(Archives) Francena McCorory, Allen Iverson headline Lower Virginia Peninsula Hall of Fame class of 2017: Lisa Dillard, Yvette Lewis, Keith Witherspoon, Bev Vaughan Selected

(Note: Just a reminder as to why it is so much fun to cover sports here on the Peninsula in Hampton Roads, Virginia. This article is from 2017. (Photo)  L- Former  Bethel HS Track Coach Eddie Williams, R - Francena McCorory

The Athletic Hall of Fame of the Lower Virginia Peninsula will hold its triennial inductions Aug. 13 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

The hall, which is operated through the City of Hampton, inducts a maximum of six individuals each cycle, as well as two others who are recognized as contributors.

This year's slate will be full. The athlete inductees are Allen Iverson, Francena McCorory, Bev Vaughan, Lisa Dillard, Yvette Lewis, and Keith Witherspoon.

The contributor awards go to Linwood D. "Butch" Harper and Bob Hintz. Harper is a longtime youth athletic figure in Hampton, while Hintz coached basketball at Bethel before moving on to become a longtime broadcaster with Hampton's Local Sports Channel, where he has served for many years.

Four of the inductees are best known for their exploits in track and field. McCorory (Bethel High, Hampton University) won three NCAA championships for the Pirates before striking Olympic gold twice, in 2012 and 2016, as a member of the 4x400 relay. She is also a former American record-holder in the indoor 400 meters, and she won the world outdoor 400-meter crown in 2014.

Lisa Dillard was a six-time outdoor state champion for Tabb (100, 200, long jump), then ran for one season with Christopher Newport (1986-87), where she won five individual Division III national championships, while setting national D-III records for the indoor 55 meters and long jump and outdoor 200 meters and long jump. From there, Dillard transferred to Clemson and won six individual ACC titles while earning All-American status four times. She was named to the ACC's 50th-anniversary team.

Lewis (Denbigh and Menchville High, HU) scored 48 points to win an outdoor state title for Menchville by herself in 2003 before competing for Coach Maurice Pierce at HU, winning an indoor and outdoor NCAA title in the triple jump. Lewis later moved on to compete as a professional in the 100-meter hurdles. She won the 2011 Pan-American Games title for the U.S. team and finished her career competing for the Panama team at the 2016 Olympics.

Lewis, now an assistant coach at Norfolk State, may be the first woman ever to run under 12.7 in the 100-meter hurdles (12.67) and triple-jump over 45 feet.

Witherspoon won the 1971 AAA triple jump for Huntington at 49 feet, 4.5 inches, which tied the existing state record. Moving on to the University of Virginia, Witherspoon was a three-time All-American in the triple jump and set Cavalier records in the long and triple jumps. His indoor and outdoor triple-jump records stood for 36 years. His success has continued well into adulthood, as Witherspoon has set the masters' (40 years and over) world indoor triple-jump mark of 49-11.

Bev Vaughan is originally from Portsmouth but is best-known on the Peninsula for establishing the women's athletic program at Christopher Newport, where he served as athletic director from 1967 to 1987. Under his guidance, the Lady Captains transitioned from independent status into the Dixie Conference, from junior-college club teams to Division III national champs. Vaughan doubled as the school's first men's basketball coach and won 204 games in 14 seasons.

The best known of the inductees is Iverson, who led Bethel to state championships in both football and basketball in the school year of 1992-93. Both his 948 single-season points in basketball and five interceptions in one football game are Virginia records.

Iverson played two years for John Thompson with Georgetown, where he was a consensus All-American, before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. Iverson was named the league's MVP in 2001 and led the 76ers to the NBA Finals.

At 6-1, he is arguably the best "small man" in NBA history, and last year, the 11-time All-Star was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Will There Be High School Sports in the Fall? My Two Cent Scenario to Play Ball

Yesterday, The Virginia High School League issued the following statement, which can be found on its website at vhsl.org.

"(Charlottesville, VA)) — The Virginia High School League released guidelines on Friday alongside Phase 1 of reopening the state regarding out of season practice for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

After receiving numerous inquiries from school divisions, the VHSL says it will continue to follow protocols and guidelines. This means that currently, out of season practice and all activities this summer are canceled until further notice. 

The current relaxing of the Governor’s stay at home order applies to businesses and schools remain closed as well as in-school facility use are still off-limits.

