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SWAC to induct Seven into Hall of Fame
December 1, 2005
The Southwestern Athletic Conference announces its 2005 Hall
of Fame class. The seven members will be formally inducted
on Friday, December 9, at 7:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Ballroom
in Birmingham, AL. The 2005 group consists of:
· Jerry Rice – Mississippi Valley State
· Willie Davenport – Southern
· Harold Blevins – Arkansas-Pine Bluff
· Larry Wright – Grambling State
· Robert Braddy – Jackson State
· Reuben Watson – Mississippi Vocational College
· Rod Paige – Jackson State
Jerry Rice - Mississippi Valley State University
Jerry Rice was a four-year starter at wide receiver at Mississippi
Valley State University (1981-84). He was a three-time All-SWAC
award winner, setting numerous MVSU and Southwestern Athletic
Conference records which have stood the test of times for over
20 years.
Rice, one half of the famed “Satellite Express”,
has been partially credited with bringing Mississippi Valley
State into the limelight and into the eyes of national media.
He remains the Delta Devils’ only first-round draft pick
into the National Football League.
While at MVSU, Rice set all-time SWAC receiving records with
310 career catches. He recorded the most catches in a game
(24); most receptions in a season (103); most receiving yards
in a career (4,851); and most points in a career (310). Rice
also holds records of most touchdowns in a game (5), most touchdowns
in a season (27) and most touchdowns in a career (51). He exceeded
1,000 yards receiving for three consecutive years. In 1984,
Rice was named MVP of the Blue-Gray Game and participated in
the Freedom Bowl All-Star Game. He has been selected to SBN
Sports Network’s Black College Football All-Time team.
Arguably, the greatest receiver to play the game, Rice was
selected as the 16th overall pick of the first round of the
1985 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Twenty-years later,
Rice announced his retirement after making the Denver Broncos
as the fourth receiver, a tribute to his dedication and longevity
in the sport.
Willie Davenport - Southern
Willie “Breeze” Davenport is best known as one
of just eight Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter
Olympics.
Davenport made the 1964 U.S. Olympic team (Tokyo) where he
was a semifinalist in the high hurdles. He left the Army to
study physical education at Southern University. In another
opportunity, he made the U.S. team for the 1968 Mexico Games
and won his gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles. In 1972, he
placed fourth in the hurdles in the Munich Olympic Games. He
then returned to Southern to receive a master’s degree
in physical education in 1973.
In the 1976 Montreal Games, he earned a bronze medal in the
hurdles and was selected by his team members to carry the American
flag in the closing ceremony. Four years later, in 1980, he
became the first African-American to represent the nation in
the winter Olympics when his team captured the best qualifying
time and set a new world record in the four-man bobsled event.
In 1991, he was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame, an
honor reserved for only a few select individuals in the world.
Harold Blevins - Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Arguably one of the top scorers in Arkansas-Pine Bluff history,
Blevins was a four-year starter (1961-65) for the Golden Lions
and averaged nearly 30 points per game as a senior.
The Tuscaloosa, Alabama native was a three-time NAIA All-American
and he earned All-SWAC honors throughout his collegiate career.
He led the conference in scoring as a junior and a senior and
earned all-conference honors four years. Blevins was a leading
candidate for All-American status each year of his career.
While playing for Arkansas AM&N College (now the University
of Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Blevins teamed with point-guard James “Mack” Allen
to give the Lions one of the nation’s top backcourts.
Blevins, a shooting guard, helped the Lions lead the NCAA Division
II ranks in team scoring averaging nearly 100 points per game
during the 1963-64 campaign.
Following his senior season, Blevins became the first UAPB
player drafted into the National Basketball Association when
the New York Knicks selected him in the second round of the
1965 draft. Despite never playing football in college, he signed
a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys that same year.
After a military stint and two junior college coaching tenures,
Blevins returned to coach the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s
basketball team from 1995 to 2001. In his second season (1996-67),
the program garnered one of their biggest wins when they upset
the University of Houston to begin the season.
Larry Wright – Grambling State
Larry Wright was one of the most decorated Grambling players
to ever hit the hardwood. Playing from 1973-76 he was named
the Southwestern Athletic Conference Freshman of the year in
1974. Before his career was finished he was an All-SWAC selection
two other times. Wright was also a two-time first team NCAA
Small College All-American and led the G-Men to the 1976 SWAC
Tournament Championship. Following his junior season (1975-76),
he was the SWAC Player-of-the-Year and entered the NBA draft
where he was a first round pick of the Washington Bullets.
Making him the only first round draft pick from Grambling State.
In Wright’s second season in the NBA (1978), he helped
to lead the Bullets to a World Championship. He stayed with
the Bullets until 1980 when he was traded to the Detroit Pistons.
In 1982 after leaving the Pistons, Wright led Italy’s
Banco DiRoma to the European Championship and was named the
best player in Europe.
He was named the head men’s basketball coach at his alma
mater on May 12, 1999.
Robert Braddy - Jackson State
A former JSU baseball coach and athletic administrator, Robert
Braddy is one of the more recognizable figures in Tiger athletics.
A 1985 inductee of the Jackson State Hall of Fame, he was also
named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of
Fame in 2003.
A 1964 graduate of Jackson State, he was a two-time all-conference
pitcher. As a coach, Braddy had an all-time record of 823-555-3
in 28 seasons at the helm of the Tiger baseball team. The Tigers
won 12 conference titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament
three times. Braddy was named NAIA District 40 Coach-of-the-Year
twice and was named SWAC Coach of the Year eight times.
He reached his 500th career victory in 1988 with a win over
Alabama State and his 700th career game in 1996 with a victory
over Mississippi Valley State. Since his first season at Jackson
State, 52 of his players have reached the professional ranks,
including Dennis “Oil
Can” Boyd, Marvin Freeman, Wes Chamberlain, Earl Sanders
and Dave Clark.
During his time at JSU he served as assistant athletic director
and in 1995 held the position of interim director of athletics.
Rod Paige - Jackson State
On January 21, 2001, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Rod
Paige as the 7th U.S. Secretary of Education. For Paige, the
son of a principal and a librarian in public schools, that day
was the crowning achievement of a long career in education. He
earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University before
going on to earn a master's and a doctoral degree from Indiana
University.
From 1962 to 1969, he worked as the head coach of the Jackson
State football team, followed by a ten-year stint as football
coach and dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern
University, where he founded the school's Center for Excellence
in Urban Education. While at Jackson State, he was known for
his ability to instill dedication, hustle and the sheer will
to excel into his players both on and off the field. In 1968,
11 of Paige’s players were drafted into the NFL, including
defensive back John Outlaw, flanker Harold Jackson and lineman
Tom Funchess. This fact is even more remarkable by the knowledge
that he had only three assistants on his staff at the time.
Rueben Watson - Mississippi Vocational College (now MVSU)
Watson attended Mississippi Vocational College (now Mississippi
Valley State) where he studied health and recreation with a minor
in mathematics. He was a four-year letter winner in basketball
and a three-year starter.
Receiving All-SCAC honors in 1958-59, he averaged 28 points and
19 rebounds per game. He had a game during that season in which
he had 55 points and 15 rebounds. A two-year team captain and
most valuable player, he graduated in 1959 with a bachelor’s
degree. He also received a master of science (1972) and an educational
specialist (1957) from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.
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