Troy Announces 2013 Troy University Sports Hall of Fame Class
Published 4:30 pm Thursday, February 7, 2013
Eight former Troy University student-athletes, administrators and coaches will be enshrined into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 20, Athletic Director John Hartwell announced Thursday afternoon.
The second class into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame consists of John Archer (men’s basketball), John “Doc” Anderson (track & field/cross country; administration), Bobby Enslen (football), Chan Gailey (football), Danny Grant (football), Joyce Sorrell (women’s basketball; administration), Willie Tullis (football) and Lawrence Tynes (football).
“Troy has a tremendous athletics history and the eight selections for the 2013 Troy University Sports Hall of Fame class are outstanding representatives of our past,” Hartwell said. “In addition to their athletic accomplishments which speak for themselves, they have also been great ambassadors for Troy University throughout their communities and across the country. On behalf of Troy University, would like to congratulate them of this prestigious honor and thank them for their service to Troy University.”
The induction ceremony will be the premier event of a busy T-Club Weekend on campus. The Troy baseball and softball teams will host Sun Belt Conference series, while the Trojan football team will play its annual T-Day Spring Game at 11 a.m. on the morning of the ceremony.
“The 2013 Troy University Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will be the culmination of a exciting weekend on our campus,” Hartwell said. “We are excited to move the banquet to April this year to coincide with our T-Club Weekend so that more of our former athletes will have an opportunity to attend the banquet that will honor their teammates and coaches.”
Seats for the ceremony in Trojan Arena can be purchased for $100 each and tables can be purchased for $800. Sponsorships are also available for the evening. For more information or to purchase tickets contact the Troy Athletic Department at 334-670-3482.
2013 Troy University Sports Hall of Fame Class
John “Doc” Anderson – Track & Field / Cross Country; Administration – Currently an associate professor and clinical director in Troy University’s Athletic Training Education program, John “Doc” Anderson previously served as Troy State’s track and field and cross country head coach (1969-1980) and head athletic trainer (1965-80). After a 10-year stint as head athletic trainer at LSU, Anderson returned to Troy State in 1990 and continued to coach the cross country teams. Anderson has been named NAIA Track Coach of the Year twice (1973, 1974) and was named National Cross Country Coach of the Year (1992). He was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year six different times and NCAA Division II Regional Coach of the Year four times. Anderson’s track and field teams won two Alabama Collegiate Conference championships (1970, 1971) as well as one Gulf South Conference Championship (1977). Anderson’s cross country teams dominated the Gulf South Conference as they won 10 conference titles (1971, 1974-79, 1991-92, 1994) and five NCAA Division II Regional Championships (1974-76, 1978-79). Throughout his time at Troy, Anderson coached 45 All-Americans, including Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member Charles Oliver, who won the NAIA 400-meter National Championship in 1976. Anderson, a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, served as an athletic trainer for U.S. Track and Field at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and was a member of the U.S. Track and Field medical team in 1984, 1988 and 1992.
John Archer – Men’s Basketball – Serving as men’s basketball head coach for 17 seasons (1956-73), John Archer posted a 303-185 record at Troy State. The Arkansas native made an immediate impact on the program as he led Troy State to three NAIA National Tournament appearances in his first three seasons. Archer coached three Alabama Collegiate Conference championship teams (1960-61, 1961-62, 1963-64) and also served as the head tennis coach and football line coach in the early stages of his time at Troy State. Archer served on the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Committee in 1969 where he helped choose the United States’ teams for the Olympics and Pan American Games. After his coaching days were over, Archer remained on the Troy State staff as a physical education instructor and intramural director. John Archer passed away on Oct. 13, 1998.
Bobby Enslen – Football – Bobby Enslen finished his career at Troy State as one of the most dangerous all-purpose players in the country. Enslen had 61 catches for 970 yards and 12 touchdowns during Troy State’s 1968 NAIA National Championship season and still today holds the Troy record for the longest punt return in school history with his 90-yard return against Samford in 1967. An all-conference and all-district selection, Enslen’s 12 touchdown receptions in 1968 still rank as the third most in a season in Troy history, while his 61 catches and 970 receiving yards rank eighth; his 16 career touchdowns still sit as the fifth most in Troy history. He tied the NAIA record with four touchdown receptions in Troy State’s 63-10 victory over Willamette in the national semifinals (Troy’s Danny Grant set the record in 1966). The Red Wave went a combined 19-3 in Enslen’s two seasons and won a pair of Alabama Collegiate Conference championships.