The VHSL said in a release that after Governor Northam declares schools can re-open and guidelines are provided for the reopening, the organization will work with the Executive Committee to set protocols and guidelines for resuming athletic activities. 

“We ask every member school to support the Governor’s directives and the DOE during this time,” said VHSL officials. “Every decision will be made in compliance with those orders and will continue to be made with the best interest of our student-athletes and the public. Safety will always be our number one priority.”

More information on the Virginia High School League can be found online."

By the verbiage of the statement, this does not cancel summer practices, as the decision can be reversed after further review. The powers that be will meet again next month, unless there is a decision to congregate and reconsider sooner.

However, many skeptics took this as the next step of the process to cancel fall sports, or at least push their seasons forward to next spring.

Can fall sports be played this year? Maybe, but it will depend on a certain set of circumstances.

I see a scenario (based on nothing but my educated guess) where a "virtual" summer school keeps buildings closed until mid-August, and then teams could get their 20 required practices and start contests in mid-September. For HS football, by cutting out the bye week and the first round of playoffs (bad news for the 1-9 and 2-8 teams who make the postseason in the lower classes), the season could be wrapped up the week before Christmas break. 

Here is my thinking. Generally, one school is designated for a school system's summer school, and an assistant principal is chosen from a host of applicants to be the principal of the summer sessions. In Arlington, summer school is slated to take place at Washington-Liberty, while in Prince William, Potomac High in Dumfries has been designated as the location.

Yesterday, I asked an assistant principal in Northern Virginia about the possibility of conducting summer school. The response surprised me - "We don't know yet." In the meantime, many summer teaching positions throughout the state have remained unfilled. For those checking the calendar, summer school would be starting in 4-5 weeks, and because many schools are not teaching new material, or in some cases, issuing grades other than pass/fail, how can a teacher objectively determine who should fail a course and be forced to remediate with a summer session?

Anyhow, that is my rationale for either canceling summer school, or making it virtual for those who may choose to attend for academic reinforcement.

While this not directly relate to sports, it does serve as a reason to keep the buildings closed until August.

Point 2 -- Northern Virginia will not reach Phase 1 for at least two weeks. I can't imagine that the coaches at Westfield and Stone Bridge will be silent if Oscar Smith and Maury are allowed to practice for a week or two before they can. The starting date has to be a uniform one, and current VHSL regulations require that a player participate in 20 days of practice before being allowed to play in a game. There will be no two-week warm-up session, followed by the start of competition. There will have to be three-and-a-half to four weeks of practice.

My scenario would probably have practices start on August 10, with the four weeks leading into Labor Day weekend. Games would begin on Thursday, September 10. If the bye week is eliminated and schools have to play ten games in ten weeks, the regular-season finale would be on November 14. 

If the VHSL decides to revert its former decision of allowing the top eight teams from each region into the playoffs, and whittling it to a Final Four, we could save a week of post-season play, and the state championships could commence on December 12. If the decision is made to include a bye week, it would be postponed to the 19th.

Then again, if there is a marginal growth in COVID-19 cases and deaths throughout Virginia after the implementation of Phase 1, then this proposal goes out the window. But this will be a test of self-discipline as the teams with the most athletes continuing to dutifully stay conditioned will have a strong advantage from Day 1. The underlying message. Stay in shape and stay tuned!

(Archives) Fox Hill Fast-Pitch Softball Celebrates 50 Year Anniversary of World Championship Run

(Originally printed in the Daily Press - September 22, 2015. Posted on Chicago Tribune.com - 2020)

With the passing of another Labor Day, a landmark event in Hampton Roads sports reached its silver anniversary. During that late summer weekend in 1965, the Fox Hill fast-pitch softball team won its first regional tournament and earned a berth in the world championships, where they placed fifth of 22 teams.

For the Hampton-based team, which played its home games at Francis Asbury Field, the win culminated 15 years worth of effort. At the time, the Central Atlantic Regional, which consisted of state champions from

 Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and metropolitan qualifiers from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the host team, was 25 years old and Fox Hill had participated seven times as the Virginia state champion.

But through 1964, a regional tournament victory to advance had been elusive for the Fox Hillers.

At Guy Mason Field in Washington, D.C., the team got off to an auspicious start, first beating Baltimore 3-0, and followed with a 1-0 win over D.C. in Game 2, highlighted by a perfect game from ace pitcher Ron Peterson.

