Florida Sports Hall of Fame
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Florida Sports Hall of Fame Originally in Lake City, FL, is in the process of finding a home. Among the first of state Sports Halls of Fame it was founded in 1958 by the Florida Sports Writers Association and the Florida Sportscasters Association. It has had had a proud tradition, inducting diverse women and men athletes side-by-sides, including swimming, drag racing, tennis, golf, along with the "major" sports of football, baseball, track, and basketball.
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame Foundation voted July, 29, 2001, to solicit bids from communities interested in housing the museum now in Lake City. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando and Lakeland expressed some interest.[1]
However, beginning in 1999 the Florida State legislature passed laws making the Lake City location official;
"1. 15.051 f.s. 15.051 Official Sports Hall of Fame. --The Florida Sports Hall of Fame in Lake City, Columbia County, is designated as the Official Sports Hall of Fame for the state. 1, ch." [2]
This legislation has been passed as recently as 2006. However, the Hall of Fame has not had any new inductees since May 2005.
[edit] Class of 2005
Nicole Haislett Bacher, took home three gold medals in swimming at the 1992 Olympics and was a six-time NCAA champion at Florida after starring at Lakewood High in St. Petersburg. Today Bacher works as an activities director for an area assisted-living program.
Mike Martin has coached Florida State's baseball team for 25 years, amassing a record of 1,338-452-4 for a .750 winning percentage. That places him second among active coaches and sixth all time. Martin's teams have appeared in 24 straight NCAA region tournaments and 12 College World Series.
Pete Sampras, a native of Washington, D.C., came to Florida to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton and made Tampa his home during his tennis prime. He holds the record for most singles titles in Grand Slam events with 14 (seven Wimbledon titles, five at the U.S. Open, two at the Australian Open). He ranked as the world's No. 1 male player for six straight years, retiring in 2000.
Deion Sanders, made an indelible mark at FSU as an All-America cornerback but also lettered in baseball and track. He was a two-time consensus football All-American, winning the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back in 1988. Known for his flashy "Prime Time" style, the Fort Myers product was selected to seven Pro Bowls in the NFL and won Super Bowls with San Francisco and Dallas. In addition, Sanders played centerfield for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds and is the only person to play in both a Super Bowl and World Series.
Howard Schnellenberger, has been part of four collegiate national championships, his most memorable the one that came in Miami in 1983 when the Hurricanes defeated Nebraska in the 50th Orange Bowl. He has also been on the staff of seven NFL playoff teams and two Super Bowl staffs, including the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins. Schnellenberger is now coach at Florida Atlantic, which he took to the 2003 Division I-AA title game.
Payne Stewart collected 11 PGA victories, including the 1991 and 1999 U.S. Opens, before he and five others died in a plane crash in 1999. Stewart, who lived in Orlando, was 42 when he died and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
Danny Wuerffel, guided the University of Florida to the 1996 national championship, winning the Heisman Trophy along the way. The quarterback from Fort Walton Beach, under the tutelage of Steve Spurrier, led the Gators to four straight SEC crowns, earning All-America and Academic All-America honors. He also won the Johnny Unitas and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards. He retired from the NFL in 2004 and serves as Director of Development for Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans.
[edit] Class of 2004
Dr. Ruth Alexander. A highly honored educator who initiated and founded the women’s athletic program at the University of Florida in 1972. Dr. Alexander has served as a member of the Presidential Council of Physical Fitness under five presidents and is a member of the University of Florida Hall of Fame.
Paul Azinger. A Florida State graduate who has won 12 PGA Tour tournaments over a 23-year pro career. He was PGA Player of the Year in 1987 and received the Golf Writers Association of America, Ben Hogan Award in 1995 for his struggle with and victory over cancer.
Nick Bollettieri. In 1978 he founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, which is now part of the prestigious IMG Academies. He has coached eight #1 players and has worked with players such as Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, the Williams sisters, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, and many more. In 1987, 32 of his students were in the main draw at Wimbledon and 27 at the U.S. Open.
Jerome Brown. An All American defensive lineman for the University of Miami in the late 1980’s, twice selected for the Pro Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles before his death in an automobile accident in December 1991. He was an outstanding three-sport athlete at Brooksville’s Hernando High School.
