Posted: Mar 05, 2012

TJC Inducts Seven Into Sports Circle of Honor

Tyler Junior College inducted seven new members into its Sports Circle of Honor before a packed house on Saturday at Gentry Gym inside the Ornelas Heath & Physical Education Center.

The 2012 Class includes:

Jimmy Edelen (1952-54) - basketball;

Wayne Hill (1954-55) - football;

Vern Lewis (1964-66) - basketball;

Randy Mattingley (1974-76) - tennis;

Donnie Murphy (1958-59) - football;

Charlotte Reescano (1982-84) - basketball;

Gene Staples (1959-61) - football.

Dr. L. Michael Metke, president of the college, and Dr. Tim Drain, athletic director, presented each inductee with a gold jacket, a certificate and plaque. Bill Coates, KTBB and ESPN East Texas Sports Director, served as master of ceremonies.

Jimmy Edelen, Basketball

Edelen, who passed away in 2001, was represented by his son, Jimmy. Coates said Edelen averaged more than 30 points a game and "that was before the 3-point line."

Coates also noted Edelen played in pain. He had a shoulder problem and it would occasionally pop out. Legendary coach Floyd Wagstaff would call timeout and pop it back into place.

Edelen turned down scholarship offers from Kentucky and Texas A&M to attend TJC. He later played for Centenary.

Wayne Hill, Football

Hill, who both played and coached at TJC, had close to 70 friends and family in attendance.

"God blessed me that I got to play for coach Wagstaff and attend Tyler Junior College," he said.

He thought so much of coach Wagstaff that he turned down offers from Rice, Arizona and West Point to go to TJC. He played from 1952-54 (redshirted one season after injuring his knee).

His grandsons, Preston and Josh, played at Robert E. Lee High School and helped the Red Raiders win the 2004 Class 5A Division I state championship.

Hill later played at Tulsa before returning to TJC to coach for eight years with head coach Billy Wayne Andrews.

Vern Lewis, Basketball

Lewis is from a basketball family, son of University of Houston coaching legend Guy V. Lewis.

"In 1964, I was playing against college guys at the University of Houston and a man came over to me and asked where I was going to college and I told him TCU," Lewis said.

The man happened to be coach Wagstaff.

"He said 'I want to ask you two things - No. 1, do you like to score a lot of points; and No. 2, do you like pretty girls?'"

Of course, Lewis said yes to both. Lewis said he visited TJC and "Coach Wagstaff had four of the prettiest Apache Belles waiting to show me around campus."

He was co-captain of the Apaches' "Iron 8" squad in 1966 that finished seventh in the nation. Lewis later played for his father at UH and played in the famous "Game of the Century" against UCLA at the Astrodome. He played in two Final Fours (1967, 1968) and set an NCAA record for most assists in a Final Four game with 14.

Randy Mattingley, Tennis

Teammate and former TJC tennis coach and current Arkansas coach Robert Cox introduced Mattingley as "the guy your mom told you not to play with, but did anyway."

He noted how coach Fred Kniffen was building the tennis program at TJC and Mattingley was a key player who got tennis on the map at TJC. The school now has close to 30 men's and women's national tennis championships. Cox also noted the impact of John Peterson, who retired in the fall as tennis coach.

Mattingley said he had a number of significant dates in his life, Feb. 15, 1971, when he was urged to take up tennis at Big Spring High School; June 8, 1974, when his Big Spring coach Novice Kniffen suggested he visit TJC and talk with his brother, Fred. Mattingley had offers to such schools as Texas Tech, but thought TJC was the right place. He met future teammate and lifelong friend Cox; Aug. 4, 2000, when he got married; Dec. 12, 2008, when he won a tennis match but had a heart attack (he added don't waste a day and spend time with family and friends); and March 3, 2012, the day he was inducted into the Circle of Honor.

He played No. 1 for the Apaches and helped them to fifth place, their first national trophy Mattingley later played at Houston Baptist.

