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< Back Lamonda Davis 2017 a 1985 graduate of Chase High School, was All-Conference and All-State in Track & Field and basketball. She went on to become All-American track star at Appalachian State University from 1985-1989 where she graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. Davis has held the Soon record for the 100m race since 1989. Davis is a member of the Appalachian State University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Chase High School Athletic Hall of Fame. She was selected to Rutherford County's Greatest 50 Basketball Players in 2008. Miller-Davis's personal records include: 55m Dash (indoor) - 6.82; 100m Dash (outdoor) - 11.19; 200m Dash (indoor) - 23.84; 200m Dash (outdoor) - 23.21; 4 x 100m Relay (ASU) - 44.76; 4 x 100m Relay (USA) - 42.11. Among her other accomplishments, Miller-Davis was a six time NCAA All-American. four time United States National team member, Pan American Games in 1991 (Bronze Medal winner, 4 × 100m), World Cup in 1990 (Silver Medal winner, E 4 x 100), World University Games in 1991 (Gold Medal winner, 4 x 100), and Germany-England-USA Meet (Silver Medal 100m, and Gold, 4 x 100m). She was also a three time selection to the Olympic Festival Competition, winning two gold (4x 100m, 200m) and one silver medal (4 x 100m) and two time qualifier for theOlympic trials competition in both the 100m and the 200m. She was a thirteen time Southern Conference Champion (100m, 55m, 200m, 4 x 100m), two time Southern Conference Most Valuable Female Track Athlete, three time Appalachian Most Valuable Athlete in Women's Track, finished third in the 200m at the TAC National Championship in 1990, undefeated in conference competition for three years, Western North Carolina Female Athlete of the Year in 1989, holds eight Appalachian school records, ranked 19th in the world in the 100m dash in 1989, ranked 8th in the United States in the 100m dash in 1989, ranked 10th in the United States in the 200m dash in 1989, ranked 7th in the NCAA for outdoor track in the 100m dash in 1988, ranked 15th in the NCAA for outdoor track in the 200m dash in 1988, Appalachian's nomination for Athlete of the Year in the southern Conference in 1988 for male and female athletes, contributor to six Southern Conference team championship.

Induction Year Sort by Name Sort by Class Year Angela Hamilton-Jones Basketball Induction Year: 2018 Billy Ray Haynes Jr Football Induction Year: 2023 Carl Bartles Football Induction Year: 2024 Charles "Dean" Huffstickler Boxing Induction Year: 2023 Anthony "Chuck" McSwain Football Induction Year: 2017 Billy Ray Vickers Football Induction Year: 2022 Carolyn Dewberry Bratton Basketball Induction Year: 2019 Chris Michael Basketball Induction Year: 2023 Belus Smawley Basketball Induction Year: 2017 Bobby Reynolds Coach Induction Year: 2022 Chad Flack Baseball Induction Year: 2024 Conner Stroud Wheelchair Tennis Induction Year: 2025 1 2 3 4 1 ... 1 2 3 4 ... 4 **No Class of 2020 or 2021 Members due to COVID-19 Pandemic.**

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SCHOLARSHIPS Chase Football Photo: Dustin's Way FAQ about our Scholarship 1 Who is it for? One male student and one female student that is a senior and attends one of the four county high schools that compete in the NCHSAA. Those schools being: Chase High School East Rutherford High School R-S Central High School Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy 2 What does it take? Recipients are chosen based on: Having a good academic standing Participation in a sport Financial need 3 How do you get chosen? There is no formal application for students to complete. They are chosen by a group of coaches from each school. Info about Scholarships One of our goals when we began the RCSHOF was to start a scholarship program for student athletes. While the RCSHOF was founded in 2017 It was not until 2019 when we were able to make that goal a reality. We give one male and one female scholarship to each of the four county high schools that compete in the NCHSAA . The first class of Scholarship recipients were in 2019 and we awarded eight. Due to covid-19 we were unable to grant scholarships to the classes of 2020 and 2021. But in 2022 we were able to revive that program of work again and grant eight students with scholarships. 2025 Recipients 2024 Recipients 2023 Recipients 2022 Recipients 2019 Recipients East Rutherford Quay Logan Abbey Ranta RS Central Daniel Luke Ferguson Caitlin Dailey Chase Thomas Jefferson Heath Waldrop Sidney McCranie Issac Roberson Lauren Bennett - Don't Miss Out - SIGN UP FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS‭, ‬INFO AND UPDATES‭!‬ SUBSCRIBE Thanks for submitting!

