Diverse inductees represent breadth of eras, sports

An All-Southwest Conference quarterback who led Arkansas to one of college football’s biggest upsets, an All-American point guard for the Arkansas women’s team when it made its lone NCAA Final Four appearance, and one of the state’s most decorated amateur golfers will be among 12 inductees in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2015.

The class will be welcomed into the hall during its 57th induction ceremony Feb. 27 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

The 2015 class will consist of six inductees from the regular category, three inductees from the senior category and three inductees from the posthumous category.

Honorees will include former University of Arkansas basketball player Pat Bradley, former UA football player Ron Calcagni, Dallas Cowboys Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones, U.S. Senior Amateur golf champion Stan Lee, Cabot football Coach Mike Malham Jr. and former Arkansas women’s basketball player and current Razorbacks assistant coach Christy Smith.

Senior category inductees include former high school and college football coach Dwight Adams, former AllAIC football player and sports administrator Eldon Hawkey and professional golf caddie Carl Jackson.

Posthumous inductees are former All-AIC basketball standout Leon Clements, 1955 U.S. Open golf champion Jack Fleck, and former Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Bowden Wyatt.

Bradley, a native of Everett, Mass., was a four-year letterman for the Razorbacks, earning All-SEC honors in 1998 and 1999. He ranks first in career three-point attempts (915) and made three-pointers (366) for the Razorbacks. Bradley led the Razorbacks in scoring average in 1997, 1998, and 1999 and is fifth in career points at Arkansas (1,765).

Calcagni is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and had a career record of 23-4-2 as the starting quarterback for the Razorbacks. As a junior in 1977, he had 1,693 yards of total offense and was named All-SWC. He led the Razorbacks to 11 victories and a 31-6 victory over heavily favored and No.2-ranked Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl.

Jones was an all-state quarterback at Little Rock Catholic before earning four letters for the Razorbacks. In 1989, he was named vice president of the Dallas Cowboys and has played an integral role in the team winning three Super Bowls since. He oversaw the building of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Cowboys and currently serves as the team’s chief operating officer.

Lee has won 10 state amateur golf titles with his last coming in 2013 at the ASGA Match Play Championship. He was the ASGA Player of the Year in 1978 and the ASGA Senior Player of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2011. His biggest victory came in 2007 when he won the U.S. Senior Amateur championship in Andover, Kan.

Malham, the Cabot coach since 1981, has the third-most victories (274) by an Arkansas high school football coach, trailing Frank McClellan (367) and Tommy Tice (285). He is Arkansas State’s fourth all-time leading tackler, was named All-Southland Conference twice as a linebacker and was named to the conference’s Team of the Decade for the 1970s.

Smith was an honorable mention All-American all four years (1995-98) she played for the Arkansas women’s basketball team and an All-SEC first-team selection once. As a senior, Smith helped lead the Razorbacks to their only Final Four appearance in 1998 and was drafted No. 17 overall by the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting the same year.

Adams was a standout in football and track and field at Henderson State before becoming a successful high school football coach. He then coached at The Citadel, Clemson and Florida. Later he served from 1990-2003 in the front office of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, including a stint as vice president of player personnel.

Hawley lettered in four sports at Forrest City High School before attending Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) where he lettered in football and was named All-AIC his senior year. He held administrative positions at Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Auburn and is a member of the Forrest City and Central Arkansas halls of fame.

Jackson became a caddie at Augusta National after dropping out of school at the age of 13. He was on the bag for Ben Crenshaw’s Masters victories in 1984 and 1995 and has served as the caddie master at The Alotian Club since 2004.

Clements was a three-time All-AIC selection in basketball at Ouachita Baptist. He was an NAIA All-American his senior season (1965) after the Tigers made it to the national tournament final. He is a member of the NAIA and OBU halls of fame.

Fleck defeated the legendary Ben Hogan in the 1955 U.S. Open, widely considered as one of the greatest upsets in golfing history. Fleck won two more titles — the Phoenix Open and Bakersfield Open — on the PGA Tour and won the Senior Tour championship in 1979. He finished third in the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills behind Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Wyatt was coach of the Razorbacks football team for two years, earning SWC Coach of the Year honors in 1954 after leading the “25 Little Pigs” to an 8-3 record and the conference title. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972 as a player and in 1997 as a coach.