The University of Nevada has announced their Athletic Hall of Fame Class and it is making history as it an all-female class, the first in their history.  This commemorates the 100^thanniversary of women’s sports at the school.

The members of the Class of 2019 are:

Teal Ericson– Volleyball (2004-07)

Ericson was a First Team All-WAC Selection in 2007 and helped the Wolf Pack make the NCAA Tournament in both 2004 and 2005. She is second all-time in kills and third all-time in points for the school.

Pat Hixson– Volleyball, Women’s Basketball & Softball (1974-77), Softball Assistant Coach (1978-79), Softball Head Coach (1980-89)

A three-sport athlete at Nevada, Hixson would have more success as a coach as she took Nevada to their first AIAW World Series in 1980.  She would take them there again in 1982.  As a player, she set single-season records for Home Runs, Hits and Walks.

Meghan Morrill– Rifle (2004-08)

Morrill was a First Team All-American in 2006 and 2008 and had the highest individual air rifle score at the 2005 NCAA air rifle championships.

Brittany Puzey– Softball (2006-09)

Puzey was a First Team All-WAC player in her last three seasons and is the all-time school leader in Stolen Bases.  She is also second all-time in Home Runs and Runs Batted In and was vital in their run to the WAC Tournament Championship in 2006. 

Regina Ratigan– Women’s Basketball, Softball and Volleyball (1977-80

A three-sport athlete, Ratgan was best at Basketball where she at one time held the singles season scoring record.

Cindy Rock– Women’s Basketball, Softball & Volleyball (1977-79)

Rock was another three-sport athlete at Nevada and she set a since broken single-game women’s basketball record for points with 44.  She would make history as the first out of state scholarship recipient for a female student-athlete.

Karly Siphers– Volleyball (2004-07)

Siphers was a First Team All-WAC player in 2007 and was Second-Team in the three seasons before.

Angie Taylor– Women’s Basketball (1981-85), Athletics Administration 1987-2000)

After her playing career, she would serve for 14 years in Athletics Administration for the University of Nevada.

Ellen Townsend– Volleyball & Softball (1976-77) Women’s Basketball (1976-79)

Townsend was a three-sport athlete who was especially talented in Softball, playing at third base for the Lobos. 

The Nevada Athletic Hall of Fame was first formed in 1973 and it boasts over 200 inductees.  This group will be honored at halftime of their home football game against Weber State on September 14.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending Athletic Hall of Fame Class of the University of Nevada.

It is a sad day in Raider Nation as Cliff Branch has passed away at the age of 71.  He was found dead in his hotel room and is believed to have died of natural causes.

Branch played his college ball at the University of Colorado where he was also a track star.  The Oakland Raiders would select him in the fourth round of the 1972 Draft and that was the team he would play his entire 14-year career. Branch had his best seasons from 1974 to 1974 where he was named to the Pro Bowl each year with First Team All-Pro Selections in the first three.  He would lead the NFL in Receiving Yards in 1974 and Touchdown Receptions in 1974 and 1976.  Branch would also be a member of three Super Bowl Championship Teams (XI, XV and XVIII) and before it was broken by Jerry Rice, he was the all-time playoff leader in Receptions and Receiving yards.  He would overall catch 501 passes for 8,685 Yards and 67 Touchdowns.

While Branch had not been chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was a two-time Semi-Finalist (2004 & 2010).  He is ranked #13 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list for those to consider for Canton.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Cliff Branch at this time.

We have seen a lot lately of Donovan McNabb and his plight for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, from Terrell Owens simply saying “Who?” when asked about McNabb and McNabb himself comparing his stats to Troy Aikman and saying that he is a Hall of Famer.

McNabb’s candidacy has been much aligned by critics and fans and even on our site, he has not received a lot of support.

He does, however, have a great fan for his potential Hall of Fame bust in his former coach Andy Reid, who had this to say:

“Listen, I’m his biggest fan. I was there. I know he belongs there.  You talk about the great players in the National Football League? Five championship games, a Super Bowl? All those things? Good football player. Great football player, and did some things that weren’t being done at that particular time in a lot of areas. I think the world of him.”

Reid makes a lot of good points, but they seem to have gone on deaf ears in terms of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  McNabb has yet to be a Semi-Finalist and based on history it does not seem that he will be chosen this year.

Either way, we will be paying attention.

It was announced today that Harley Race, former seven-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the World passed away today at the age of 76 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

Race began in career in the early 1960’s and he would first achieve significant success as a tag team with Larry Hennig in the American Wrestling Association where they would hold the AWA World Tag Team Championship three times.  Race sought a singles career and he would cut his teeth in the Midwest, impressing NWA promoters enough to put the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on him.  In what was considered an upset at the time, Race defeated Dory Funk Jr. for the title in 1973 in Kansas City, though it was not expected that he would be the World Champion for long.  In reality, the NWA had Race beat Funk Jr. as they wanted to eventually put the title on Jack Brisco as they were not certain that Dory would do the honors for Brisco. With Race as his opponent, Funk Jr. would have a hard time escaping with the title as Race had already established himself as the toughest man in the business and one would only lose if he allowed himself to.

Race’s title run was brief, as he lost to Jack Brissco a few months later but Race’s profile was raised, which he continued to add to by wrestling all over the world and winning titles everywhere.  This included the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title and the Mid-Atlantic United States Championship, the latter of which he would be the first ever champ.  

When Brisco wanted to relinquish the title, the NWA board voted 4 to 3 in favor of Terry Funk to be the champion but Funk himself would ask to lose the title for personal reasons and in 1977, Harley Race would defeat Funk for the World Heavyweight Title.  Save for brief one-week reigns by Dusty Rhodes, Giant Baba and Tommy Rich, Race was a dominant champion for four years.  He lost it again to Rhodes, who in turn lost it to Ric Flair, and Race would beat Flair for his 7^thWorld Title reign in June of 1983, which would set up Starrcade, a closed-circuit broadcast that was main-evented by Race defending his title in a Steel Cage Match against Flair.  Race lost, and focused on the Central States and St. Louis territory of which he was a part-owner as the World Wrestling Federation was growing by leaps and bounds and he stayed in St. Louis to battle Vince McMahon until 1986 when he joined the WWF.

In the WWF, he would win two “King of the Ring” tournaments and would be given the “King” gimmick.  He had a Wrestlemania III win over the Junkyard Dog and would then face Hulk Hogan in a series of matches for Hogan’s World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title. In a match that was televised on Saturday Night’s Main Event in early 1988, Race went body first through a table and complications from that caused him suffer a serious intestinal injury. Race’s career wound down after that, though after he left the WWF, he did wrestle again in the AWA and NWA for a bit.

He resurfaced in 1992 in WCW as a manager, where he was most closely associated with Big Van Vader, who would win the Heavyweight Title multiple times there.

Race would be inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1994, Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Harley Race at this time.