- Welcome - Entering Rutherford County's Finest Athletics Territory ABOUT US In January of 2017, a committee was commissioned by local citizens of Rutherford County to establish a Rutherford County Sports Hall of Fame (RCSHOF) for the purpose of recognizing the efforts and achievements of athletes, coaches, and contributors. Fourteen members make up the Board of Directors of RCSHOF and they created the guidelines and selection process. The inductees should embody the intent, spirit, and historical context or Rutherford County's finest. MEET THE BOARD MEMBERS GOLF TOURNAMENT UPCOMING EVENTS July 31st Ball in the air at 9 AM Click here to learn more! 2026 INDUCTION CEREMONY UPCOMING EVENTS May 7th at 6:00pm ICC Foundation Click here to buy your ticket! Our Mission The Rutherford County Sports Hall of Fame is established to provide a means to recognize the extraordinary efforts and achievements of athletes, coaches, teams and contributors throughout Rutherford County. Our Legacy Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Share Channel Info - Don't Miss Out - SIGN UP FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS‭, ‬INFO AND UPDATES‭!‬ SUBSCRIBE Thanks for submitting! SAY HI!

< Back Dr. Bob England 2018 A lifetime athletic contributor, England volunteers for Rutherford County athletic programs providing physicals and mentorship to students and families. He attended R-S Central, graduating in 1950. While in high school, England displayed natural leadership, was class president and was a member of the baseball team in the position of catcher for two years. After high school, he joined the US Air Force where he served as Staff Sgt. From 1951-1955. Following his military service, Dr. England attended Wofford College, where he completed his under-graduate degree in 1958. He completed his medical degree, graduating from the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston in 1962. Dr. England settled into a long career, serving Rutherford County as a physician and sports medicine provider from 1964 to 2018. He also served as a member of the Rutherford County Board of Education from 1975 to 1994, 18 years as chairman. In addition, England served as a member of the NC House of Representatives from 2003-2011. For more than 21 years, Dr. England has covered the cost of sports physicals for Rutherford County student athletes, a savings to local families estimated to be more than $61,000. Upon hearing of being inducted into the Rutherford County Sports Hall of Fame, Dr. England said, "This honor gives recognition to a continuing career participating in sports and with athletes. I didn't score any touchdowns, hit any homeruns, or 'knock down' any 3-pointers; however, being a part of (the lives of) young athletes who did and those who went on to great success in sports. I felt like I scored!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML0_UxNqjZU

< Back William "Bill" Keever 2018 Olympic athlete in the trap shoot category, was born in Rutherford County, graduating from R-S Central High School in 1994. He was a four-time All-American 1991-1994, winning 13 state trophies. He was a member of the 1995 Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs and as a part of the 2000 Olympic Team, finished 12* in a select field, earned a bronze in the 2007 World Cup in Korea and a gold in 2006. Keever served as a shooter/instructor in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit from 1996 to 2012. He earned an AA in General Studies from Isothermal Community College in 1996. He graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Applied Management Business Management, Marketing and Related Support Services. Keever is currently the West Region President of Heavy Equipment Colleges of America in San Bernardino, CA. Keever is a volunteer with GameDay for Heroes, saying: "Working with Wounded Warriors is a passion intertwined in the fiber of my being." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DryXxcKWJS0

< Back Charles "Dean" Huffstickler 2023 Charles “Dean” Huffstickler not only had an outstanding athletic career in the ring as a boxer, he also found success as a coach and professionally as a police officer, as well. He has received numerous awards and honors as a coach and community leader, including being inducted into the Carolinas Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022. Huffstickler developed a passion for the “Sweet Science” at an early age. When he was 15 and a student at R-S Central High School, Huffstickler met Officer Red Bowers, who was the coach of the Rutherfordton Police Boxing team. In 1958, during his senior year at R-S, Huffstickler won the Middle-Weight Title at the High Point Golden Gloves AAU Tournament in High Point. In all, Huffstickler posted a record of 18-3 in the ring. During that same year of 1958, Huffstickler showed his athletic versatility by winning the NCHSAA State Title in the Mile (run) as a member of the Hilltoppers’ track team. He also played football and basketball during his time at R-S. After graduating from R-S in 1958, Huffstickler joined the United States Air Force and served until he was honorably discharged in 1962. Huffstickler joined the Gastonia Police Department in 1964 and enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an officer. Early in his career, while on his beat, Huffstickler saw several boys fighting in the streets and that motivated him to form the Gastonia Police Youth Club in November of 1971. The Club quickly grew and became part of the National Police Athletic League (PAL). Huffstickler also oversaw the club’s expansion to include baseball, football, and cheerleading teams involving hundreds of youths. In 1972, Huffstickler was chosen to coach the Regional Jr. Olympic Boxing team, a post he held from 1972-1977. During that time, Huffstickler traveled with the team to numerous events throughout the United States, even to Squaw Valley, California, the Official USA Junior Olympic Training Facility. Huffstickler’s notoriety in the boxing world allowed him to meet and coach true legends of the sport. In 1979, he was the head coach for the Cuban National Boxing Team when they faced off with the USA and Irish National teams at a tournament held at the Charlotte Coliseum. At that event, he got to coach future three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Teafilo Stevenson. In 1983, Huffstickler was the corner coach for rising star Evander Holyfield who eventually became World Heavyweight Champion. He also met Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier, Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali), and many others during his coaching career. Huffstickler retired from the Gastonia Police Department in 1990, but started his own business, Offshoot Academy. He taught handgun concealment classes, along with basic and advanced training classes until he retired again in 2018. Huffstickler currently resides in Gastonia with Peggy, his wife of nearly 60 years. The couple has three children and five grandchildren. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuclVgfpUE

