University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Announces Hall of Fame Inductees for 2002
Aug 30, 2002 | General, M Club
Aug. 30, 2002
Record setting Tiger point guard Elliot Perry and women's track star Anita Hobbs-Long are but two of the eight former University of Memphis athletes who will be inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame on September 20 at The AdamsMark Hotel in East Memphis. This year's group of honorees includes three football players, two basketball standouts, a golf great, a track star and a racquetball legend. The annual Billy J. Murphy Award, The Ralph Hatley Silver M Award and the Dr. C.C. Humphreys Golden Tiger Award will also be presented. Gene Dixon was one of the finest golfers to ever play for the Tigers. A native of Memphis, TN, and a graduate of South Side High School, Dixon arrived on campus in 1957 and joined such noted players as Lou Graham and Mason Rudolph in leading Memphis to some of its finest moments in golf history. The Memphis City Champion in 1956, Dixon helped his team win the Tennessee State Intercollegiate championship. A four year starter, Dixon played the number one position for three years. He won the 1958 Tennessee Amateur Championship and placed fourth in the 1959 NCAA Individual Championships after leading the event for three rounds. A life member of the PGA of America, Dixon turned professional in 1962 and served as head golf professional at Stones River Country Club for 34 years prior to his retirement in 2000. Some of his professional honors include being named the Tennessee Player of the Year in 1969 and the Middle Tennessee Golf Professional of the Year in 1995. Paul Hathcock came to the University of Memphis in 1958 and played football under former head coach Billy J. Murphy. The brother of Tiger Hall of Famer Hugh Hathcock, Paul played both offensive and defensive guard for Memphis for two years after a stellar career at Jones County Junior College in Mississippi. Hathcock, a graduate of Humes High School in Memphis, was a starter at guard during his junior season but was lost to injury for the final five games of the season. He became a regular in the offensive line as a senior and helped lead the Tigers to wins over Florida State and Southern Mississippi. The Tigers finished the season with a 6-4 record in 1959. Hathcock was named to the Williamson Little All-America team in 1959 and was selected as the Tigers Outstanding Lineman. Following graduation, Hathcock entered the coaching profession and worked at West Side High School and Wooddale High before later becoming an assistant principle. Paul Hathcock died in 1990. Anita Hobbs Long ran track for the Lady Tigers from 1989-92. She served as a sprinter and jumper for the U of M and won the 1992 Great Midwest Conference championship in the long jump, the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter run. She was named the Outstanding Performer for the 1992 Great Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships and helped her team to the conference title. Following graduation, Long entered the business world and soon became the senior coordinator for New Business Development for Cooperative Marketing Concepts. She joined Stream International in 1998 and became their Planning manager in 1999. However, Long had a desire to work with young people and entered the teaching profession in 2001 at Denver Elementary School. She has continued to work on her Master's Degree in Education at the U of M and carries a 3.85 GPA through 33 hours of work. A native of Limestone, Maine, Long and her husband have two children, Kameron and Kendall. Dave Loos was a two sport letterman for the Tigers from 1964 through 1968. The native of St. Louis. Missouri, played basketball and baseball for Memphis and was the starting point guard for the Tigers in 1968-69. He lettered for three years as a point guard under former head coach Moe Iba and was a standout infielder for Tiger coach Al Brown. Loos has continued to excel in collegiate athletics since his departure from the U of M. Since his playing days as a Tiger, Loos has served as an assistant basketball coach for the Tigers, the head basketball coach at Christian Brothers University and the current athletic director and head basketball coach at Austin Peay State University. Following graduation from the U of M, Loos became the head coach at Mehville High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and after eight successful seasons, became the head basketball coach at Christian Brothers College in Memphis. He led the Brothers to a 16-14 record in his first year and followed that with three consecutive 20-win campaigns before joining Larry Finch as an assistant at Memphis. After helping the Tigers to an 85-43 record over four years, Loos was hired as the head coach at Austin Peay State and has a 175-173 record for the Govs over the past 13 seasons. He added the duties of athletic director in 1997. Dave and his wife, Phyllis, have four children, David, Brad, Todd and Nicole. Frank Massa played football from 1956 through 1958 under coach Ralph Hatley. He served as co-captain of the 1958 squad and helped his team to a 6-4 record. The two-way performer was voted the team MVP in 1958. A native of New Orleans, LA, Massa played one season at Perkinston Mississippi Junior College before signing with the Tigers. Playing both fullback and linebacker, Massa was the season leading tackler in 1958 and averaged 5.3 yards per carry on offense. In addition to football, Massa boxed as a member of the Memphis boxing team and was named to Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities for 1957-58. Following a stint in the United States Marine Corps, Massa began a sales career with Ross Labs that led to being named District Manager in 1977. Massa retired from Ross Labs in 1998 and opened his own company, BMS Enterprises. Frank and his wife, Veronica, have one daughter, Monica Massa McNeil. Don McKinnon played offensive tackle for the Tigers for four years under Ralph Hatley, 1957 and Billy J. Murphy, 1958-60. One of the biggest players of his time, McKinnon had played for former Tiger Andy Settles at Grove High