WACO, Texas — A trio of Texas A&M Athletics legends are on the final ballot for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Representing Texas A&M on the ballot are a pair of football All-Americans — Jacob Green and Lester Hayes — and current Aggie track and field head coach Pat Henry. Green and Henry are primary ballot nominees, while Hayes is a veteran ballot nominee.
Green earned All-America honors for the Aggies in 1978 and 1979, and went on to a standout NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks. Hayes earned All-America honors in 1976 before becoming one of the NFL’s most feared (and stickiest) cornerbacks for the Oakland Raiders. Henry has led the Aggie track and field program to eight NCAA team titles in his 10 years at Texas A&M, and his total number of national titles at Texas A&M, LSU and Blinn Junior College stands at 35.
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee, comprised of media members around the state and chaired by long-time Associated Press writer and Texas A&M graduate Denne Freeman, has set the final ballot of nominees to be voted on for the Class of 2016. Generally six nominees from the primary ballot and two from the veteran ballot will comprise the Class of 2016.
Members of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (open to the public) will once again be able to help the selection committee determine the newest class. The deadline to become a member and be able to vote for the upcoming class is July 15th. The official announcement of the Class of 2016 will be made in September. The banquet to enshrine the Class of 2016, presented by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, will take place in early 2016 in Waco.
2016 PRIMARY BALLOT NOMINEES
FRED AKERS – Football / University of Texas
LARRY ALLEN – Football / Dallas Cowboys
TREVOR BRAZILE – Rodeo / Decatur, TX
RUDY DAVALOS – Basketball / San Antonio, TX
DONALD DRIVER – Football / Houston, TX
T.J. FORD – Basketball / University of Texas
PETE FREDENBURG / Football / University Mary Hardin-Baylor
JACOB GREEN – Football / Texas A&M University
PAT HENRY – Track & Field / Texas A&M University
JASON KIDD – Basketball / Dallas Mavericks
JUSTIN LEONARD – Golf / University of Texas
NASTIA LIUKIN – Gymnastics / Plano, TX
ERIC METCALF – Football, Track & Field / University of Texas
GERALD MYERS – Basketball / Texas Tech University
ANDY PETTITTE – Baseball / Houston, TX
DENNIS RODMAN – Basketball / Dallas, TX
HUSTON STREET – Baseball / University of Texas
WILSON WHITLEY (Deceased) – Football / University of Houston
MICHAEL YOUNG – Baseball / Texas Rangers
SOPHIA YOUNG – Basketball / Baylor University
2016 VETERAN BALLOT NOMINEES
ANDY COOPER (Deceased) – Baseball / Waco, TX
KEN GRAY – Football / San Saba, TX
LESTER HAYES – Football / Texas A&M University
KING HILL (Deceased) – Football / Rice University
BILL HOWTON – Football / Rice University
LUCIOUS “LUKE” JACKSON / Basketball / Pan American College
DAVE MARR (Deceased) – Golf / Houston, TX
CYNTHIA POTTER – Diving / Houston, TX
JAMES SAXTON (Deceased) – Football / University of Texas
HILTON SMITH (Deceased.) – Baseball / Giddings, TX
FLO HYMAN (Deceased) – Volleyball / University of Houston
“SMOKEY” JOE WILLIAMS (Deceased) – Baseball / Seguin, TX
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics