By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
The idea of forming a Walter M. Williams Athletics Hall of Fame had been discussed informally for several years.
By late spring, the process was put in motion and the first class will be inducted next month.
“We’ve been talking about this for years and years,” said Josh Stone, a longtime public address announcer at the school and chairman of the Hall of Fame committee. “We’re passed due to do it.”
Williams is marking its 75th year. Yet while other schools in the area have launched Hall of Fames, the idea at Williams hadn’t taken root despite a rich and storied history in many sports.
“Everybody had similar motives and it has been something we should have done years ago,” said Chris Huneycutt, president of the athletics booster club at the school. “This is a way to honor 75 years. It has been a pretty fun process.”
A group of 17 individuals comprised the committee, which worked largely in secret until a word of its formation leaked last month. The committee’s make-up ranged from members of the Class of 1965 to Class of 2012.
“Everyone of them loved the school,” Stone said. “I’m glad that we finally did it.”
Stone, a 1980 Williams graduate, said he sought privacy during the selection process to avoid putting pressure on the committee as it sorted through decades-worth of candidates.
“We had a lot of discussion and we didn’t always agree, but we were agreeable,” Stone said.
Williams opened in 1951. For the first couple of decades, sports for females largely hadn’t taken hold.
Huneycutt, from the Class of 1993, said there was an overwhelming number of prospective choices for the inaugural class.
“We pared this thing down and there are so many more,” he said. “We picked people who are no-brainers.”
The committee had several discussions, Stone said, regarding the number of selections for the inaugural class. It settled on 20 individuals and one team.
While Stone said honoring living Williams legends was something to consider, there are eight deceased members in the first class.
When possible, committee members made personal visits to local residents or their families to notify them of their selections during the past couple of weeks.
The committee anticipates selecting a new class annually. Among the qualifications is that there’s a 10-year gap for athletes after they finish at Williams before they’re eligible for selection.
Huneycutt said the best part is that it will be a continuous process.
“We established this to grow,” he said.
Stone said he hopes this connects Williams’ past to current students.
“We want the students to understand who came before them,” Stone said. “There’s a lot of pride in wearing the black and gold. We want to honor our school and the traditions they started.”
Inductees will be honored at the October 17 football game vs. Eastern Alamance. The next day, an induction ceremony is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the school’s auditorium.
List of inductees
From the 1950s …
- The 1952 baseball team won the state championship in Class 3-A, though it’s listed as “Burlington” in North Carolina High School Athletic Association record books.
- Coy Clayton was a football standout and also a member of the 1952 baseball team.
- Bobby Harrison was a football All-American and all-conference basketball player.
From the 1960s …
- Eddie McAteer was a football All-American.
- Pete Burgess was a football All-American
- Sam Story played in the 1964 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and later became a longtime coach at Williams, directing the 1985 and 1999 state championship football teams.
- Jim Donnan was an all-conference football and basketball player and a state champion in tennis. He became the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in football for North Carolina State and later coached Division I football teams at Marshall and Georgia.
- Russell Cooper was a football All-American.
- Tommy Mitchell was a football All-American and a basketball and tennis standout.
- Bill Gentry was an all-state player in football and basketball before a college football career at N.C. State.
- Tommy Cole was an All-American high school basketball player and later starred at Elon College. He was a longtime basketball (boys and girls) and boys’ golf coach at Williams, where the gym’s floor is named in his honor. His Wiliams boys’ basketball team in 1996 and golf teams in 1995, 2000, and 2011 won state titles.
From the 1970s …
- Billy Bryan was an all-state football player and later received ACC honors for Duke and went on to an NFL career that included Super Bowl appearances with the Denver Broncos.
- Geoff Crompton was a decorated basketball player before playing collegiately for North Carolina.
- Jerome Evans was a football coach and assistant principal. He’s considered the first black football coach of an integrated school in the South.
- Tommy Spoon was a football standout and later coached several sports and was athletics director at Williams. The stadium’s field house is named in his memory.
From the 1980s …
- Pete Stout coached the 1980 and 1981 state championship football teams and directed a 43-game winning streak. He also coached track and field.
- Mark Thaxton was a two-time individual state champion in golf and played on state championship teams before a stellar college career for Wake Forest. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
- Antia Curry was an all-state basketball player. In track and field, she was a state champion (broad jump) and set the high jump school record.
From the 1990s …
- Brandon Spoon was a high school All-American as a distinguished football player before playing for North Carolina and in the NFL. He was a member of a state-champion 1,600-meter relay in track and field. He’s Tommy Spoon’s son.
From the 2000s …
- Margaret Bardin won individual state championships in multiple swimming events across a four-year period.
- Dr. Charles Kernodle was team doctor for 70-plus years, racking up countless recognitions locally and statewide.
Note: McAteer, Mitchell, Gentry, Crompton, Evans, Tommy Spoon, Stout, and Kernodle are deceased.
