Hall of Fame set for Jan. 31
January 5, 2009
WEATHERFORD, Okla. - A day of celebrating some of the greatest players from Southwestern Oklahoma State University rich and storied history will take place Saturday, Jan. 31 when five new members will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
The 2009 inductees include: W.E. Jackson, a baseball star for the Bulldogs in the mid 1950's; Jerry Jobe, winning basketball and baseball coach for Southwestern in the late 1960's and early 1970's, John Wichert, two-time NAIA football All-American in 1992 and 1993, Cory Smith, a three-time NAIA All-American golfer in the mid 1990's, and Chuck Edwards, veteran broadcaster who was the "Voice of the Bulldogs" for more than 31 years.
The new class will be honored for their achievements on and off the playing fields at a luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Memorial Student Center Ballroom. The festivities will be held in conjunction with the Bulldog's basketball game against East Central University later that day.
Tickets for the luncheon are $20 and available now by calling the SWOSU Athletic Department at 580-774-3068.
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 the school.
W.E. Jackson
W.E. Jackson was a star pitching for Southwestern Oklahoma State University during an unprecedented run of success for the Bulldogs baseball team under legendary Coach Rankin Williams during the 1950s.
Jackson, a hard throwing left hander from Burns Flat, joined Southwestern after winning back-to-back state high school baseball championships in 1950 and 1951 where he played under Coach Dale Mullins.
As a freshman, Jackson teamed with Roy "Bud" Tinney and formed a dominating pitching combination for the Bulldogs in 1952. The two often worked in tandem while one started the other one would come in a relief. The system worked as the Bulldogs won the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference championship that year by beating Southeastern Oklahoma.
Tinney would eventually sign a professional contract with the Boston Red Sox , leaving Jackson to handle the bulk of the Bulldogs pitching load. Jackson responded brilliantly carrying the Bulldogs to three more consecutive conference titles in 1953, 1954 and 1955. The conference titles were a part of an amazing string of nine straight league titles the Bulldogs won under Rankin Williams from 1951 to 1959.
Jackson never lost a collegiate start while racking up more than 25 wins in his career. His most memorable game may have come in 1955 when he pitched 12 shutout innings against rival Phillips University in a 1-0 victory. In that game, Jackson struck out 25 batters, a record that to this day is unmatched 53 years later. Jackson would have lost that game if it had not been for fellow hall-of-famer Travis Flippin throwing out a Phillips runner at the plate in the 10th inning.
Jackson was invited to attend a tryout for the Baltimore Orioles organization following his junior year Jackson who had developed a knuckle curve and a change-up to go with his blazing fast ball opted to turn down the $4,000 signing bonus offered by the Orioles and return to SWOSU and complete his undergraduate work.
Jackson was a member of the honor roll each semester SWOSU and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He was a member of the Future Teaches of America and was the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Athlete Award given annually by Coach Rankin Williams. Jackson's time at SWOSU was special indeed as he played alongside some of the all-time Bulldog greats including Gerald Nipp, Jerry Doyle, Orville Bowman, Flippin and Tinney during his time.
Jackson then served in the United States Army following his graduation where he was stationed in Germany.
He then went on to teach business in a number of high schools in and around Nebraska. He continued to stay active in the sport he loved coaching state baseball championship teams in Phillipsburg, Kan. and coaching little league, pony league and junior legion baseball for a number of years.
He and his wife, Jeanette, have two sons, Travis and Scott. Travis is pharmacy graduate from SWOSU and lives in Arlington. Scott, the couple's youngest, is an accountant for Nebraska Public Power District.
The couple lives in Columbus, Neb., where they busy themselves by reading and following their beloved University of Nebraska football and baseball teams.
Jerry Jobe
Jerry Jobe won over 500 games as a basketball coach in a highly successful career that spanned more than 26 years first at Chickasha High School, then SWOSU before concluding at Oklahoma Christian University.
Jobe was hired at SWOSU in 1963 to take over the coaching duties in both basketball and baseball for the retiring Rankin Williams. Jobe's baseball teams were some of the best in SWOSU history in which the Bulldogs routinely finished at or near the top of the standings. His best team was the 1966 squad that finished the year as state champions after beating rival Phillips and Oklahoma Baptist to qualify for the NAIA Area Tournament.
On the basketball court, Jobe guided the Bulldogs to a 198-108 record in his 11 years, including winning 20 or more games four times. His 1968-69 team ended the year with 23-8 record and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament. Jobe's best team perhaps was his 1966-1967 squad that finished the year 23-5. Among the wins was a 63-62 victory over unbeaten and defending NAIA Champion Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee. Archie McGill, who ended his career as the Bulldogs all-time scoring leader, converted a three-point play as time expired to send the Bulldogs into a wild celebration as the Buff fans stared out in stunned disbelief.
In addition to McGill, Jobe coached several of the greatest players ever to play for SWOSU including 1,000 point scorer Lloyd Lacy and All-American Amos Thomas.
Jobe left SWOSU in 1975 and coached basketball at Oklahoma Christian for eight more seasons. He posted a 211-56 record at OCC where his .790 winning percentage ranks as the school's best ever. His teams won 30 or more games three times, and his 1982 Eagle team advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.
Jobe would later join Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association, where he served as associate executive secretary for the next 13 years before retiring in 1995
SWOSU's Athletic Hall-of-Fame induction is Jobe's sixth of his career. He is already a member of Chickasha Schools Hall of Fame Award; Chickasha High School Athletic Hall of Fame; Oklahoma Christian University Athletic Hall of Fame; Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame
He and his wife, Laura Beth, live in Norman, where they enjoy visiting their cabin at Lake Texoma and spending time with their eight grandchildren.
