Hampden-Sydney College and the Athletics Hall of Fame will
induct its 17th class on Saturday, October 30, 2004, at
11 am in Gammon Gymnasium. The Class of 2004 includes former Tiger
greats from four different decades, along with the all-time
winningest basketball coach and the creator of the basketball
program at Hampden-Sydney. Jack Harrington was an
outstanding football player from 1956 through 1960, while
William R. Miller was a member of the Tiger
wrestling and football teams from 1963 through 1967.Jody
Williams was a member of baseball and football teams at
Hampden-Sydney during the late eighties, while Cetric
Gayles and Thacher Worthen starred on the
football field and lacrosse and water polo venues during the early
nineties. Special citations will be issued to Tony
Shaver, who led the Tiger basketball team to 358
victories, eight ODAC championships and two Final Fours in 17
seasons at the helm, and Henry Tucker Graham,
College president from 1909 through 1917, who founded the
basketball program.
Jack Harrington, Football,
1956-60
Harrington lettered in football four years for the Tigers from
1956-60. A two-time All-American, Harrington earned the honors in
both 1958 and 1959. He was a local talent from Farmville, VA, and
was an All-Mason Dixon guard in 1958 and All Little Eight guard in
1959. Harrington also started at guard for the 1957 Tiger team that
finished 8-1 and won the Mason Dixon Championship. Harrington is a
retired vice president of Bank of America. He is a native of
Farmville, VA, and he and his wife, Frankie, currently reside in
Raleigh, NC.
William R. Miller, Wrestling,
Football, 1963-67
Miller transferred to Hampden-Sydney from Virginia Tech in
1964. Because of existing NCAA rules, he was ineligible to wrestle
or play football for a year. He started as a defensive
lineman during both the 1965 and 1966 football campaigns winning
the Coach’s Award his senior year. While a fine
football player, he was the most successful wrestler in the history
of the College. Miller was a two-time (1966, 1967) All-Mason-Dixon
Conference Champion at 180 pounds. He was undefeated in dual
meets and conference tournaments during both seasons and in
’67 did not allow any points to be scored against him until
the tournament finals when he gave up two points to an opponent he
eventually pinned. After being named Outstanding Wrestler of the
Tournament, Bill advanced to the NCAA College Division Wrestling
Championships and finished in sixth place, losing a close match to
the eventual national champion. He is the only Hampden-Sydney
wrestler ever to place in the NCAA Tournament. Miller is the
president of Miller Enterprises which operates the Duck-In
Restaurant in Virginia Beach, VA. He and his wife, Stuart, reside
in Virginia Beach with their three children, Amy, Kate and Will, a
member of the Hampden-Sydney Class of 1998.
Jody Williams, Baseball,
Football, 1984-87
A good hitting shortstop for the Tigers, Williams earned First
Team All-ODAC honors in 1987. He owns the all-time Hampden-Sydney
record for stolen bases in a career (53) and owns the top two marks
for stolen bases in a single season, 24 (1985) and 23 (1986). In
1986, he set then H-SC single-season marks for at bats (131), hits
(56), runs (51) and doubles (14). Williams rates third all-time
with a .371 career batting average, fifth with a .539 slugging
percentage, first with 53 stolen bases, seventh with 49 walks and
second with 105 runs. He was also a kick returner and receiver for
the Tiger football team. Ranked fourth in the country as a junior
with 26.0 yards-per-return average as a kick returner. He caught 23
passes for 424 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. Williams is
currently a loan officer for United Mortgage and he resides in
Virginia Beach.
Cetric Gayles, Football,
1990-93
Gayles is the fourth all-time leading rusher in H-SC
football history behind Jimmy Ferguson, David Kelly and CW Clemmons
with 2,639 yards. He is the only player in H-SC history with more
than 2,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. Gayles ranks
second on the all-time career rushing touchdowns (31) list and
ranks third all-time with 228 points scored, while his 102 points
scored in 1993 is the third-best single season effort all-time. He
was named First Team All-ODAC in 1991 as he rushed for 706 yards
and eight TDs on 94 carries (7.5 ypc) and also caught 18 passes for
241 yards and one TD. Overall for his career, he rushed for 2,639
yards on 431 carries for a 6.1 yards-per-carry average, while he
also caught 75 passes for 1,346 yards. Gayles and his wife,
Melissa, reside in Farmville where he works for Wachovia Bank.
Thacher Worthen, Water
Polo, Lacrosse, 1990-93
Worthen earned All-America and Southern Conference
Co-Player of the Year in water polo in 1993. He led the Southern
Conference in goals despite the fact the Tiger team finished 1-16
in conference competition, which included scholarship programs like
Richmond, Arkansas and Dayton, along with non-scholarship
Washington and Lee. Worthen played “hole man” which was
toughest position to play in water polo as the center of the
offense. A four-year starter as a defenseman in lacrosse, he earned
USILA Honorable Mention All-America honors and All-ODAC honors in
1993. His forte was “full-field transition” as he was
virtually impossible to stop. He once single-handedly cleared the
ball through defending national champion Princeton’s
“ride” or press nine times. Worthen went on to receive
his MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is now a Corporate Director
of Marketing for Coca-Cola, Inc., in Birmingham, Alabama.
SPECIAL
CITATIONS
Tony Shaver, Head
Basketball Coach, 1986-2003
All-time winningest basketball coach in Hampden-Sydney
College history. Shaver engineered the Tiger program to the heights
of national prominence from the late ’80’s through the
’90s and into the new millennium. He coached the Tigers to
eight Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships, 11 NCAA
Tournament appearances and two Final Fours during his 17-year
career. His 358 victories and .747 lifetime winning percentage both
rank atop the all-time lists in the 96-year history of
Hampden-Sydney College basketball. He is now the head coach at the
College of William and Mary. He and his wife, Ann, and youngest
son, Jackson, reside in Williamsburg, while his oldest son, Chris,
is a pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. Middle son,
Austin, is a sophomore at the University of Virginia.
Henry Tucker Graham, College
President, 1909-1917
Dr. Graham, himself a star athlete during his student days
at the College, was a great believer in the value of athletics in
in the nurture of young men: "Clean athletics," he said, "should be
encouraged and approved, and are distinctly helpful to the
physical, moral and intellectual manhood of the students." As
a student-athlete, Graham pitched in Hampden-Sydney's first-ever
intercollegiate baseball game. As President, he spearheaded
the College's efforts to start the basketball program, which played
its first game in 1909. Dr. Graham instituted major
renovations on campus; among the most important, finished in 1916,
was the College's first real gymnasium, which is now the rear of
Graham Hall.
Hampden-Sydney Athletics Hall of Fame
The Hampden-Sydney Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 1988 and
is designed to honor men who have made outstanding contributions to
Hampden-Sydney athletics and have helped bring recognition, honor,
excellence and distinction to the College and its intercollegiate
athletics program. Members are selected annually by the Hall of
Fame Committee from nominations submitted by alumni and friends of
the College.
