TEXAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME NAMES ITS 2016 SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Ceremony to be held on Monday, September 26, 2016
WACO, TX – June 29, 2016 – The Texas Sports Hall of Fame (TSHOF) is proud to announce the induction of nine new members into its 2016 Southwest Conference Hall of Fame class. The 2016 class will honor Joe Kleine (Arkansas), Roger Goree (Baylor), Doug Drabek (Houston), Valerie (Tulloch) Cramer (Rice), Janet Ely (SMU), Travis Mays (Texas), Dave Elmendorf (Texas A&M), Mike Renfro (TCU) and Del Ray Mounts (Texas Tech), at a ceremony on Monday, September 26, 2016.
Sponsored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Southwest Conference (SWC) Hall of Fame induction ceremony and luncheon will be held at the historic Hilton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel at 11:30 AM.
"We have another outstanding group of players who exemplify what made the Southwest Conference so great: They were tough, hard-working and represented their schools with pride," said Jared Mosley, the President/CEO of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. "The Southwest Conference Hall of Fame exists because sports in the southwest is legendary, and it's legendary because of athletes like these."
The Southwest Conference Hall of Fame is one of four separate halls of fame housed within the Texas Sports Hall of Fame’s physical structure. They include the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and now, the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.
Southwest Conference Hall of Fame 2016 Class of Inductees:
Arkansas – Joe Kleine
Kleine, a 6-11 center, graduated from Slater High School in Slater, Missouri and originally enrolled to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame. Following his freshman season, he transferred to the University of Arkansas. He was named the 1982-83 Southwest Conference Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore. As a junior, his scoring average of 18.2 points per game was better than that of conference foe Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. As a senior, Kleine averaged 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He finished with 1,753 career points at Arkansas.
Kleine helped lead the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16 in 1983, into the Top 10 in 1984 and to a win over Iowa that was followed by a narrow loss to St. John’s in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. Kleine was a two-time All-Southwest Conference pick and earned a spot on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, which won a gold medal in Los Angeles. That 1984 team was coached by Bobby Knight. Kleine’s teammates included Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Steve Alford.
Baylor – Roger Goree
Goree was a defensive lineman for the Baylor Bears from 1970-1972. His outstanding career saw him recognized as one of the best in the Southwest Conference earning Consensus All-Southwest Conference honors in 1971 and 1972. He also earned All-America honors for the 1972 campaign in which he lead Baylor . Following his career at Baylor, Goree played linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1973-1980 and earned CFL All-Star honors in 1974, 1976, and was named to the CFL West All-Star team in 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1977.
Houston – Doug Drabek
Drabek was born in Victoria, Texas. He attended St. Joseph High School in Victoria, where he played football and baseball. Drabek was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 4th round of the June 1980 MLB Draft, but did not sign. He then attended the University of Houston and played three seasons for the Cougars baseball team. As a Cougar from 1981-83, Drabek holds the record for Cougar wins in a career with 27 and is also second on the all-time record list for wins in a season with 12 in 1983 and holds the second-best winning percentage in a season with .800 (12-3), also in 1983. Drabek also threw the third no-hitter in UH history in the midst of that memorable season.In his three-year career with the Cougars, Drabek posted six shutouts and compiled 268 innings of work. Drabek was honored in November 1996 when the Cougar baseball program retired his jersey. The number 16 he wore while at UH currently resides on the wall in right field at Cougar Field. Following his Junior year, Drabek was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 11th round of the June 1983 MLB Draft and signed on June 11. In the 1990 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Drabek led the National League in wins en route to earning the NL Cy Young Award. He was also selected as an All-Star in 1994 while with the Houston Astros.
Rice – Valerie Tulloch Cramer
Tulloch was one of the most decorated track and field athletes in Rice University history during her career from 1992-1995. She was a four-time Southwest Conference javelin champion and a three-time NCAA Outdoor javelin champion. She earned all-America honors in each of her fours years at Rice, and holds the Canadian, Rice and Southwest Conference records with a throw of 198-9 on March 19, 1995 at the Pan American Games where she earned a bronze medal. She won the NCAA javelin title in 1992 and was the only SWC athlete – male or female- to capture an individual championship. She was the first ever collegian to win three women’s javelin titles at any division level. She was a four-time NCAA Outdoor Track and Field all-America selection from 1992-1995.
