Denis F. Soden '68
Basketball
Denis Soden is regarded as one of the all-time great basketball
players in Hampden-Sydney history; he still ranks among the Tigers'
top-ten scorers, with 1,293 career points. A co-captain and
four-year letterman, Soden was a two-time All-Virginia Small
College selection. He was an excellent shooter, solid
rebounder, and standout defensive player. He was named team
MVP and was the leading rebounder for three straight years during
his career.
As a sophomore, Soden scored a season-high 27 points versus
Shepherd College, including the winning basketball at the
buzzer. During his senior campaign, he averaged 18.5
points-per-game.
An excellent student, Soden was on the Dean's List all four
years at Hampden-Sydney. In addition, he served as President
of the Student Body, Chairman of the Honor Council, and received
the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
He is now an attorney with Spinella, Owings and Shaia, P.C. in
Richmond, Virginia.
J. Gray Tuttle '76
Golf
A two-time All-American,
Tuttle was a member of the 1975 NCAA runner-up championship
team. "He was the most consistent of all my golfers during my
tenure as a coach," said Gus Franke, his former coach. Tuttle was a
co-medalist with Hampden-Sydney's Charlie Baskervill in the 1975
Virginia State Intercollegiate golf tournament. In 1973 and
1975, Tuttle was the individual medalist at the Mason-Dixon
Conference Championships, where Hampden-Sydney captured both
titles. He led the Tigers to the 1974 Virginia Collegiate
Athletic Association Championship and the 1975 Virginia Collegiate
Championship.
In addition to his
accomplishments at Hampden-Sydney, Tuttle participated in the 1974
and 1982 USGA Amateur Championships and the 1986 USGA Mid-Amateur
Championship.
Tuttle lives in Lansing,
Michigan, where he is a partner in Professional Consultants, Inc.,
a multi-service firm specializing in healthcare consulting and
business management.
Scott L. Moorhead '81
Football
One of the all-time great receivers in school history, Scott
Moorhead has etched his name in the record books on numerous
occasions. He still holds three school records: most career
catches (138), most catches in a season (54) and most career yards
(1,906). After catching 30 passes for 460 yards in his
sophomore year, Moorhead posted back-to-back seasons with at least
50 receptions, including a school-record 54 as a junior and 50 in
his senior campaign.
In 1979, he was a first team All-Virginia College selection for
Divisions I, II, and III. As a senior, he earned numerous
awards, including second team All-Virginia College, Associated
Press Little All-America, Sports Information Directors Division III
All-America, Richmond Touchdown Club Small College Offensive Player
of the Year, and ABC Sports MVP of the Hampden-Sydney-Salisbury
State game, broadcast nationally from Hampden-Sydney on September
20, 1980. A four-year letterman, Moorhead was named first
team All-ODAC in 1979 and 1980.
He was an economics major and a member of the Kappa Alpha
Order. He is currently President and Owner of Scott's Lawn
and Landscape, Inc, in Charlotte, NC.
H. Hiter Harris III '83
Football
Harris, who kicked the winning points in every Hampden-Sydney
victory in 1982, has the distinction of being the only kicker to
receive ODAC Player of the Year honors. He also earned second
team All-America honors in 1982, and was named Virginia State
College Player of the Year by the Norfolk Touchdown Club.
He is one of only six Hampden-Sydney football players to be
named an Academic All-American. A three-year letterman,
Harris was a member of the KA order and a mathematics major.
After his Tiger career, he had tryouts with the Dallas Cowboys,
Houston Oilers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Chicago Blitz of the
USFL.
Instead of pursuing a professional football career, he attended
Harvard Business School, graduating with distinction. He went
on to co-found the Richmond investment banking firm of Harris
Williams and Co., which specializes in mergers and
acquisitions.
SPECIAL CITATION
Robert J. Thalman
Thalman joined the Hampden-Sydney coaching staff in 1953 as an
assistant coach on Jim Hickey's football staff; he also served as
head track coach. In 1956, he was named athletic director and
head football coach, a post he held until the spring of 1960 when
he rejoined Hickey at the University of North Carolina.
In his first two years at the helm of the Tiger program, Thalman
directed the Tigers to two back-to-back Mason-Dixon Conference
Championships, in 1956 and 1957. The 1956 squad posted a 7-2
mark, including a 27-7 whipping of Randolph-Macon. The 1957
team followed suit, with an 8-1 season and 26-19 win over
Macon. His overall record was 26-9-1 (.736) which is the best
winning percentage of any Hampden-Sydney coach since 1900.
During his four years, Thalman coached eight All-Americans,
including current Hall of Famers Bill LeHew '57 and Billy Benson
'60.
**All information listed is current as of
1997.
