Ladies are class’ act
Women outnumber men among new group of inductees for first time
The San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame picked a perfect year to select a class with more women than men for the first time in its nearly 30-year history.
Golfer Jimmy Walker and a record three women — volleyball’s Wanda Bingham, tennis’ Emilie Burrer Foster and track and field’s Rose Monday — are included in the five-member San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
When they are inducted on May 13, 2023 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, it will give the hall 124 men and 23 female members.
“With this being the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and me coming right after that and the opportunities I have had as a woman and as an athlete and a coach, I am thrilled to have three other women on this podium,” Monday, a former UTSA track coach best known for heading the U.S. women at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, said in a nod to the landmark gender equity law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Basketball’s Devin Brown rounds out the diverse class, which was announced at a news conference Tuesday at the Alamodome. The Hall includes four former UTSA coaches or administrators, but Brown is the first former Roadrunner athlete selected for induction.
“I tell you what, with the success they are having, there is going to be a lot more to follow in my footsteps,” he said. “If I can
be the godfather or whatever with that, I’m glad to do that. But I know there will be more coming.”
Walker’s career on the PGA Tour includes winning one major and membership on two Ryder Cup teams.
A San Antonio resident who also starred at New Braunfels Canyon and Baylor, Walker is a six-time tour winner best known for winning the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., by one shot over Jason Day. The winner of the 2015 Valero Texas Open capped the 2016 season by helping the U.S. win the Ryder Cup.
“San Antonio has got such a rich sports history — I love watching the Spurs play every night,” he said. “One of the highlights
of my career was being able to win the Valero in San Antonio, with my family and all my friends there. The support was overwhelming.”
Bingham ranks as one of Texas’ greatest high school volleyball coaches after winning two state championship in six state tournament appearances while guiding Churchill from 1973-95. During her 22 years at the helm, the Chargers went 605-148, including winning 69 matches in a row between 1984-86, the second-longest streak in state history.
Bingham ranked guiding her 1985 team to a 38-0 record en route to the state championship her most memorable achievement. Her first title came in 1978.
“It’s hard to keep kids’ confidence up, and you are everyone’s target when you are undefeated,” the Uvalde native said.
Foster is the only Trinity University tennis player to win four
national championships, which she accomplished when the Tigers were an NCAA Division I power. After winning consecutive singles and doubles titles in 1968-69 and enjoying a pro career, she coached Trinity’s women’s team from 1979-1990, guiding the Tigers to a 259-94 record and two appearances in the Division I finals.
Foster said winning her first NCAA singles crown ranks as one of her most memorable moments.
“It’s special because it was the first one, and I was so far behind in the match and came back to win,” she said.
Monday was the U.S. women’s middle and distance coach at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics before serving as Team USA’S head women’s coach in Tokyo. She is also known locally for revitalizing UTSA’S distance program in the 2000s after a successful running
career of her own that included qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 1984, 1988 and 1992.
“Being head coach in 2020 during a global pandemic was absolutely the pinnacle of my career,” Monday said.
Brown is one of just two UTSA products — Derrick Gervin, younger brother of Spurs icon George Gervin, being the other — to have reached the NBA and is the lone Roadrunner to have played for the Spurs. After starring at West Campus, he finished his UTSA career as the school’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,922 points.
“I have a 19-year-old son and now I can fight with him because (this proves) your dad was good, whether you believe it or not,” Brown said.
Brown is the first player to have his number retired by UTSA after leading the Roadrunners to their second NCAA Tour-*
nament appearance as a freshman and earning first-team Allsouthland Conference honors from 1998-2002.
Brown went on to play eight seasons in the NBA, including helping the Spurs win their third of five NBA championships in 2005.
“This isn’t about me, this is about kids from San Antonio who want to get to that level,” Brown said. “It can be done. You just have to stay on the right path.”
The San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame Tribute typically attracts more than 1,000 attendees, rolls out more than $500,000 worth of auction items and ranks as the largest annual fundraiser for San Antonio Sports. Proceeds from the event benefit the nonprofit’s programs for kids.