SMU – Janet Ely
Ely was a diver for the Mustangs from 1978-80. In 1979, Ely won the AIAW Championship on both the 1 and 3 meter, and earned All-America honors. She became the first female from SMU to represent the United States at the 1972 Olympic Games in München, taking fourth in both the springboard and platform events. Following her tenure at SMU, Ely had an impressive career which included both championships and world records. She took gold in the 10m platform at the World Championships, competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal in platform, and won the World Diving Championships in 1978. Ely is one of SMU’s most decorated divers to this day.
Texas – Travis Mays
Mays made his mark on the program as a dynamic guard from 1986-90 and remains one of the most electrifying players in UT history. A 2002 inductee into UT's Men's Athletics Hall of Fame, Mays is still No. 2 among the Longhorns' career scoring leaders with 2,279 points and was the first player to earn back-to-back Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors in 1989 and 1990. As a senior, Mays was a second-team Associated Press All-America selection. He averaged 24.1 points per game and led Texas to the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. Included in that NCAA run was a 44-point outburst against Georgia in the first round that still ranks 14th-most all time in "March Madness" history. His 23 free throws made and 27 attempts at the line versus the Bulldogs remain NCAA Tournament records.
Mays was drafted by Sacramento with the No. 14 overall pick in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft and was a second-team All-Rookie selection after averaging 14.3 ppg.
Texas A&M – Dave Elmendorf
A native of Houston, Texas, Dave was a star football running back and baseball player. He was a 1971 graduate of Texas A&M and was a 1970 All-America selection in football as a safety, kick returner and occasional tailback, and was a two time all-American center fielder on the baseball team. Elmendorf was named All-Southwest Conference in 1969 and 1970. He also was named Academic All-America and won a graduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation. In 1971, he was drafted to play baseball by the New York Yankees but chose to play football for the Los Angeles Rams. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1971 NFL Draft, earning All-rookie honors his first season. In his nine NFL seasons Elmendorf played in 130 games, starting all 130, and intercepted 27 passes and recovering 10 fumbles. After the NFL he became a broadcaster on radio and TV and serves as the color commentator for the Texas A&M football radio broadcasts as well as being involved in other business enterprises. In 1997 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
TCU – Mike Renfro
Renfro attended Arlington Heights High School, before moving on to Texas Christian University.
He graduated from college as the All-time leading pass receiver in school and Southwest Conference history, with 2,739 receiving yards. He also left as the school's career leader in receiving touchdowns (17) and career receptions (162). Renfro’s play led to three All-SWC selections in 1975, 1976 and 1977. He was also a 2nd team All-America selection in 1977 and went on to play 10 years in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys.
Texas Tech – Del Ray Mounts
An all-state selection at Perryton, Mounts turned down scholarship offers at smaller colleges for the chance to walk on at Texas Tech. Mounts cracked the starting lineup as a sophomore and went on to lead the SWC in scoring with an average of 18.9 points per game, sparking a late-season surge that saw the Red Raiders finish in a fourth-place tie in the SWC with a 7-7 mark. That merely set the table for the next two seasons, when Mounts would be an integral part of Tech teams that made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a junior during the 1960-61 campaign, he averaged 19.9 points per game (third in the SWC) as Tech finished 15-8 before dropping NCAA tourney decisions to Cincinnati and Houston in Lawrence, Kan. A year later, Mounts contributed 16.9 points per game as the Raiders compiled an 18-6 mark that included an NCAA tourney victory against Air Force. The year ended with NCAA losses to Colorado and Creighton, but Mounts was tabbed to the all-tourney team. Mounts wound up a two-time all-SWC selection, a two-time all-district choice and twice was named to the UPI's ''Small Man's'' all-America team (first-team as a junior; second-team as a senior). He scored 1,346 points during his Tech career, ranking him 13th in school history.
Media interviews with the inductees will be available both before and after the luncheon. To reserve event tickets or access sponsorship information, please visit www.tshof.org/buy-tickets or call the Texas Sports Hall of Fame at 800-567-9561.
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