Harold Carmichael. Coming from Jacksonville’s Northwestern and Raines High Schools to walk on at Southern University, he then went on to become one of the Philadelphia Eagles’ most prolific pass receivers in the 1970’s. Drafted by the Eagles in 1971, he played 13 years there and one year in Dallas. When he retired he was the NFL’s sixth leading receiver and had been selected to the Pro Bowl four times. He is currently the Eagles’ director of player/community relations.
Mary Ann Gonzalez. Mary Ann Gonzalez is a woman of many firsts. She was the first female Special Olympics athlete in the world to attain the status of being a certified A.S.A. umpire, she is also a certified volleyball official, making her the only Special Olympics athlete certified as an official by two NGBs, she is the first athlete (male or female) in Special Olympics history to officiate two different sports at two different World Games and she was the first athlete ever to be inducted into the Special Olympics Florida Hall of Fame. This extraordinary woman is Mary Ann Gonzalez of Sumter County.
Pancho Segura. He was one of the University of Miami’s first great tennis players, winning three consecutive NCAA singles titles in 1943-45. The native of Ecuador went on to a successful pro career and was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.
[edit] Florida Sports Hall of Fame Listing of Members
A through C
Michelle Akers, Bobby Allison, Ottis Anderson, Don Aronow, Walter Lanier Barber, Rick Barry, Deane Beman, Patty Berg, Fred Biletnikoff, Otis Boggs, Tommy Bolt, Wade Boggs, Bobby Bowden, Julius Barrows, Scot Brantley, Pat Bradley, Lew Burdette, Nick Buoniconti, Norm Carlson, Steve Carlton, Joanne Carner, Jimmy Carnes, Don Carter, Gary Carter, Rick Casares, Charles Casey, Tracy Caulkins, Wes Chandler, Dean Chenoweth, Torchy Clark, Jerry Collins, Chris Collinsworth, Pete Cooper, Lee Course, Jim Courier, Dave Cowens, Gene Cox, Larry Csonka, Hugh Culverhouse, Fran Curci
D through H
Andre Dawson, Jim Dooley, Herb Dudley, Angelo Dundee, James Everett, Chris Evert, J.Rex Farrior, Forest Ferguson, Joe Fields, Don Flemming, Raymond Floyd, Ed Flynn, Bill France, Betty Skelton Frankman, Ron Fraser, Shirley Fry, Rowdy Gaines, Jake Gaither, Willie Galimore, Don Garlits, Steve Garvey, Ben Geraghty, Althea Gibson, Artis Gilmore, Laffayette G. Golden, Ray Graves, Curt Gowdy, Bob Griese, Peter Gregg, Andy Gustafson, Jack Harding, Doris Hart, Bill Hartack, "Bullet" Bob Hayes, Hurley Haywood, Ted Hendricks, Nash Higgins, Nancy Hogshead, Dick Howser, Marcelino Huerta, H. Wayne Huizenga, Fred Hutchinson
J through Q
Julian E. Jackson, Davey Johnson, Jimmy Johnson, Deacon Jones,Jim Kelly, Nick Kotys, Al Lang, Floyd E. Lay, Bernie Little, Larry Little, Pop Lloyd, Al Lopez, Dan Marino, Bob Masterson, Walter Mayberry, Dick Mayer, Tim McDowell, Jack McEwen, Bill McGrotha, Hal McRae, George Mira, Nat Moore, Perry Moss, Gardnar Mulloy, Bob Murphy, Needles, Jack Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Nugent, Stephen C. O'Connell, George R. Olsen, Charlie Owens, Dick Pace, Arnold Palmer, John Pennel, Newton Perry, Bill Peterson, Lou Piniella, Dick Pope, Jr., Dick Pope, Sr., Edwin Pope, Boog Powell, Paul Quinn
R through Z
Tim Raines, Jim Rathmann, Bobby Riggs, Ken Riley, Joe Robbie, Glenn Robert, Robin Roberts, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Al Rosen, Doug Sanders, Gene Sarazen, Herb Score, Earnie Seiler, Ron Sellers, Lee Roy Selmon, Rip Sewell, Frank Shorter, Don Shula, Hal Smeltzy, Freddie Solomon, Steve Spurrier, George Steinbrenner, Lyn St. James, Roger Strickland, Pat Summerall, Don Sutton, Charlie Tate, Zack Taylor, James Van Fleet, Dale Van Sickel, Don Vellwe, Dick Vitale, Don Wallen, Paul Warner, Paul Warfield, Glenn Wilkes, Ted Williams, Early Wynn, Garo Yepremian, Jack Youngblood.
