Jefferson County Sports HOF’s All-Time Greats revealed

Six athletes originally from Pine Bluff will be among the first inductees into the newly created Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame.

Monte Coleman, Rickey Henderson, Torii Hunter, Don Hutson, Willie Roaf and Basil Shabazz are considered the All-Time Greats and will formally be inducted April 26 at the Pine Bluff Country Club. The Greats were revealed during a news conference at the Main Library in downtown Pine Bluff on Wednesday.

A group of 12 to 15 Legends will be announced in January and the rest of the initial hall-of-fame class in February, according to Jeff Gross, JCSHOF chairman and former sports editor of the Pine Bluff News.

Coleman, who graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1975, played 16 seasons with the team now known as the Washington Commanders and played in four Super Bowls, winning three (1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons). He was selected in the 11th round of the 1979 NFL Draft from the University of Central Arkansas and went on to play in 216 games, the second-most in franchise history behind Darrell Green.

Coleman became an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and later head coach, guiding the Golden Lions to their only outright SWAC championship to date in 2012.

“I truly enjoyed working with Monte during his years as an assistant football coach and head coach for the UAPB Golden Lions,” said Carl Whimper, former sports information director at UAPB and JCSHOF committee member. “He was always a great leader of young men on and off the football field.”

Henderson is best known for his 25-year major-league career, mostly with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. He spent his early childhood in Pine Bluff and moved to California at age 7, before becoming baseball’s all-time leader in stolen bases (1,406) and considered the greatest leadoff hitter in history. Henderson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

“I had a chance to see Rickey play when I was scouting with the Texas Rangers, when he was playing with Oakland at Arlington Stadium,” Gross said. “He was halfway through his 24-year major league career and his ticket to Cooperstown pretty much was already punched.”

Hutson, a Pine Bluff native and PBHS graduate, is a charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. He was considered the league’s greatest player during his days with the Green Bay Packers (1935-45) and was ranked among the top 10 of the league’s all-time greats, according to an NFL Films production.

Hutson, who died in 1997 at age 84, was named to the NFL’s 50th, 75th and 100th anniversary teams. The former University of Alabama standout was named first-team All-Pro eight times, made the Pro Bowl four times and led the NFL in receptions eight times, receiving yards seven times and receiving touchdowns nine times.

Hunter was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft, shortly after his graduation from PBHS. He played 19 seasons in the major leagues, winning nine Gold Gloves, making the All-Star Game five times and winning the Silver Slugger award twice. Hunter hit 353 home runs and drove in 1,391 runs, batting .277 for his career.

“I’ve known Torii since he played Little League Baseball in Pine Bluff and lived about seven houses from me,” Gross said. “Torii made unbelievable catches in centerfield through his nine-time Gold Glove career. His catches were on highlight reels all over the country nightly during his season.”

Roaf was a first-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and played for the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs through 2005. The 1988 Pine Bluff High School graduate was a nine-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowler who played collegiately at Louisiana Tech University. Roaf was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

I.C. Murrell, senior reporter at the Pine Bluff Commercial and JCSHOF committee member, covered Roaf’s induction into the Pro Football Hall in Canton, Ohio, while serving as The Commercial’s sports editor.

“As important as championships are in the spirit of competition, I don’t think there is any greater reward for one’s career than to be called hall-of-famer,” Murrell said. “The peers decided a young Willie Roaf, raised by great servant leaders in Pine Bluff, gave his all and his best to the game of football and he was worthy enough to be honored with some 300 other select men who played the game in the heart of football, and I was honored to cover it firsthand.”

Shabazz was a four-sport All-American athlete at Pine Bluff High, graduating in 1991. He cemented his greatness on the football field with five rushing touchdowns in a state championship victory over Texarkana and was named Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year, both in his senior season.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Shabazz in the third round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He played five years in the minor leagues, made one all-star team and was ranked the No. 4 prospect in the Cardinals’ organization.

Shabazz returned to Pine Bluff in the late 1990s and played football at UAPB.

“There have been some outstanding athletes in the past 100 years in Arkansas, but none have been any better than Basil Shabazz,” Gross said. “Basil was great in baseball, basketball, football and track. He holds records from 30 years ago that still stand today.

“I remember when he tried out for the Texas Rangers when George W. Bush was part-owner. Basil ran a 6.28 in the 60-yard dash and Bush wanted us to repeat his time to him,” Gross added. “I remember Bush saying, whew that is the fastest I’ve ever seen.”

Jim Harris, managing editor for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and former Commercial sports editor, is also a member of the JCSHOF committee.

The JCSHOF will be in the Bill Carr Museum on the first floor of the Main Library. Sheri Storie, advertising and promotion director for the city of Pine Bluff, said she looks forward to helping promote the hall.

“I think we can certainly promote this as an attraction,” Storie said. “I think this will definitely add to our list of assets for visitors to see and learn about the incredible history that Pine Bluff and Jefferson County have.”

Former Dollarway High School principal and Pine Bluff School District administrator Guy Santucci attended Wednesday’s announcement and has been involved in many of the area’s historical sports moments during his career. Santucci harkened back to comments by Mayor Shirley Washington about the importance of sports helping young people stay busy.

“I go back to when I was at Dollarway High School, Coach (Lee) Hardman had those kids in church on Sunday morning and his house on Sunday afternoon, and we had them at nighttime during the summer,” Santucci said. “This could be the extension of that, and I think the kids of Jefferson County will buy into this.”