Alfred Ashton "Spritter" Adkins '27
Football,
Basketball, Track, Baseball, 1924-1927
Alfred "Spritter" Adkins
earned 12 letters in four sports (football, track, basketball and
baseball) between 1924 and 1927. His major claim to fame,
however, came in football and basketball, where he was a captain in
both. In the 1920s, the captain was looked upon as a coach on
and off the field.
Adkins played football in an
era when the Tigers played many of the top colleges in the
South. In 1926, his senior year, Adkins led Hampden-Sydney to
a 5-2-3 record. Big wins came over Richmond, 20-7, and
Davidson, 12-0. The Tigers tied Florida, Virginia and
Marshall. The team's right halfback, "Spritter" was a true
pioneer and legend in his time. he was one of the first
players to letter four years.
After football season, Adkins
turned his attention to basketball. As a captain in
1927-1927, Adkins led the team to the Virginia State
Championship. In the spring, he pitched for the Tiger
baseball team and ran hurdles in track.
Adkins was president of his
sophomore class, a member of the German and the Monogram clubs, and
vice-president of his senior class. He was also a member of
the Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity. As a senior, he was
awarded the Gold Key of ODK, the highest honor on
campus.
Following his graduation from
Hampden-Sydney, "Spritter" was hired as head coach of all sports at
the famous Greenbrier Military School in West Virginia. A
native of Richmond, he attended John Marshall High School.
After retiring from Greenbrier, he returned to Richmond, where he
died in July, 1973.
William G. Benson '60
Football, 1956-1960
On 31 Autumn afternoons during four years, followers of
Hampden-Sydney College football cheered the talents of this
5-feet-9, 165-pound, football player wearing number 35, Billy
Benson, one of the finest backs in Tiger history. He held
practically every offensive record when he left the Hill and
remains the third all-time leading rusher with 2,591 career
yards.
Undoubtedly, the halfback speedster was the most-honored Tiger
in his time. In the span of four years, Billy earned every
award possible for a small college performer. He made
honorable mention All Little Eight as a freshman, and first team
All Little Eight in each of his final three years, twice tabbed as
a unanimous choice. He was twice selected first team All
Mason-Dixon. He won the Bedford Junior Chamber of Commerce
Sportsmanship Award, presented to the Old Dominion's finest small
college player, and was twice voted the top performer in the Little
Eight by the Virginia Sportswriters and Sportscasters.
Culminating all of these was Billy's selection to the Associated
Press' Little All-America second team after his junior year.
In rolling to the Hampden-Sydney scoring record, Billy twice led
the state in scoring.
Billy's speed (9.6 in the 100 and 21.5 in the 220) was his
greatest asset. He holds the Hampden-Sydney track record in
both dashes.
All All-American off the field too, Billy was a member of ODK
and Who's Who, while serving on both Student Assembly and Honor
Council.
Clarence "Soup" Campbell, Jr. '35
Baseball,
Football, 1931-1935
"Soup" Campbell starred as captain of the Sparta (Virginia) High
School baseball team for four years; he went on at Hampden-Sydney
to become a standout for four years in baseball and two in
football. He also was an outstanding member of the student
body, serving as President of the Athletic Association and as a
member of ODK.
During the summers of his college career, "Soup" played three
years of semi-professional ball with Culpeper, which at the time
was rated by many as the "greatest semi-pro team in
Virginia." Five members of the team were sent to the
majors: "Soup" to Cleveland; Herb Hash and George Lacy to the
Boston Red Sox; and Bud Metheny and Walter Beall to the New York
Yankees. Campbell began his big league career in 1937 with
Williamston (NC) in the Coastal Plain League. Then, batting
.321 for New Orleans in Triple-A, he joined the Cleveland Indians
for the 1940 and 1941 seasons where his roommate was young
fireballer Bob Feller.
Campbell's career was interrupted by a stint with the Air Force
(1942-1945); stating as an enlisted man, he was discharged as a
major. He returned to the Indians for the 1946 season and
finished his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1947, after which
he retired to his home in Sparta, where he still resides today with
his wife "Ducky."