Although the Fox Hill team was formed in 1950 as part of a church league, it was not the beer league many recreational softball players are accustomed to joining.

“This was not like some Sunday school league,” said Peterson, who later won first-team All-American honors for his performance in the 1969 national tournament. Indeed, pitches reached speeds upward of 100 miles per hour, and as Peterson added, “runs were at a premium. We had a lot of 1-0 games.”

In fact, the third game was another 1-0 affair, this time in a victory over Philadelphia. A 2-0 loss to Baltimore followed, pinning the Fox Hill team into a must-win situation in the double-elimination event. Based on their 3-1 record, the Fox Hillers earned a berth in the championship, but faced Baltimore for a third time. Fox Hill won the rubber match and region with a 3-1 victory. In that game, Don Brandt’s two-run homer turned out to provide the margin of victory.

Peterson was named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament, while Brandt won overall Most Valuable Player honors.

Looking back 50 years, first baseman Ronnie Weber reflected on Brandt’s performance as the key to victory. “Home runs were a rarity. (Brandt) had an exceptional tournament.”

Manager and team catcher Jack Hull credited Brandt’s defensive skills.

“He caught the last out at the wall. If that ball had gotten by him, it would have been a whole other story.”

Looking ahead to their first world championship, which was held in Clearwater, Fla., the Fox Hill players took advantage of another asset — their fan backing.

Hull looked back on the celebration that took place immediately after the regional final. “After the regional, the old-timers got together at the firehouse. There were so many people there that they had to push the fire trucks out (of the building).”

Recalls Peterson, “Fans would follow us everywhere we went to tournaments,” noting that as many as 4,000 to 5,000 Fox Hill fans made the trip to Clearwater. Spectators were not the only people tracking the team. As Weber remembers, “writers from the Daily Press followed us back then, at home and on the road. In the ’60s, there was a morning and afternoon edition and we’d have Ron Colbert at our games. We outdrew the local Carolina League (minor-league baseball) team.”

The team got off to a quick start in the world tournament, beating St. Thomas (Ontario) 3-0 and Lakewood (Calif.) 2-0. However, the team hit the wall when it played against seven-time world/national champion Clearwater, losing 1-0. Fox Hill was eliminated by Chattanooga (Tenn.) 3-0 in Game 4.

Despite the two losses, Fox Hill’s 2-2 mark was good enough to tie for fifth place of the 22 teams. After 1965, the final tournament was reinvented as the national championships. Fox Hill went on to win three more regional titles, but the ’65 effort remained the club’s greatest collective accomplishment on the diamond.

Hull, who previously worked as a minor-league catcher in the Cincinnati and Boston organizations, recalled the difficult time he had learning to catch softballs whizzing toward him with the speed of a Sandy Koufax fastball.

“I thought I was a pretty good catcher. But that ball would jump 12-18 inches up, down or sideways, and you never knew where it was going sometimes.”

Asked if he had ever been injured, Hull quickly emitted an “Oh yeah!” and interjected that on one occasion, a pitch caused him to require 16 stitches in his hand.

“It (fast-pitch) is a hard game to play, especially for catchers,” added Hull, who managed for 12 of his 13 years with Fox Hill.

Weber, who was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 1985, looked back on how the team recruited new prospects.

“We picked up a pitcher from Langley (Air Force Base) and another one from Oceana. Not all of our players were military guys, but a lot of our pitchers over the years were in the service.”

Peterson summed the experience up in one word: “Camaraderie.”

The term makes sense since the ballclub was together for 65 to 80 games throughout a season that started in early May and ended with either the regional championships on Labor Day weekend, or the world/nationals two weeks later.

“We’d play doubleheaders on Friday night, Saturday night, and usually on Wednesday night,” he said.

The friendships last until this day. Now, 50 years later, a group of players, “about 15, but a lot are non-ballplayers,” Weber said, gather every Wednesday morning at Vancostas Restaurant in Hampton to swap stories about softball, the military, or any other topic an octogenarian might find interesting.

Hull added one more recollection from his playing days — having the opportunity to play against famed pitcher Eddie Feigner, whose four-man King and His Court softball team toured the country, taking on all challengers with only a pitcher, catcher, shortstop and first baseman.