Chan Gailey – Football – Chan Gailey spent just two seasons as the head coach of the Troy State football team, but his impact was felt for many years. Gailey turned around a program that won just five games over the two years prior to his arrival (1981-82) into the 1984 NCAA Division II National Champions. His incredible turnaround of the Trojan football program led to another Division II National Title in 1987 and helped lay the groundwork for the future of Troy football. Gailey guided the Trojans to a 7-4 record in his first season just one year removed from a 2-8 finish. Troy State opened Gailey’s second season with seven straight victories and finished the year with five straight wins, including an 18-17 win over North Dakota State in the National Championship Game on Ted Clem’s 50-yard field goal as time expired. Gailey, who was an assistant coach at Troy State from 1976-78, moved to the NFL as an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos following the 1984 season before becoming the head coach of the Birmingham Fire (NFL Europe) and Samford. Gailey has also served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Georgia Tech.
Danny Grant – Football – One of the most dominate receivers in Troy football history, Danny Grant still ranks among the all-time single-season and career leaders in school history over 40 years following his playing career. An NAIA All-America selection, Grant finished his three-year career at Troy State with 44 career touchdown receptions, which is 17 more than anyone else in school history. Grant’s All-America season came during Troy State’s 1968 National Championship run. He caught 72 passes for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns to become the first player in school history to top the 1,000-yard receiving mark. Grant’s 14 touchdown receptions in 1966 and 1968 still stand as Troy single-season records and his 10 touchdown grabs in 1967 rank as the fifth most; a Troy player has caught double-digit touchdowns just six times over the rich history of the program and Grant has three of those six. Grant, who was a three-time all-conference selection, set the NAIA single-game record with four touchdown receptions in 1966 against Arkansas State and still owns the Troy single-game records for receptions (16), receiving yards (225), touchdown receptions (4) and points scored (24). Grant’s career numbers have also stood the test of time as he ranks second in receptions (215), receiving yards (2,907) and receptions per game (5.1).
Joyce Sorrell – Women’s Basketball; Administrator – Joyce Sorrell is the mother of women’s athletics at Troy University. Originally hired as an instructor in the Department of Health and Physical Education in 1968, Sorrell recognized a need for women’s athletics at Troy State. After directing women’s intramurals, Sorrell developed an extramural program that evolved into the women’s athletic program in 1976. On Aug. 19, 1976, Sorrell was named the first ever Coordinator for Women’s Sports at Troy State as the university began to officially sponsor women’s basketball, volleyball and tennis. Sorrell served as the head coach for all three in the early stages of the program, but made her name in the coaching field on the hardwood. Sorrell served as the women’s basketball head coach at Troy State for 20 years (1975-95) and recorded 274 wins along the way, still the most in program history. Sorrell’s 1980-81 team won an Alabama AIAW State Championship and posted an 18-16 overall record on the season. Sorrell coached an All-American in Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member Denise Monroe from 1977 to 1981. Sorrell led the women’s basketball program through seven years (1975-82) as a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) before the NCAA began sponsoring championships in women’s athletics in 1982. Sorrell helped the program then transfer from NCAA Division II to Division I in 1993-94 before retiring from coaching in 1995. Sorrell retired from Troy University in 2006 after 39 years at Troy teaching in the Department of Health and Physical Education and coaching.
Willie Tullis – Football – A Kodak All-American and two-time All-Gulf South selection, Willie Tullis still ranks among the all-time Troy greats in several offensive categories. In his All-American season (1980), Tullis rushed for 450 yards and six touchdowns and passed for 1,880 yards and 14 touchdowns. Tullis’ career numbers still stand true as he ranks ninth in passing yards (3,456) and passing touchdowns (25), while his 15.5 average yards per completion rank him seventh among Troy’s all-time quarterbacks and his 15 career rushing touchdowns are the 12th most in school history. The Trojans won 21 games and lost just seven during his time at Troy State before he moved on to a successful NFL career. Tullis was selected by the Houston Oilers in the eighth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. From there, he spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts before ending his career in 1988. Tullis opened his NFL career in style as he returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown in his first career game.
Lawrence Tynes – Football – Lawrence Tynes transformed his successful career as a Trojan into a pair of Super Bowl titles with the New York Giants. A three-time All-Southland Conference selection, Tynes helped Troy State to a pair of NCAA Division I-AA Playoff berths and Southland Conference titles in 1999 and 2000. Tynes holds Troy’s career record after he connected on 98.2 percent (111-of-113) of his extra points and is second in career field goal percentage (77.2) while ranking third all-time in field goals made (44). Tynes played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004 to 2006 before signing with the Giants in 2007. He booted the game-winning field goal in overtime of the 2008 NFC Championship Game and the 2011 NFC Championship Game to send the Giants to the Super Bowl. Tynes has made 82 percent of his field goals as a professional and has not missed an extra point in five seasons. Tynes is also well known for his charitable work in both New York and his hometown of Milton, Fla.