Scott County Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Ole Miss Athletes Among 25 Athletes and Coaches

This weekend the newly created Scott County Sports Hall of Fame will induct its inaugural class of 25 athletes and coaches who have stood out in their sports.

The inaugural ceremony is at the Livingston Performing Arts and Media Center at Roosevelt State Park on Highway 13 in Morton. The park’s entrance is to the north of Interstate 20 near Exit 77. It will take place this Saturday at 5 p.m. For those interested in attending the tickets are $10 and may be purchased at locations in Forest and Morton or at the door opening at 4:30 p.m. prior to the ceremony.

Chris Allen Baker, the secretary and treasurer of Scott County Sports Hall of Fame, said, “This, we believe, is the creation of the first county-wide sports hall of fame in the state of Mississippi.”

Among the inductees are five athletes and one coach who all were Ole Miss Rebels during their academic and collegiate athletics career or was an assistant coach. The Rebel inductees are as follows: James (Jim) B. Harvey of Forest; Andre Hollis of Morton; Tom Stewart Lee, Jr. of Forest; Dulymus “Deuce” McAllister of Morton; Freddy Roberts of Morton; and Coach Freeman Horton of Lake.

Frank Edmondson, president of the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame, will present the 2015 class and gift the inductees their plaques. Edmondson said the induction is an opportunity for the former athletes, coaches and related inductees to be celebrated for their hard work.

“We are proud and blessed for the opportunity to make this new Scott County Sports Hall of Fame a reality. It is a means for the inductees to be honored and recognized in their home county for their hard work and success that made them eligible and worthy of this recognition,” Edmondson said. “The selection of the first class was not an easy task as there are so many worthy individuals who are qualified and will be considered for future classes.”

Edmondson said the first class was much larger than the future classes will be due to it being the first. “We felt the need to more inclusive in the first class but from this point on, each class will have five inductees selected by the committee and a sixth inductee selected by the Hall of Fame Membership,” Edmondson said. “We still have a very large nominee pool to select future classes and it will continue to grow.”

The countywide hall of fame was Edmondson’s idea as he heard about two other areas of Mississippi with the same sort of program like the statewide hall of fame but established on a municipal level. The Scott County Sports Hall of Fame is the first to be established on a county-wide level in Mississippi, the committee believes.

“When I heard about it being done in other places, I thought ‘why not Scott County?’ We have such a rich athletic tradition of achievement and this would be a great way to showcase that tradition,” Edmondson said.

From there, over the course of the summer, Edmondson began talking to prospective residents across the county to get the committee together. The 11 member committee met August 2014 to eventually create the hall of fame complete with its inaugural class this weekend. The committee observed eligibility requirements from the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as a guide with a few tweaks for the local angle. The committee then chose the first class on October 21, last year.

For more information on the event email scottcountysportshof@yahoo.com. The Scott County Sports Hall of Fame also has a Facebook page.

Callie Daniels is a staff writer/reporter at HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com