Bethune-Cookman University announced today (September 1, 2012) its 12-member 2012 Hall of Fame Class that will be honored during festivities on campus, and in the community, on Hall of Fame Weekend, September 21-22.
The class will be honored in conjunction with the dedication ceremonies of the Larry Handfield Athletic Training Center and the Hall of Fame Football Game between Bethune-Cookman University and Tennessee State University.
“We are honored to recognize twelve outstanding Wildcats whose lives and accomplishments have made a tremendous impact on our University, community and our conference,” said Dr. Edison O. Jackson, B-CU Interim President.
B-CU Director of Athletics Lynn W. Thompson worked closely with the selection committee and was truly impressed with the class.
“This dynamic dozen are twelve of the greatest student-athletes, coaches, supporters and administrators to have ever been a part of the history of our University,” Thompson said. “Throughout the rich history of the University, many others whose contributions and achievements merit the same consideration, and future classes will reflect their names. They all truly deserve this moment of honor and recognition for the work they have done.”
A limited number of reservations are available for the induction dinner scheduled for 7 p.m. in the President’s Banquet Center of the Michael and Libby Smith Center for Civic Engagement on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University. Seats can be reserved by calling the B-CU Athletic Office at 386-481-2215.
The Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes, coaches, university administrators as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the institution through intercollegiate athletics.
The honorees were selected by an 11-person committee made up from a cross-section of campus constituencies, alumni and boosters.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2000. Since its establishment, the Hall of Fame has enshrined 49 people, including the Class of 2012.
The 2012 B-CU Hall of Fame Inductees are as follows:
Inducted as a Student-Athletes:
Carl Fuller – Men’s Basketball: Along with Johnnie Allen, Fuller anchored perhaps the best basketball line-up in Bethune-Cookman history. He holds the school records for most points in a game (60), rebounds (40) and remains the all-time leading rebounder (1,685). He led the Wildcats to a 1968 SIAC tournament championship and then enjoyed a career in the American Basketball Association with the Miami Floridians.
Amber Jackson – Softball: Jackson guided the Lady Wildcats to three straight NCAA Regional appearances, including the 2005 Regional Championship squad that faced Texas in the Super-Regionals. She was named MEAC Player of the Year in all three of her seasons at Bethune-Cookman and also earned All-American honors. She left B-CU as the career leader in virtually every offensive category, and upon her graduation she transferred to the University of Maryland for graduate school with one year of eligibility left, and earned All-ACC honors there. She went on to a successful professional softball career and now is an assistant softball coach at the University of Maryland.
Willie Jackson – Football: Jackson was a three-year starter at free safety and was the captain of one of the most successful football teams in Wildcat history. Known as a ferocious hitter, this free safety earned All-SIAC honors in 1973, when he led the team with four interceptions. In 1974, he followed it up with another superb season and was named to the Pittsburgh Courier All-American Team. Jackson was a consensus choice of the coaches of his era as one of the greatest leaders to have ever captained a Bethune-Cookman football team.
Erma Jones – Women’s Basketball: The greatest scorer in Bethune-Cookman women’s history, Jones is the only player, male or female, to score over 2,000 points (2,095) in the past 30 years. She averaged over 20.0 points a game in all four of her years as a Lady Wildcat and played a key role in both the program’s transition to an NCAA membership and a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship.
Jeff Parker – Football – In just two seasons, the Seabreeze High School product registered 125 receptions for 1,765 yards while leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Parker led the conference in receptions in 1990 with 58 and broke the Wildcats’ single season record with 67 catches in 1991. He received first-team All-MEAC honors in each of those seasons. He capped his career by receiving first team All-America honors in 1991. He played a year in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became a staple in the Orlando Predators’ line-up for four seasons before moving on to coaching, where he served as an assistant at Bethune-Cookman, Norfolk State and is presently assistant head coach and passing game coordinator at Tennessee State.
Wallace Raspberry – Football: Alongside such legends as Andy Hinson, Mike Ardis, Raymon Thornton and Jack “Cy” McClairen, Raspberry led Bethune-Cookman to its great 1952 season that included the first modern victory over Florida A&M. His tackle for a safety in the game assured the Wildcats of the historic win over the Rattlers. A standout running back and defensive back, Raspberry’s career concluded with two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 54-0 rout of Albany State in the 1952 Tropical Bowl.
Inducted as Coaches:
Charles Wesley Moore – Football: The son of former Bethune Cookman president Dr. Richard V. Moore, Charles went 27-6-1 in his three seasons at the helm of the Wildcats, with a career winning percentage of 80%, and was the first coach to beat Florida A&M in consecutive seasons (1973 and 1974). His 1973 and 1975 teams won SIAC championships and his 1974 team won Bethune-Cookman’s last post-season victory by downing Langston in the Azalea Bowl. His 1975 team was ranked number one in the Jet Magazine National Football Poll and finished with a 10-1 record.
Laura Watten – Softball: Watten established Bethune-Cookman as a softball power, registering 322 wins and five consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships while beating the likes of Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida in a spectacular 2005 season in which Bethune-Cookman received an at-large bid to the NCAA regional and beat Florida and USF to win the Gainesville Regional championship. That same year Watten led the Wildcats to the first-ever NCAA Super Regional Tournament appearance for any HBCU and was named the 2005 NFCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year winner.
She is currently Head Coach at the University of Maryland and has led the Terps to three straight NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.
Inducted as Humanitarians – Supporters of Athletics
Samuel Berry: In 1969, President Richard V. Moore hired this young upstart director of bands to develop an exciting music program and marching band, and during the next ten years Samuel Berry created and perfected a sound and style of performance that laid the groundwork for what is today the Marching Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University. His dynamic leadership and professional creativity allowed the Marching Men of B-CC to become a household name in college band circles. He passed away in 1980 and will be inducted posthumously.
Dr. Everett Abney: A 1959 Bethune-Cookman graduate, Abney was an outstanding basketball player for the Wildcats, and after graduation he began a career in secondary education in Clermont, Florida. Dr. Abney later served as a principal for the Dade County Public School System and was honored for his leadership as principal at Northwestern High School. Eventually, he went on to serve as the North Central Area Superintendent. He later moved to the Broward County School System where he wound up his career as an Area Superintendent. During the course of his time in south Florida, Dr. Abney worked behind the scenes recruiting students for Bethune-Cookman and also serving in various leadership capacities in countless alumni and educational events benefitting B-CU, such as the South Florida Classic and promotional games in Miami’s Orange Bowl.
Inducted for Special Lifetime Achievement
Dr. James E. Huger: Recognized as one of Daytona Beach’s most prominent Civil Rights leaders, Dr. Huger worked alongside Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his extensive career that saw him serve as Daytona Beach’s Director of Development and eventually the city’s first African-American City Commissioner and Volusia County’s first African-American County Councilman. As college business manager under Dr. Richard V. Moore, Huger helped develop the fiscal road map which led to the expansion and future success of the Bethune-Cookman Department of Athletics.
Walt Frazier: Frazier was leader of the Wildcat offense as center on “Cy” McClairen’s football team in the mid 1960’s and upon graduation he began his coaching career. He served as offensive line coach at Bethune-Cookman in the 1980’s and later made his mark at Carol City High School, where his teams won three Class 6A State Championships in 1996, 1997 and 2003, and were State Runners-Up in 1989. The 1997 team went 15-0, his only undefeated season, and was ranked fifth in the nation by USA Today. With a career record of 212-111, Frazier was named one of the 12 greatest coaches in state history by the Florida High School Activities Association.
