark Simoneau.
DELOSS DODDS – RILEY
Prior to becoming one of the most influential athletic directors in the nation at the University of Texas, DeLoss Dodds was already a well-known name in the state of Kansas. A native of Riley, Kansas, Dodds was a 440 meter conference champion at Kansas State University in 1959 before being hired as the head track and cross country coach for the Wildcats in 1963. During his thirteen year stint as head coach of the K-State track and cross country programs, Dodds’ teams won six Big 8 Conference titles. In 1977, Dodds was named the eighth Athletic Director in Kansas State University history, a position he held until 1981 when he was named the University of Texas Men’s Athletic Director. Under Dodds’ leadership, Longhorn teams won fourteen National Championships and 108 conference titles. Dodds was named the 2002 and 2005 Under Armor Athletic Director of the year and the 2011 Sports Business Award Athletic Director of the year. Dodds was inducted to the Kansas State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
BILL FREEMAN – LEROY
Bill Freeman, a native of LeRoy, Kansas, has football in his veins. A four-year letterman as a player at Emporia State University from 1949 to 1953, Freeman continued his success in the coaching ranks at the high school level for over thirty years. Freeman posted a career coaching record of 242-81-3, including eight state championships in three different classes. Most known for his coaching success at Lawrence High School, where Freeman coached five state championship football teams and two state track championships, Freeman also won football state championships at Osawatomie and LeRoy and coached at Baxter Springs, Parker Rural, and Nickerson. Freeman coached several players who later played in the National Football League, including 1997 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Lynn Dickey. Freeman was a recipient of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s Pride of Kansas Award in 2012 and is an inductee of the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Fame.
CHARLIE HOAG – UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS (Posthumous)
One of the best athletes on the 1952 University of Kansas basketball team, Charlie Hoag was a four-sport star that holds the unique distinction of having won an Olympic gold medal in one sport and being drafted professionally in another. Hoag competed in football, basketball, baseball, and track at KU. A two-time All-Big 7 football player for the Jayhawks, Hoag also played a pivotal role on the 1952 KU basketball National Championship team, scoring nine points in the 1952 National Championship game. Although just a junior, Hoag was named, along with six of his Jayhawk teammates, to the 1952 U.S. Olympic basketball team which won the gold in Helsinki, Finland. Hoag returned to Lawrence for his senior year in 1953 but had his season cut short due to an injury sustained during the KU-K-State football game that season. Despite the injury, Hoag was drafted to play halfback by the Cleveland Browns in 1953. Hoag was inducted to the University of Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
CAROLINE BRUCE MCANDREW – WICHITA
Caroline Bruce McAndrew, a 2004 graduate of Wichita Trinity Academy, is one of the most decorated swimmers in Kansas history. A thirteen-time Kansas high school champion, McAndrew earned All-American status swimming for Stanford University thirteen times in five different events. McAndrew won two NCAA National Championships in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke in 2005. She also won seven Pacific-10 Conference championships and was named the 2005 Conference Women’s Swimmer of the Year and the Women’s Newcomer of the Year. McAndrew qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics, finishing ninth in the breaststroke. In 2005, McAndrew also competed in the World University Games where she finished fifth.
ED NEALY – BONNER SPRINGS
When Eddie Carl “Ed” Nealy graduated from Kansas State University in 1982, he left behind a legacy that is unmatched in the school’s basketball history. Nealy was the star center for his father’s Bonner Springs High School team and made an immediate impact for the Wildcats. He was a workhorse on the court and when he graduated, he held spots on K-State’s all-time career top ten for points scored, rebounds, double-doubles, assists, steals, games played, and games started. Nealy is the only player in K-State history to have over 1,000 points and rebounds for his career, scoring 1,304 points and grabbing 1,069 rebounds. He was named first team All-Big 8 in 1982 and was second-team Academic All-American in both his junior and senior years. Nealy was selected in the eighth round of the 1982 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played 10 seasons in the NBA with Kansas City, San Antonio, Chicago, Phoenix, and Golden State, scoring 1,451 points with 1,799 rebounds. Nealy was recognized as one of K-State’s all-time greatest performers in 2003 when he was named to the school’s ten-man All-Century Team.
GENE STEPHENSON – WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY
As head coach of the Wichita State University baseball program from 1978 to 2013, Gene Stephenson built one of the nation’s most prestigious programs totally from scratch. Stephenson’s Shocker teams won twenty-six Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) titles from 1980 to 2013, eighteen MVC Tournament championships, made twenty-eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and seven appearances in the College World Series, including the 1989 National Championship and three runner-up finishes in 1982, 1991, and 1993. Along the way, Stephenson posted a career win-loss record of 1,837-675-3, which is the most wins at the Division I level in college history. Honored as the NCAA National Coach of the Year in 1982, 1989, and 1993, Stephenson averaged over fifty-one wins per season over thirty-six years. Stephenson coached fifty-five All-Americans at Wichita State, including Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees Joe Carter, Darren Dreifort, Don Heinkel, and Phil Stephenson. He also coached twenty-seven Academic All-Americans, which was the nation’s leading program in all divisions, 157 first-team All-MVC selections, 92 second-team All-MVC selections, 159 players who signed professional contracts, and thirty-four players who played in the major leagues. Stephenson is a 2014 inductee to the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and will be inducted to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in June 2014.
BILL TIDWELL – KIOWA
A four-time NAIA champion at Emporia State University, Kiowa native Bill Tidwell is another in a long line of distance runners from the state of Kansas to make their mark on the national stage. Tidwell won both the 880 meter and the mile national championships in 1955 and 1956 at Emporia State and was a two-time NAIA All-American both years. Tidwell also competed in cross country at Emporia State, where he won twelve of fourteen meets during his junior and senior seasons. Tidwell went on to serve as Athletic Director for Oberlin (OH) College from 1959 to 1971, when he was named the Athletic Director at Emporia State University, a position he held until 1994. Tidwell was inducted to the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982, the NAIA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1963, and is a Drake Relays Hall of Fame Charter Member.
WALT WESLEY – UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Walter “Walt” Wesley, a native of Fort Myers, Florida, came to the University of Kansas because it was one of the few schools that recruited African American players out of high school in the early 1960’s. He left KU as one of the school’s leaders in points scored, rebounding, and was a two-time All-American selection. Playing for 2009 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Ted Owens, Wesley led the Jayhawks in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons and averaged over twenty points per game both years. Wesley was named an All-Big 8 selection in 1965 and 1966 and was also selected as a Helms Foundation first-team All-American both seasons. Wesley’s career scoring average at KU of 19.1 points per game still ranks in the top ten of school history. He was selected in the first round of the 1966 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals and played ten NBA seasons, registering over 5,000 points and over 3,000 rebounds. Wesley’s jersey was retired by the University of Kansas in 2004.
CHUCKIE WILLIAMS – KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
One of only three Kansas State University basketball players to be named an All-American two times during their time in Manhattan, Chuckie Williams re-wrote the K-State record book. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Williams was a four-year letterman for 1990 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jack Hartman and led the Wildcats to two Elite Eight appearances and the 1973 Big 8 Conference title. Averaging over twenty points for both his junior and senior seasons, Williams was an All-Big 8 and All-American selection both seasons. As of 2013, Williams still ranked in the school’s top ten in twenty-three different season and career statistical categories, including eighth in all-time scoring. Williams was selected in the first round of the 1976 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Named to the K-State All-Century Team in 2003, Williams’ jersey was retired by K-State in 2006. —
Tickets for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be available for purchase starting August 4, 2014. For more information, please visit our website at www.kshof.org or call 316-262-2038.