School in Paris, Tennessee, where he lettered in football, baseball and track. He signed with Memphis in 1956 and after redshirting for one year, played both offensive and defensive tackle for the Tigers. He helped his team to an overall record of 24-15 over the four year span, including an 8-2 mark in 1960. Following graduation, McKinnon played one season for the B.C. Lions of the CFL before a knee injury cut his career short. He joined Alco Gravoru, Inc. in 1963 and later became the Vice-President of Manufacturing. McKinnon also served as the Vice-President of Manafacturing for Maxwell Communications before retiring and concentrating his efforts on farming and property development. Don and his wife, Sunshine, have two children, Shannon and Lance. Elliot Perry, who is the U of M's second all-time leading scorer, was one of the finest guards to ever play for Memphis. The native Memphian led the Tigers to four straight postseason tournaments and 76 wins over his career. Perry, who started every game of his four year career, paced the team in scoring, assists and steals three consecutive seasons. The former McDonald All-American led the Tigers to a 20-12 record and an NCAA bid as a freshman. He was named the Metro Conference Freshman of the Year and Sport Magazine's freshman point guard of the year. Perry led the Metro Conference in scoring as a senior with a 20.8 average and in steals with 85 and was again named to the All-Conference team. He became Memphis' and the Metro Conference's career leader in steals with 300 and became just the tenth player in NCAA history to amass 300 steals. His jersey number 34 is retired and hangs in The Pyramid. Following graduation, Perry spent nine years in the NBA. Andy Roberts, an honorary member of the M-Club, is the renowned racquetball player in Memphis history. A graduate of Christian Brothers High School, Roberts arrived at the U of M in the fall of 1984 and began a collegiate racquetball career that is unmatched. During his tenure at Memphis, Roberts won three national singles titles and two national doubles championships and led his Tiger teams to National Intercollegiate Championships. After college, Roberts, the 1986 Amateur Athlete of the Year, went on to capture a National Doubles title, a National Singles title in 1988 and a U.S. Olympic Festival singles win in 1991. He recaptured the National Doubles crown 15 years later in 2000. Selected as the USRA Athlete of the Year in 1988 and again in 1990, Roberts was also appointed to the U.S. National team for eight consecutive years, where he added Tournament of the Americas and World Championship titles to his resume. Roberts and wife, Kim, have four children, Laura, Olivia, Abbigayle and Ethan. Bill Garner, a former teammate of Tiger golfers Hillman Robbins, Mason Rudolph, Ronnie Wenzler and Ed Crenshaw, is the recipient of the 2002 Billy J. Murphy Award. Garner grew up in the Memphis area and began working at Cherokee Golf Course at age 13 and continued through graduation from the U of M in 1957. After receiving his BS degree in accounting, Garner spent six years in the Air Force and returned to Memphis in 1963 to become the head golf professional at the newly constructed Windyke Country Club. He became a member of the PGA in 1968 and in 1972, was named the president of the Tennessee PGA. Garner received the Horton Smith Award for Education in 1973 and 1977 and was named the Tennessee Professional of the Year in 1970 and in 1981. He has served as a guest speaker at the National PGA Business School and has worked on several national and state committees. Garner became the general manager of Windyke CC in 1973, the president of WCC in 1981 and the owner of Windyke Country Club in 1992. Under Garner's direction, Windyke Country Club, with it's 54-hole design, has become a training ground for young golfers. Janet Cockroft January, who has been a University of Memphis supporter all of her life, is the recipient of the Cecil C. Humphreys Golden Tiger Award. A native of Memphis, Janet attended Central High School where she was recognized in The Who's Who Among High School Students and played for the Central High women's basketball team. Following graduation she enrolled at The University of Memphis, then Memphis State, where she received her bachelors degree in Education as well as her Masters Degree in Special Education. Following the completion of her degree work, Janet began her professional career which consisted of 18 years as an elementary school teacher at St. Louis School and Presbyterian Day School in Memphis. She received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award at PDS. However, throughout her professional career, she has continued to give back to her University and to her community. Janet is a member of the Ambassador Club, serves on the Board of the Tiger Club, has worked as an assistant for the U of M Pom Pon squad and served as the chairperson of the Peabody Auction, which raised monies for scholarships. Dr. Robert Richardson is the recipient of the 2002 Ralph Hatley Silver M Award. Dr. Richardson grew up in the Paris, Tennessee, area and attended Springville High where he played basketball for four years. He enrolled at UT-Martin where he majored in Pre-Med and received Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities honors. Dr. Richardson graduated from Medical School in 1960 and began a career as a surgeon in the Memphis area. After surgical training at Baptist Hospital, John Gaston Hospital and a fellowship with Dr. Denton Coolley in Houston, Texas, Richardson returned to Memphis and joined the staff at UT-Med School where he taught cardiovascular surgery and advanced to become Chief of the Division of CV Surgery. During this time he was elected President of the Faculty of the Medical Units. Dr. Richardson, the current owner of Memphis Plywood, has followed Tiger basketball since 1963. He made his first donation to the program in 1972 while his uncle, Dr. John Richardson, was serving as interim President of the U of M. Dr. Richardson's involvement with Memphis and its athletic staff has continued to grow throughout the years and he has built numerous friendships.
