Update: Seven sports figures—including two former University of Texas at Austin Longhorns and a Central Texas native will be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame this evening.
The inductees will be at tonight's banquet at Baylor University's Ferrell Center in Waco.
Seven is the final count of inductees for the Class of 2012—originally, an eighth inductee was to be announced but plans apparently did not work out (see below).
Originally Posted Nov. 29, 7:58 a.m.
Updated Nov. 29, 12:41 p.m. to include quotes
An Austin native and two standout athletes at the University of Texas at Austin are among the latest inductees into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees led his team to the Super Bowl in 2010. He’s also been a part of six Pro Bowls. But long before that, Brees was a star at Westlake High School.
Another football player to make the Hall of Fame roster this year is Ricky Williams. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 as a running back for UT. He set dozens of school records and then went on to play in the NFL.
Texas Ex Catherine “Cat” Osterman is also being inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame this year. The Longhorns softball pitcher took the team to three NCAA softball world series and was a member of two Olympic softball teams.
"This is as outstanding a class as I've ever recalled and I've been here 15 years. But when put the names of Shaquille O'Neal and Drew Brees together along with greats like Walt Garrison and, certainly, you can't leave out Cat Osterman—one of the all-time greats—just her name will attract a crowd, that's for sure. And Ricky Williams—Heisman Trophy winner—it's a super, super deal," Steve Fallon, Texas Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director, says.
This year's other inductees are:
Walt Garrison: A Denton native who played football for Oklahoma State before going on to an NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Eddie Mathews: A Texarkana native who played major league baseball for 17 years for the Braves, Astros and Tigers.
Bobby Moegle: The third most winning high school baseball coach in the nation who spent 40 seasons at Lubbock Monterey High School. Moegle founded the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Shaquille O’Neal: Played high school basketball in San Antonio before moving onto college and then launching an NBA career. O'Neal was a part of four NBA championship teams.
One more inductee has yet to be announced. So what's up with that? Fallon says there's a kink in the plan at the moment but, if everything works out, it will be big.
“It’s going to be a monster is what it’s going to be if we get the yes," Fallon says. "Unfortunately, we actually announced almost a month later than we normally do. As you might imagine, getting eight individuals of this caliber to show up on the same night in Waco, Texas… it might be my hardest part of the job as executive director. We have one individual who has not cleared his schedule yet.”
Fallon says they hope to make the final announcement as soon as possible. If the person currently chosen can't participate, the next highest vote getter will be inducted instead.
All eight will be celebrated at a banquet in Waco in February.