According to Hull, the reality of the King and His Court’s greatness may have become more legendary than it should have been.

“We’d go along with his shenanigans for a few innings. They were like the Globetrotters.” Asked if the King and Court were as good as they were cracked up to be, Hull was silent for a moment before answering.

“You know ...,” replied Hull, in a manner suggesting that indeed, the answer might have been no.

Fox Hill - 1965 Central Atlantic Regional champions

P – Ron Peterson, Bob Atterholt.

C – Randy Dale, Bud Porter, Jack Hull (also manager).

1B – Ronnie Weber.

2B – Jess Kersey (later an NBA official).

3B – Don Winegrad.

SS – Jim Dugan, Joey Lawrence.

OF – Don Brandt, Keith Goodson, Charlie Mayer, Herb Weaver, George Weikel.

Assistant coach – Rudy Forrest.

Virginia Crusaders Football Team to Hold Interest Meeting

The Virginia Crusaders, one of the most successful semi-pro football teams in America, will hold its annual interest meeting this Saturday, May 16th at 1:00 PM.

Because of the COVID epidemic, the meeting will take place on Zoom. As posted on social media, "all positions open - seeking coaches and players."

Since its expansion year of 2005, the Crusaders have enjoyed unparalleled success, winning multiple Mason-Dixon Conference titles, and several national championships. In 2017, Head Coach Larry Stith was honored for his efforts in a ceremony held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

To gain access to the Zoom meeting, the meeting ID is 729 4445 4604, and password OZFPIE. More information about the team and its history can be found on the team website - www.virginiacrusaders.com.

Lionsbridge FC Aims to Play 2020 Season

Since its inception in 2017, the Lionsbridge F.C. has been a popular attraction on the Peninsula. On April 30, Kevin Joyce and Mike Vest, the club's co-owners, posted a message on its website (lionsbridgefc.com) announcing its plans and expectations for the upcoming season.

April 30, 2020

To our fans and supporters,

We are sending our best wishes to you and your families and hope everyone is safe and healthy.

We wanted to share an update about our season. First, Lionsbridge FC still plans to play in 2020 with a modified schedule as soon as it is deemed safe for everyone involved. We are fortunate to have the full support of our league (USL) and stadium partners (CNU).

However, earlier today, USL League Two announced it will not have a formal 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How will that work for us? Our new timetable is to play games in July, August and into the fall against available USL League Two, NPSL, UPSL and NCAA universities in our region. We already have tentative agreements to play Virginia Beach United, Virginia Beach City, Chowan University, Christopher Newport University and will seek additional games once restrictions are lifted. We also still plan to hold our summer camps in Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown, and Gloucester.

As everyone knows, these are uncertain times. We appreciate your patience as we construct a new calendar.

While we absolutely hate to contemplate a scenario without a 2020 season, we do recognize that is possible. That would have an extremely painful effect on our small club. If we are unable to play in 2020, please be aware that season ticket holders will able to use their 2020 season ticket jerseys and wristbands for the 2021 season.

This is a tough time financially for our community and many of you. Lionsbridge FC is in the same boat. We are fully dependent on ticket sales, sponsorship and camps in order to make this club go. Without it, Lionsbridge FC could not exist. So on behalf of the players, staff and founders of the club, thank you for sticking with us through thick and thin.

 

We cannot wait to get back onto the field to represent you and this community – stronger than ever!

Until then, stay home, stay safe, be kind to each other and if you get the chance… please be sure to thank all of our essential workers who are keeping us safe. 

This Is Our Bridge! 

Kevin Joyce and Mike Vest

Co-Founders, Lionsbridge FC

(Archives) Aaron Rodgers Visits All-Pro Campers at W&M

(Note: Digging into the archives again, I dug up this gem, back from when I was writing for WYDaily in Williamsburg. I am proud that it is still used as a reference on Aaron Rodgers' Wikipedia page (#47?). Was also proud at the time because it became of the most read articles in WYDaily history, as Green Bay fans sought it out and even left comments. In fact, it was the last article I'd write with them as then-sports editor Andi Petrini at the Daily Press answered my email and offered to let me work as a HS football stringer. Also the only time I saw former Daily Press reporter Melinda Waldrop at work. I didn't know her then.)

Aaron Rodgers threw a pass to each of the campers at
the William and Mary All-Pro Camp, back in 2011

By Jim McGrath
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The first things you notice are the hands.

