2019 CLASS ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY
Bob Stoops, Will Shields and Patty Gasso are among seven people who will be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 19.
Bob Stoops and Will Shields highlight the 2019 induction class of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Also inducted will be baseball stars Mike Moore and Mickey Tettleton, Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kendall Cross, OU softball coach Patty Gasso and two-time Final Four basketball coach Lou Henson.
Stoops coached Sooner football for 18 seasons. Shields, from Lawton High School, was a star at Nebraska and with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The seven-person class will be formally introduced at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame quarterly leadership luncheon Feb. 19 at the Jeaneen and Bob Naifeh Family & Bud Wilkinson Event Center, 4040 N Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City. Here is the class:
Kendall Cross
The Mustang High School graduate was a three-time wrestling all-American at OSU, where he won the 1989 NCAA championship. Cross was a successful freestyle wrestler; he was named the outstanding wrestler at the 1992 and 1995 U.S. Nationals. Cross finished sixth in the 1992 Olympics at Barcelona, then won Olympic gold in 1996 in Atlanta at 125.5 pounds. Cross currently serves as director of Kendall Cross Wrestling Camps and as a head coach at the New York City Regional Training Center. Gasso has coached OU softball to four NCAA championships. Gasso grew up in California, played at Long Beach State and was the head coach at Long Beach City College when OU hired her in 1995. In 24 seasons, Gasso's teams have compiled a record of 1,203327-2. Only three programs (OU, UCLA and Arizona) have won more than two Women's College World Series titles. The Sooners have reached the WCWS 12 times in Gasso's 24 years.
Lou Henson
Henson was born and raised in the eastern Oklahoma town of Okay. He became a college basketball icon, coaching both New Mexico State (1970) and Illinois (1989) to the Final Four. Henson attended Connors Junior College before transferring to New Mexico State. He coached at Las Cruces (N.M.) High School, then at Hardin-Simmons University, where he integrated the basketball program. Henson coached at New Mexico State from 1966-75, then spent 21 seasons at Illinois, where his 423 victories are a school record. Henson returned to New Mexico State for eight more seasons and retired with a collegiate record of 779-412 over 41 seasons. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Mike Moore
Moore grew up in Eakly, was an all-American pitcher at Oral Roberts University in 1981 and became the first overall pick in the 1981 baseball draft. Moore pitched 14 major-league seasons, compiling a record of 161-176. He was a mainstay of the Oakland Athletics' great teams in 1989-92, going 66-46 in those four seasons. Moore won two games in the 1989 World Series.
Will Shields
Shields is one of the greatest linemen in state football history. He led Lawton High School to the 1987 state championship, then made all-American at Nebraska and won the 1992 Outland Trophy, given to the top interior lineman in the nation. Shields was a third-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and started at left guard in his first NFL game. He moved to right guard the next week and started every game the rest of his 14-year career, 1993-2006. Shields made 12 straight Pro Bowls and was a three-time first-team all-pro. Shields was picked as a lineman on the all-decade team of the 1990s. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Shields currently operates 68 Inside Sports, a gymnasium and sports facility in Overland Park, Kansas.
Bob Stoops
Stoops retired in June 2017 after 18 seasons in which he led the Sooners to 10 Big 12 titles, the 2000 national championship and an overall record of 190-48. Stoops was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He played safety at Iowa, then began a coaching career that accelerated with defensive coordinator posts at Kansas State and Florida. In the latter position, the Gators won the 1996 national championship and Stoops soared to the top of the list of hot coaching prospects. In December 1998, OU won that derby and Stoop was an immediate and long-term success.
Mickey Tettleton
Tettleton is a graduate of Oklahoma City's Southeast High School, then went to OSU and led the Cowboys to the 1981 College World Series. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fifth round of the 1981 baseball draft and spent 14 years in the major leagues, primarily as a catcher, hitting 245 home runs for the Athletics, Orioles, Tigers and Rangers. Tettleton made the 1989 all-star game, during a season in which he hit .268 with 21 doubles, 26 home runs and 85 RBIs for Baltimore. Tettleton hit at least 30 home runs in three straight seasons for Detroit, 199193. He thrice was awarded the Silver Slugger Award as the top hitter at his position.