Donnie Murphy, Football

He followed his older brothers, Jimmy and Jack, to TJC. Both of his brothers are also in the Circle of Honor.

The Chapel Hill High School graduate said he and his brothers would ride to Tyler on their bikes (made of spare parts) and sneak into the TJC football and basketball games.

He said his mother urged the boys to play for coach Wagstaff, although he said his brother Pat got away and played for Kilgore College.

Murphy and the Apaches played Boise Junior College (now Boise State) in the 1958 national championship game.

He lettered both years at both offense and defensive lines.

Charlotte Reescano, Basketball

After leading her high school team to a state championship, she signed with Louisiana Tech. She said God told her LaTech was not the place for her.

She said her high school coach got in contact with then-Apache Ladies coach Herb Richardson, who showed up and recruited her to TJC. She helped TJC to a No. 2 national ranking and was first-team All-America in 1983-84. Also, Reescano led the Apache Ladies to two national tournaments.

Reescano thanked God, her high school coach, coach Richardson and former TJC coach George Cox.

Reescano said she dedicated her life to coaching and teaching.

Gene Staples, Football

Staples said he was the first Lindale High School graduate to play for coach Wagstaff and now he was the Lindale High School graduate in the Circle of Honor.

He was part of the 1960 Junior Rose Bowl team. He had dreamed of playing for coach Wagstaff. First he went to the Marines to gain weight before returning to TJC.

He later played at Trinity University and once caught six passes for 100 yards against Texas A&M.

TJC football coach Danny Palmer gave the invocation. He also asked the crowd for a moment of silence to recognize the passing of Circle of Honor members - basketball player Rosie Smart and coach Babe Hallmark.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held for inductees, their guests and members of the TJC Alumni Association. The reception was inside the Floyd Wagstaff Museum, located inside Wagstaff Gymnasium.

At halftime of the TJC and Lamar State-Port Arthur game, the inductees were introduced to the fans.

The Circle of Honor was established in 1995 to honor former TJC student-athletes, coaches and special contributors to the athletic program who have excelled in athletics and made an impact on the lives of others.

Previous inductees into the Circle of Honor are: Floyd Wagstaff, football and basketball coach and athletic director; Brady P. Gentry, special contributor; James "Babe" Hallmark, football player and football coach; Charlie McGinty, football player and football coach; Billy Jack Doggett, basketball player and athletic director; Roy Thomas, basketball player and coach; Lee Ann Riley, basketball player and coach; Fred Kniffen, tennis coach; Robert Cox, tennis player and coach; Harry Bostic, Kelly Chapman, Herbert Richardson, O'Neal Weaver, James "Poo" Welch, Bonnie Buchanan Gray, Russell Boone, Janice Mulford, V.C. "Buck" Overall, Jose Palafox, Foster Bullock, Van Samford, Milton Williams, Jesse Marshall, Robert Pack, Johnny Johnston, Jana Crosby Russell, Bryan Miller, Ardie D. Dixon, C.L. Nix, Evelyn Joe Troell Newman, David Rodriguez, Jack Sweeny, Scotti Wood, Rosie Aldridge Smart, Acker Hanks, Burl Plunkett and Sommy Sawyer, basketball; Bill "Tiger" Johnson, David Lunceford, Jimmy Murphy, Mack Pogue, Jimmy Dickey, Leon Fuller, Bill Herchman, John Linney, Dan Page, Lawrence Strickland, Dwain Bean, Kenneth Bahnsen, Kenneth Coffey, Jack Murphy, Raymond McGallion, Gene Shannon, Charles Quilter, Royce Townsend, Earl Dotson, Jim Wright, Lloyd L. Pate, Robert "Bob" Price, Richard Farris, Robert Talkington, Aubrey Schulz and Bobby Page, football; and Dessie M. Samuels and Judy Kniffen Clardy, tennis.