James William Hardin '63
Basketball,
1959-1963
A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Bill Hardin completely
rewrote the Hampden-Sydney basketball record books during his four
years. At the time of his graduation, he was the College's
all-time leading scorer with 1,965 career points.
The Virginia Sports Writers selected him as the Player of the
Year in 1961 and he was selected to the All Little Eight from 1960
through 1962, while earning All Mason-Dixon honors from 1961
through 1963. He earned second team Mason-Dixon Conference
Tournament honors in 1961, Fort Lee Invitation All-Tournament in
1961 and 1962, All-Seafood Festival Tournament in 1962 and First
Team All-America in 1963.
He was the state's leading scorer, averaging 27.3
points-per-game as a junior and 24.9 points as a senior. In
1961, Bill ranked 14th nationally among small college players and
21st among all college players.
Hardin's scoring records are all the more incredible considering
his stature, at 6-feet-2, quite short for a center in
college. However, his height deficit was overcome by his
30-inch vertical leap. Bill's favored soft bank shot from the
corner or outside enabled him to score 42 points against Washington
College in 1961 and 43 points against Mt. St. Mary's in 1963.
In his junior and senior years, he averaged over 11
rebounds-per-game and was consistently a defensive standout.
He also ranks among the top players all-time in Tiger history with
1,017 career rebounds, along with his scoring average for a season
(27.3) and career (20.2).
Lewis C. Everett '63
Football, 1959-1963
The close of the 1962 football season marked the end of Lewis
Everette's college football career, a career the like of which
Hampden-Sydney has not witnessed since that of Little All-American
Billy Benson. One need only to look at the awards received by
Lewis to realize the extent to which he contributed to the Tiger
squad.
Foremost is that of honorable mention on the Little All-America
team. Lewis, having been selected to the third team on the
Williamson Rating Poll, was one of four small college players from
Virginia and North Carolina to receive the distinction. Lewis
was twice selected to the Virginia All-Small College team.
The Bedford Junior Chamber of Commerce presented him with its award
for the most outstanding sportsmanship in Virginia's small
colleges. He was runner-up for the small college player of
the year in Virginia. Last but not least, Lewis' own teammates
voted himt he most valuable player on the team in 1962.
In 1962, Lewis gained 1,669 yards on 407 carries (4.1
yards-per-rush) - which is remarkable since he made most of his
yardage by pounding away at the center of the opponents'
line. In addition, Lewis scored 42 points during the 1962
campaign. Lewis also did most of the Tiger punting, as he
kicked 117 times for a 36.4 punting average. His overall
point total for four years was 144 points.
Dr. Gilman Z. Simms '30
Head Athletic Trainer,
1973-1982
Gil Simms' association with Hampden-Sydney College began over 60
years ago as a student. He attended H-SC from 1926 through
1928, playing basketball and participating in track.
While playing basketball at H-SC, Simms played for Charles
"Yank" Bernier. In track, he competed in the high jump and
pole-vault. His vault of 12 feet was a Virginia Conference
record.
After attending the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) for a
year, accepting a one-year basketball scholarship to West Virginia
Tech, and earning a dental degree from the University of
Louisville, Gil returned to his hometown of Charleston, WV, to
practice dentistry. There, Gil found time to single-handedly
recruit countless young men as students for the College, often
bringing them and their parents at his own expense to visit the
campus.
Gil returned to the College in 1973 as head athletic
trainer. His outstanding contributions showed that behind
every great athletic program is a great trainer: from football
practice in late August through the last baseball game of the
spring, his loyalty, friendship and dedication were evident.
Even today, Simms finds time to help the College in various
ways.
Gil has received many honors, including ODK honorary membership
(1962), Presidency of the Alumni Association (1963-64), 12th man
football award (1967), Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion (1967)
and the Alumni Citation (1981).
**All information listed is current as of
1989.