John Wichert
John Wichert was one of the most dominant defensive linemen ever to put on a Bulldog football uniform. A 1989 graduate of Weatherford High School, Wichert was an all-star offensive lineman for the Eagles and part of a team that advanced to the Class 3A semifinals. He chose to continue his football career in his hometown of Weatherford because of SWOSU head coach Paul Sharp's promise that he would be given a look at earning playing time on the defensive side of the ball first.
Wichert quickly made good on the transition to full-time defense after redshirting his freshman year. He provided the Bulldogs with a physical run-stopper who had the mobility to chase down fleeing quarterbacks who tried to escape by scrambling outside the pocket. SWOSU never had a losing record in Wichert's five years and earned a berth in the Aztec Bowl in 1991 and won the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Championship in 1992.
SWOSU's 1992 team was one of the best football teams in school history and started the season as winners of seven straight games. Wichert and his Bulldog teammates climbed to No. 1 in the NAIA poll before finishing the regular-season with an 8-1 record. SWOSU made its first NAIA playoff appearance since 1977, but were beaten 14-2 by Central Arkansas in a game played under blizzard-type conditions at a frozen Milam Field. Wichert, was chosen as the OIC Defensive Player-of-the-Year that season, and was among a record five Bulldog players that were honored as NAIA First Team All-Americans. Joining Wichert as All-Americans were teammates Eric Royal, Junior Lowden, Damon Sartor and Stephen Buford.
Wichert completed his career the following year in 1993 and was again honored with first-team all-OIC selection, his third time. He repeated as an NAIA All-American becoming only the second SWOSU player to do so since Tom Bergman was a back-to-back selection in 1974-75.
All total Wichert ended up with 341 career tackles, the most ever by a SWOSU defensive lineman. He had 35 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and finished with 25 career sacks.
He graduated in 1994 with a degree in business management and worked in the medical equipment profession for 12 years. Currently, he works as a land surveyor and does mortgage inspections and property surveys for Hughes Surveying Company from Oklahoma City.
He and his wife, Carrie, have twin daughters, Samantha and Alison.
Cory Smith
Cory Smith put together a remarkable career as collegiate golfer at Southwestern Oklahoma State University under longtime coach Cecil Perkins.
Smith graduated from nearby Elk City High School where he was a three-time selection to the Oklahoma All-State team and won the Class 4A individual state golf title as a senior.
Smith signed with SWOSU and quickly was the cornerstone of a program that established itself as one of the top small college golf teams in the nation. Smith earned NAIA all-American honors in 1995, 1996 and 1997, finishing 14th, 15th and 8th in consecutive national tournaments. His bid for a fourth All-American honor was denied in 1998 when he placed one-stroke out of the required Top 15. Ironically, his younger brother, Russell, a freshman on the SWOSU team, shot a 303 which left him in a three-way tie for 15th and earned himself all-American honors.
The Smith-led golf teams had three consecutive top five finishes at the NAIA Tournament, including a pair of third place efforts in 1996 and 1997. Perhaps no tournament victory was more impressive though than what Smith and teammates Corey Reneau, Joel Burleson, Greg Jones and Steve Thomas did in April of 1997. SWOSU shot a 288 on the final day of the Lone Star Conference championship to win the school's first-ever NCAA Division II conference championship in its first ever attempt.
Smith graduated in 1998 with a degree in finance. He went on to play professionally on the satellite tour and was a member of the NGA Hooters Tour and Golden Bear Tour while living in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
He left the golf business temporarily and entered the business world in 2001 where he went to SMU School of Engineering and earned certification as a Microsoft Professional and a Certified System Engineer. He then worked four years for Multimedia Games where he was involved in servicing games and their operation systems at numerous Indian casinos around the state of Oklahoma.
Smith was able to make his return to golf in 2005 and is currently, he is the Head Golf Professional at Elk City Golf and Country Club. He is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the pro shop, driving range, renal carts and membership services.
He and his wife, Terri, have two sons Hank and Wylie and are expecting a third child later this year.
Chuck Edwards
For more than 31 years Chuck Edwards was the "Voice of the Bulldogs" covering and broadcasting Southwestern Oklahoma State University sports teams to a large and loyal following. Edwards called more than 3,600 football, basketball, baseball, softball and rodeo events in his sports broadcasting career that spanned a total of 45 years and counting. He called SWOSU play-by-play action in 15 states across America from Washington to Tennessee and all parts in between.
He grew up in Duncan where would go on to attend Cameron Junior College and later graduated from the Elkins School of Broadcasting in Dallas. Edwards spent his first two years in the radio business at Altus and Duncan stations before moving to New Mexico where he served as sports and news director for stations in Farmington and Aztec.
He moved to Weatherford in 1977 where he quickly found a home on KWEY AM/FM. Edwards level of professionalism in which he covered SWOSU games was legendary. He was easily the most thorough and prepared media representative in attendance. Often colleagues would make the statement that a person better be "on his game" because rest assured Chuck was always on his.
His distinctive play-by-play call contained such detail and carried so much enthusiasm that any listener could easily imagine what exactly was happening based on his vivid descriptions.
Edwards was on the air to call many of SWOSU greatest success stories including its five women's NAIA national championship games, two football NAIA championship contests, and college national finals rodeo title runs.
Edwards was the first Oklahoman to receive the prestigious Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year award in 2003. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in March of 2008.
Chuck and his wife, Charlene, have a son, John, who works in New Mexico as an information systems coordinator for Ruidoso Public School System, and a daughter, Charla, who works for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.