5 inducted to Hall

Trevor Zion Bauknight / The Item Inductees and family members of the 2009 class of the Sumter Athletic Hall of Fame at Thursday's banquet at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club gymnasium. Left to right: Betty Ray Evans Murrell and Fran Crawford Sauls, first cousin and niece, respectively, of inductee Pat Crawford; inductee Harry Stokes; Rev. James and Cleo Jackson, parents of inductee Jamacia Jackson; Ella Jean Vaughn, mother of inductee Kenny Franklin; inductee Tim Jones.

By TREVOR ZION BAUKNIGHT
Item Sports Writer

Five athletes made up the 2009 class of the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame, which was inducted at a banquet on Thursday at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club gymnasium at the old Council Street campus of Sumter High.

Former Eau Claire High School basketball coach George Glymph entertained those in attendance with a humorous keynote, in which he spoke of his “three C’s”, creed, code and character, keys, Glymph said, to success.

Former track and field athlete Kenny Franklin, a 1995 graduate of Sumter High School, was the first inductee. Franklin, who lives and coaches track in Bridgeport, Conn., could not attend the banquet, and his mother, Ella Jean Vaughn, accepted the award on his behalf. He was introduced by Sumter High principal Rutledge Dingle, who said Franklin was his dream athlete as his track coach at SHS.

Franklin won individual 4A state championships in the long jump and triple jump and was a member of the state champion 4x400-meter relay team, as well. He led the Gamecocks to a team track and field title in 1995 and went on to Clemson University, where he was a seven-time All-American and three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer.

Former New York Yankees great and Sumterite Bobby Richardson introduced the next inductee, Harry Stokes. Stokes coached the Sumter American Legion Post 15 baseball team from 1953 to 1958, posting a 60-37 record and leading the team to the 1954 district championship. Richardson credited Stokes with helping him develop as a baseball player.

The Item’s Hubert Osteen was called on to introduce another professional baseball great from Sumter, Clifford Rankin “Pat” Crawford, whose niece Fran Crawford Sauls accepted his award.

Osteen recalled researching Pat Crawford’s accomplishments in old editions of The Item and said that Crawford’s induction was long overdue, some 75 years after his final professional game.

Crawford , a 1919 graduate of Sumter High, was a standout baseball player at Davidson College until his graduation in 1923. In 1924, he began a 10-year professional career that culminated in his being a member of the 1934 World Series Championship St. Louis team known affectionately as the “Gashouse Gang.”

He achieved a lifetime batting average of .347 and was a utility infielder for the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds and the Cardinals. He went on to establish a summer camp at Morehead City, N.C. and passed away in 1994 at the age of 91.

Former Sumter High coach Allen Johnson introduced inductee Tim Jones, a standout baseball player at Sumter High and the Citadel, where he became a third-team All-American selection in 1985, batting .429 and stealing 46 bases before being selected in the second round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jones made his Major League Baseball debut in 1988 and played all or part of the next sis seasons for the Cardinals as backup to Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith.

Jones urged the audience members to heckle him occasionally to make him feel more comfortable in front of a large group, to give him the feeling of being in the New York Mets’ Shea Stadium.

He spoke of his strong family support in helping him achieve his potential and credited Sumter Sports Hall of Famers Johnson, Richardson and Hugh Betchman with giving him good guidance, urging him to attend The Citadel and to believe in himself.

“I thought I was good, and if you think you’re good, the only thing to do is get out there and practice and practice and get better,” Jones said. “

Sumter High head football coach Paul Sorrells introduced the final inductee, former SHS and University of South Carolina standout free safety Jamacia Jackson, who as a junior broke Freddie Solomon’s school single-season records for rushing yards (2,187) and rushing touchdowns (32).

Jackson was named most valuable defensive player in the Shrine Bowl and started 21 games at safety for USC before going on to play in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before passing away of natural causes.

Jackson’s parents, Rev. James and Cleo Jackson, accepted his award, recalling “Puddin’” Jackson’s vivacious personality and love of life.