From Willie Richardson, the school's first nationally-recognized football player, to Walter Payton, the most celebrated sports figure, to Cleveland Buckner, one of the first Tigers to enter the NBA, the historical feats left by past JSU athletes have made an impact on the sports world.
Basketball stars Eugene and Purvis Short, baseball's Dennis 'Oil Can' Boyd and track and field's Tomysyne Ford Toney helped keep the JSU athletic tradition strong in the 1970s. Former JSU tennis star Kelvin Belcher and running back Lewis Tillman carried a lot of that weight in the 1980s. Jimmy Smith (NFL) and Lindsey Hunter (NBA) helped carry the torch in the 1990s.
Golfer Tim O'Neal, currently competing on the Nationwide Tour - a step below the PGA Tour, is one of JSU's proudest sons in today's athletic arena.
The JSU SHOF has 165 members, including the 2009 class. Below is the complete list of JSU Hall of Famers as well as a copy of the Jackson State University Sports Hall of Fame Nomination Bulletin. Individuals interested in nominating themselves or others may download a copy of the nomination bulletin to do so.
JSU Sports Hall of Fame Classes by Year
1973
A.A. "Toy" Alexander
Earl W. Banks
Luther J. "Hot" Marshall
Lucius "Mitch" Mitchell
Edgar "Tripp" Stewart
1974
Tellis B. Ellis Jr.
Percy Greene
John L. "Slick" Sullivan
C.D. "Pillar" Westbrook, Jr
1975
Edward S. Bishop, Sr.
T.B. Brown
Wallace A. "Fats" Huggins
Giles "Froggy" Hubert
Robert L Wolfe
1976
Clarence Watson
Raymond Sunshine Gilliam
Commodore Dewey Higgins
Frank Bear McCune
1977
Herbert A. Wilson
Leroy Ramsey
Robert G. Clark, Jr
John A. Peoples, Jr.
1978
Willie Richardson
*Mayne P. Higgins
*Joel "McCoy" Ingram
1979
Robet Carl "Bob" Hill
Melvin Woods
*Walter A. Reed, Jr.
1980
*Joseph Harrison Jackson
Estus Smith
Jean C. Wilson
1981
*Robert C. Cooper
Ben McGee, Jr.
Wiley R. White
1982
Willie T. Allen
Aaron Jones
Walter Reed
1983
Alvin Odell Chambliss, Jr.
*Roy C. Hill
Lem Barney
Beverly Vernon Bishop, Sr.
1984
*Thomas J. "Toe" Hill
Harold Jackson
*Gloria Crawford Paige
*John Dolph Rhodes, Sr.
1985
Robet Braddy
James A. Brooks
*Walter Jerry Payton
Cornell "Snake" Warner
1986
Frances Walters Pippins Carter
Richard Caster
Archie Lee Cooley, Jr.
*Daneil W. Heath
*Robert A. "Trixie" Johnson
1987
Tellis B. Ellis, III
Jimmie Lewis Franklin
*John Henry "Big Red" Grantham
Eddie Payton
1988
Jerome Barkum
Paul Covington
*Eugen Marshall
Roderick R. Paige
*Ray Y. Self
1989
*James Carson
Vera A. Ford
Robet Hughes
Melvin Pete, Sr.
1990
*Verlon Biggs
Robert Banks
Roy Curry
Helen Sias
*Stanlee Greene
1991
*Ralph H. Bishop
Genen Bright
*Sylvester Collins
Sam Jones
Leslie Peters
*Leroy Smith
Sank Powe
1992
Hylon Adams
Theodore Ambrose
Marvin Brown
Shirley "Billy" Harris
Calvin Scott
Jimmy Ray Smith
1994
Louis Bullard
Bertha Hardy Smith
Luther Williams
Roscoe Word
2000
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd
Dave Clark
Pam McDonald-Felder
Tommie Funchess
Lyvonne LeFlore
William Revies
*Willie Shepherd
Eugene Short
Purvis Short
Jackie Slater
Earl Thomas
*LaFon Fuller-Wiley
2002
Evelyn Bender
Hubert Butler
Gloria D. Freeman
Larry Hardy
Perry Harringotn
Marion Henly
Clifton Marshall
Audie Norris
Kenny O' Banner
John Outlaw
Aaron Sellers
John Earl Shinall
Esther Hope Washington
2003
Robert L. Brazile
Christopher L. Burkett
Charles H. Figgs
Lisa Thomas Freeman
*Harrison Hal
James Hartfield
Brenda Pinch Holloway
Wardell Leach
Edward R. Manning
*Donald Reese
Earl Sanders
Leon Seals
2004
Charles Bingham, Jr.
William H. Cotton
Sheila Sanders-Dupree
*Huey Gayden, Jr.
A.W. Holt
Mozella Gibson-Jackson
John McKenzie
Kelvin Moore
Lewis Tillman
Jerry Yarbrough
Emanuel Zanders
2005
Cleveland Buckner
Dennis Conner
Larry D. Cowan
Annie B. Currie
Tomysyne Toney Ford
Clinton Johnson, Jr.
Elwood Johnson
Jessie R. Jones
Tyrone Kidd
Jeffery Moore
Sylvester Stamps
2006
Eva Freeman Anderson
The Late Harold L. Bishop
Vivian Brown
Leon Campbell
Robert E. Frith
Daryl Jones
Vernon Perry,
Yolanda K. Stringfellow
Lori T. Swanier
2009
Tommie Campbell
Shawn Gregory
Picasso Nelson
Karen Taylor
Lester Walls
Jobie Martin
W.C. Grorden