Even from far away, it is apparent that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has good-sized hands. As one observer on the sideline at Zable Stadium called them yesterday, “catcher’s mitts.”  Certainly large enough to wrap around a football like most of us wrap ours around a double-decker sandwich.

However, these hands have worked wonders. Five months ago, they were the key to precision passes to Packer teammates Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson en route to a rousing post-season performance of almost 1,100 yards and nine touchdown passes in four playoff games, the last a 31-25 Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The hands that held not only the Vince Lombardi trophy, but also that of the game’s Most Valuable Player. The hands that might be holding an ESPY award in two weeks as either the Best Male Athlete or Best NFL Player, or both.

Not bad for a guy who was only 5’10” and 160 pounds, with no scholarship offers, out of high school.

What? Not true?

Rodgers bluntly interrupted the first reporter’s (fortunately from another outlet) question at yesterday’s press session, held inside the Laycock Football Complex, adjacent to the Stadium. “That’s incorrect. I was 6’2”, 195.”

But the part about no scholarships may have been true.

“I didn’t have any expectations coming out of high school,” noted Rodgers, the star guest of William and Mary head football coach Jimmye Laycock's Colonial All-Pro Camp, which ended yesterday. “I was a realist. I wasn’t a great player yet. I knew that I had a lot of hard work between where I was at and where I wanted to be, at a big-time Division I program.”

Only one, Illinois, made an offer, as a walk-on. In a surprising move, Rodgers turned down the offer and decided to play at tiny Butte Community College, near his hometown of Chico, California. In 2002, after leading his team to a 10-1 record while throwing 28 touchdowns, other schools took notice. California, led by Coach Jeff Tedford, was one of them.

Immediately, Rodgers took charge of the Bears offense, throwing for almost 5,500 yards and 43 TD’s in his first two years at Cal. In spite of having one year of eligibility remaining, the junior made himself available for the 2005 draft and fell all the way to the 24th pick before being scooped up by the Packers.

Rodgers was groomed to be the heir apparent to future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre. However, Favre began his on-again, off-again relationship with the topic of retirement early in Rodgers’ career, not leaving until finally being traded to the New York Jets in 2008, soon after talking himself out of retirement for a third time.
While many players may have faltered from the unwillingness of the mentor to leave, Rodgers only grew stronger.

“It (the experience) forced me to improve as a football player, but also as a person. I knew that the opportunity was going to come and I was going to have to make the most of it. People were going to be watching, and I knew that the way I prepared for that situation would go a long way in the locker room with those guys (teammates).”

It may have also taught the quarterback something about humility. Yesterday, the large hands of the quarterback who has thrown for over 12,000 yards over the past three years while posting the highest passer rating in regular and post-season history, was lobbing soft passes for hundreds of young campers, waiting patiently for their opportunity to catch a ball from perhaps the hottest hand in the NFL.

For the record, neither hand was sporting the Super Bowl ring that Rodgers and his teammates collected earlier this month.

Back to the camp subject, it would seem that Rodgers was simply emulating his own camp experience as a youth. Again, no?

“I remember being a kid in California and not having this opportunity. To be able to spend time at a camp setting, with college players and Clay (Matthews), Ndamukong (Suh) and myself (Matthews and Suh appeared on Sunday and Monday, respectively), it’s just exciting to be here. Hopefully, we’ll inspire the kids in some way because I remember being that little kid with a dream.”

One parent, Hoss ("Everyone calls me Hoss," he said), brought his wife and children for the festivities. Although living on the Peninsula, both parents are from the Green Bay area, and were happy as Packers fans to be able to see Rodgers and Matthews. “We try to make it here whenever a pro player visits,” he said. The children appeared to be in possession of a Packers helmet which may or may not have been signed over the course of the morning.

Looking at next season, Rodgers is hopeful that in spite of the lost time, his teammates and he will be ready when and if the strike ends.

“I miss the guys. I’m probably in the best shape of my life, but getting ready to play, whenever that happens.” On the team front, he added, “I’m getting ready to begin my seventh year. Capers (Dom, the defensive coordinator) is in the third year with his system. (Head coach) Mike McCarthy is starting his sixth year. We’re not going to lose a lot of players. We don’t have to make a lot of adjustments as a team.”