Priyanka Sharma
Staff Writer
Grishma Rimal
News Editor
Eight new additions were made to the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame last week, with honorees ranging from former student athletes, administrative personnel and one man who was the long-time “Voice of the Trojans.”
On Saturday, April 9, the fifth class of the Hall of Fame was inducted during a gala at the Trojan Arena.
Ralph Black, who was a play-by-play broadcaster for Troy football, basketball and baseball for 26 years, was one of the honorees.
The former Voice of the Trojans has called over 1,000 Troy sporting events between 1976 to 2002.
“It was absolutely wonderful,” Black said about his time as a caller. “I got to call two national football championships, two national baseball championships and my son played on those two championships and the basketball championship game we should have won.”
Black said that the event was one of the finest he has seen during his time at Troy and the honor was wonderful.
“It came as quite a surprise,” he said. “I guess I got in to the old-timers ballot.”
Black is currently an on-air personality at WTBF radio station and is the public address voice for Charles Henderson High School football and other local school radio broadcasts.
Sandy Atkins, who currently serves as the senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Troy, was honored for her service to the department behind the desk and on the field.
Atkins played for the women’s softball team including the first two teams in the program’s Division I history. Her batting average of .359 over two seasons is still the best in Troy’s history. She was also the interim director of athletics in the summer of 2015.
Al Lucas, a backbone for Troy’s defense in the late 1990s, was a two-time All-American and 1999 Buck Buchanan Award winner. He is tied for seventh place in tackles for loss, 12th in tackles and 11th in assisted tackles in Troy’s football history.
He played for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL between 2000 and 2001. Due to an injury he sustained during an Arena Football League game between the Los Angeles Avengers and the New York Dragons, he passed away at the age of 26 on April 10, 2005.
In his honor, the AFL renamed its Hero Award to the Al Lucas Award and the Maxwell Football Club has named its AFL Player of the Year award after him. His wife, De’Shonda Lucas, accepted the award on his behalf.
David Felix was recognized for his contribution as a player as well as a coach for the Troy men’s basketball team. His 625 assists and 251 steals as a player between 1973 and 1977 are still the highest school records.
He also coached the Trojans to four NCAA Division II Tournaments, two NCAA Division II Final Four appearances, one NCAA Division I Tournament appearance and two NIT appearances.
1974-77 football team member Rick Maxey was a four-year starter at linebacker and was one of the team’s permanent captains his senior year.
He helped take the Trojans to the 1976 Gulf South Conference championship where the team finished 7-1 in conference play. In addition, he coached pee wee football for 15 years and served on the Troy Alumni Association Board of Directors and as the director of education policy for the State University System of Florida.
Terry McCord was one of the top offensive players in Troy men’s basketball history, helping lead Troy to the 1993 NCAA Division II National Championship Game. His two-season career included 136 three-pointers and over 50 percent accurate shooting from the floor.
Charles Pickett is known for his two 19-sack seasons and 334 career tackles in Troy’s history.
He earned an honorable mention All-American and NAIA All-District honors in 1975. After Troy, he played four years in the American Football Association, winning the defensive MVP award in the 1979 Championship game.
Johnny Williams was recognized for his administrative work in helping Trojan athletics move from Division II to Division I. He served for seven years as the football defensive coordinator and was named Troy’s Athletics Director in the spring of 1994 where he served for 10 years.
In his time, he assisted in fundraising $24 million for upgrades to the then Veteran Memorial Stadium, Tine Davis field house and Riddle-Pace field.
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