Five Set for Hall Induction
January 17, 2008
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – A day of celebrating some of the greatest athletes from Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s rich and storied history will take place Saturday, Feb. 2 when five new members will be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
The 2008 inductees include: Travis Flippin, baseball and basketball star in the mid 50’s; Jimmy Peck, basketball scoring sensation and longtime high school coach; Tom Bergman, two-time NAIA football All-American in 1975 and 1976, Louis Mendoza , 1977 football All-American and member of conference championship and Apple Bowl teams, and Valerie Fariss an All-American basketball player and standout on SWOSU’s fifth and final women’s NAIA Championship team.
The new class will be honored for their achievements at SWOSU and beyond during a luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the University’s Wellness Center. The festivities will be held in combination with the Bulldog’s basketball games against Cameron University later that day.
Tickets for the luncheon are $20 and available by calling the SWOSU Athletic Department at 580-774-3068.
Flippin, a graduate of Retrop High School, transferred to SWOSU in 1952 after originally attending Oklahoma State University on a baseball/basketball scholarship. Flippin’s arrival quickly impacted the fortunes of both Bulldog teams.
He starred on the 1952 basketball team that finished the year with a 24-6 record and won the conference title by beating arch rival Central State in a memorable best two-of-three series. The Bulldogs advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history before being beaten by St. Peters College of New Jersey in the first round.
Flippin’s best work may have come on the baseball diamond as the starting shortstop. Known for his remarkable wizardry with the glove, Flippin showcased his ability in the 1955 conference championship game throwing out the potential game-winning run in the 11th inning of a scoreless tie with Phillips. The Bulldogs went on to win that day 1-0 in 12 innings. The ‘55 conference championship was part of nine straight the Bulldogs won during the decade under coach Rankin Williams.
Flippin went on to play minor league baseball with the Boston Red Sox organization before eventually settling on a career as a coach and teacher. He began his education career at Retrop before moving to Port where he led the girls basketball team to four state tournament appearances and the softball team to two others. He then concluded his coaching and teaching career in 1968 at Carter Public Schools.
Flippin and his wife, Janet, have two children, Brad and Jan, who both graduated as class valedictorians at Sentinel High School and later earned bachelor’s degrees from SWOSU.
Peck was an all-state basketball player at Leedey High School and began his college career at the University of Oklahoma. Peck was a starter his sophomore and junior seasons at OU and led the Sooners in scoring, averaging more than 16 points a game.
Peck transferred and played his final year-and-a-half at SWOSU where he quickly became a crowd favorite for his remarkable long-range marksmanship. Although he stood only 5-8, Peck routinely led the Bulldogs in scoring swishing shots far beyond what would later become the three-point line.
Peck set a long-standing record at Eastern New Mexico’s prestigious Sunshine Tournament by scoring a total of 90 points in victories over Missouri Rolla, Southern Mississippi and Colorado State. Peck ended his senior year in 1957 leading the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference in scoring, averaging better than 25 points a game. He led the NAIA in free throw percentage accuracy making better than 92% of his shots that season.
After his playing days, he spent more than 40 years coaching at high schools around Oklahoma, Kansas and California. He is best known for winning four state titles as head girls coach at Woodward High School between 1974 and 1989. He returned to coaching in 2003 at the age of 69 to lead the Guthrie High School girls basketball team. He retired in 2007 and now lives in Edmond.
Peck and his wife, Lynda, have two adult sons Mark and Cary, along with three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Mendoza was the top player on what many consider SWOSU’s best-ever football teams in 1977. Mendoza starred as a 225-pound linebacker and was the ringleader of a team that cruised through the regular season with an undefeated 10-0 record and advanced all the way to the NAIA Championship Game.
The NAIA championship, called the Apple Bowl, was played in the Kingdome in Seattle, Wash. where the Bulldogs met and lost 24-7 to future Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian University.
After graduating in 1979, Mendoza coached both at SWOSU as a graduate assistant and later at Mangum High School. He returned to his hometown of Amarillo where he served as an administrative assistant at Caprock High School. He came back to Oklahoma in 1988 and took an assistant football position at Clinton High School where he remains today. In Mendoza’s 20 years at Clinton, he, along with head head coach Mike Lee, has helped the Red Tornadoes to eight state titles, including the school’s 15th earlier this year.
Mendoza and his wife, Lynn, have four children, Ryan, Rodney and Kenzie Skinner and a 13 year-old son, Garrison Mendoza. They have two grandchildren, Trenton and Sydnie Skinner.
Bergman became SWOSU’s first-ever, two-time NAIA All-American when he received first-team football honors in both 1974 and 1975. The Blanchard native originally began his college career as a basketball player at Seminole State Junior College. He then joined Coach Otis Delaporte at SWOSU and was a star for four seasons with the Bulldog football team.
Bergman, who played at 250 pounds, may have not been the most gifted but no one questioned his toughness or his heart. His spirit was never more evident in his final collegiate game when a rash of injuries forced him to play both offensive center and defensive tackle, and as deep snapper against Central State. Bergman left the field just four times that day, each on kickoffs. He was on the field approximately 140 plays, each of which was in the trenches of the line.
He signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, but opted to return back to school and finish his degree which he completed in 1976.
Bergman’s first job remains the job he has today. He has been at Weatherford High School as a coach and teacher for 31 years. He is an assistant in football and head coach for the Eagles golf program. He helped coach Weatherford’s state championship football teams in 1991, 1992 and 1996 and also was the head golf coach of the 1995 state championship team.
He and his wife, Robin, have two adult children, Ryan and Sarah, both of which are attended school at Southwestern. He has one grandson, John Thomas.
Fariss came to SWOSU after a stellar career at Leedey High School where she was an all-state selection in both basketball and volleyball. She spurned offers to attend a number of major colleges instead opting to attend SWOSU which had begun to build an impressive run of success as an NAIA basketball power.
Fariss wasted no time adding her name into the rich history book leading the Bulldogs to the 1990 NAIA title, their fifth in a span of nine years. She scored a team-best 28 points in the 82-75 championship game victory over Arkansas-Monticello and was named to the all-tournament team as a freshman.
Fariss led the Bulldogs to three other NAIA tournament appearances including a runner-up finish in 1991, semi-finalist in 1993 and quarterfinalist in 1994. She was twice named to the NAIA All-American teams and was a first-team selection to the ASWF team in 1993. She concluded her career as the second-leading scorer in school history with 1,891 points and owns free throw accuracy records for season and career both above 85%.
Fariss graduated in 1994 and began coaching at Carnegie before joining the high school staff at Clinton. At Clinton she coached the girls basketball team, girls soccer and later started the school’s volleyball program. Each of the three programs would qualify for the state tournament during her nine-year stay at Clinton.
Fariss hung up her coaching whistle and entered the business world in 2004 where she served as a vice president at the Bank of Western Oklahoma in Weatherford for two years. She now is a Partner in Homestead Title & Closing Company along with current SWOSU Alumni President Mary Regier and a Tag Agent in Cordell.
The SWOSU Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1962 and honors those individuals who, by outstanding achievement in athletics or service to the college’s sports teams, have made lasting contributions to the cause of sports at college.