Class of 2021 honored at induction banquet
History celebrated as 57 new members are officially added
As Larry Smiley stood outside the Houston ballroom at the Marriott South hotel late Saturday morning, he felt the emotions flooding through him.
He and 56 others were being inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. It was a special day for the Texas Southern alumnus and former NFL player.
“I see the people who made it possible for me,” Smiley said with tears in his eyes. “It means a lot just to hear my name called among these players who are left. It makes me feel like I accomplished something. It’s not about the glory for me; it’s all about the history.”
History was on full display outside the ballroom as several tables were filled with artifacts, the majority from the years before desegregation. The PVIL was the governing body for academics, athletics and music for Black high schools from 1920-70. The coaches association has fought to preserve that history and honor its legends. Hundreds of individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1980.
The 42nd annual banquet held Saturday was a celebration of the newest members. The PVILCA was unable to hold the event last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s almost like church,” said Houstonian Robert Brown, the PVILCA chairman of the board. “When you go to church, you sit and listen to the preacher, and then you go outside for about 20 minutes and talk to your friends that you haven’t seen all week or all month. This is an event, and it brings the best out because the athletes know that this is something special for them.”
The sport most represented was football. Those inductees included Lawrence Butler, Willard Butler, Goldman Butler, Cleophis Canton, Theodore Davis, Charles Floyd, Simpson Douglas, Leonard Garrett, Henry Glenn, James Hill, Andrew Hobbs, Charles Jones, Ralph Limbrick, Clyde Mitchell, Leroy Mitchell, Alvin Moore, Billy Pierce, John Shaw, Clenon Williams and Kenneth Wilson.
“I’m so excited that I got nominated and selected to be amongst so many talented Black men, women and coaches,” said Limbrick, who graduated from Kashmere High School in Houston before playing at Texas Southern and serving in the Texas National Guard. “I feel like a little kid in a candy store.”
Basketball inductees included Augustus Allen, Lou Ella Baug, Bessie Alexander-Goodwin, George Hadnot, Wilson Smith, Mary Ann Simmons-Williams and Eliza Ruth York.
Baseball inductees included Willie Breedlove, Esse Sandles, Noel Wilson and David Young. Track was represented by Hester Amie, Leroy Brown, Tommy Davis and Ronnie Ford. Tennis inductees were Brenda Egby-Rogers and Gary Sumlin. Annie Ford was honored for cheerleading.
PVIL coach inductees included Carnell Deason, Weldon Drew, George Stafford, Allie Thomas and Ozzie Wilson. Luther Thompson and Kenneth Williams were the Meritorious Award recipients.
Anthony Burns Jr., a 2021 graduate of La Vega High School in Waco, was recoginized as the PVILCA Student-Athlete of the Year. His family has a rich football tradition, and he will continue his own career on the gridiron at Northwestern State University in Louisiana.
Darrell Green, Isiah Brown, Dolee Dirden, Reginald Garrett, Kenneth Humphrey, Douglas Mason, James Montgomery, Lester Patton, Smiley, Jessie White and Wade Williams were recognized with the PVIL-UIL Bridging the Gap honor.
Green is a Pro Football Hall of Famer who attended Jesse H. Jones High School in Houston. He continued on to an illustrious football and track career at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Green, a cornerback, was a first-round draft pick of the Washington Football Team
in 1983 and won two Super Bowls. He was a four-time All-Pro selection, a seven-time Pro Bowler and the 1996 Walter Payton Man of the Year.
“What’s in here, what’s in this organization — the stories, the realities — they are vital to a healthy society going forward,” Green said. “It’s about recognizing and honoring the past and presenting those things to the next generation. … I learned through this organization, through these individuals, through Mr. Brown, that these
guys didn’t have the opportunities that I had. So I’m humbled by that and honored by this. Not that they’re honoring me, but that I get to stand here as a small part of this history and story.”