< Back Belus Smawley 2017 A Rutherford county native from Ellenboro, is a credit for the development and regular use of a jump shot. Smawley developed his shot in the abandoned train depot near his home that was fashioned into a basketball court. When Smawley was 13, his father bought a small farm a half mile from an abandoned railroad depot along the old Southern Line. "In that depot, the young boys of Ellenboro improvised a peach-basket gym to play in during inclement weather, and in the fall of 1934, Belus used his incredible jumping ability - developed by leaping up to touch high tree limbs while on his farm chores to improvise a shot that no one had ever seen before. Off a dribble, he would stop suddenly, then with his back half to the basket leap high into the air, twisting to face the basket as he rose.. After high school, Smawley played guard/forward for Appalachian State prior to becoming one of the early stars of the Basketball Association of America (known today as National Basketball Association.) From 1946 to 1952, Smawley competed for the St. Louis Bombers, Syracuse Nationals, and Baltimore Bullets, averaging 12.7 points per game. During the 1948-49 BAA season, Smawley ranked sixth in the league in total points and fourth in field goals made. In 1992, Smawley was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Once his playing career ended, Smawley served as a school principal and basketball coach. Between 1951 and 1956, Smawley served as the Athletic Director and head men's basketball coach at Pembroke State College, known today as The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, in Pembroke, North Carolina. In December 1951, he took a three-month leave of absence from Pembroke State College to finish his playing career with the Baltimore Bullets. In his absence, Vernon Felton, a member of the Pembroke State faculty and former Appalachian State athlete, led the team to 12 wins and five losses; finishing the season at 12-10. Smawley was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnbnhhsIRLE

< Back Harold Morris "Gomer" Hodge 2018 Baseball player and coach, Hodge was born in Rutherfordton. Now deceased, he had a long career, playing in 80 Major League games with a batting average at .205 and 83 at-bats. Hodge was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians. He played for the Dubuque Packers first; he later played for the Salinas Indians, Pawtucket Indians, Portland Beavers and Savannah Indians, among others. Legend has it that he got his nickname, Gomer, from a teammate on the Burlington Indians team in 1964, due to his resemblance to the actor/singer Jim Nabors who played Gomer Pyle on TV. Hodge played his last game in 1971. He began a new baseball career in 1973 as coach for the Cleveland Indians organization, and later served as manager and coach for Milwaukee, Montreal and the Boston Red Sox before retiring in 1995. His son, Nicholas Hodge talks about the many happy memories of his father's baseball career. When Hodge was playing for the Red Sox, Nicholas remembers going to spring training with him. They ate together, breakfast and lunch, players and coaches, working out and practicing, laughing and working hard. "Dad hit his one and only homerun over The Green Monster' at Fenway Park against Roger Moret..he would always tell me," Nicholas said. He also remembers his father always brought a crockpot with him on the road, providing a meal of black beans and rice, bread and meat for the young players - many from the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico or Korea. "Dad would be so proud, and I know today, he is looking down upon all of us and smiling," said Nicholas Hodge, Harold Morris 'Gomer' Hodge passed away from Lou Gehrig's Disease in 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU3Oso9w8Ys

< Back Bobby Reynolds 2022 Bobby Reynolds is such a baseball coaching legend, he belongs to five different Hall of Fames (Rutherford County, Gaston County, East Rutherford High School, American Legion and North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association), and all of them for good reason. He has found success at every level of America's Past Time from a player to coaching high school and American Legion. Reynolds is a Cherryville, NC native and won two State Championships as a player at Cherryville High School in 1980 and 1982. Upon graduating in 1982, Reynolds went on to play collegiately at UNC-Wilmington, where he was a four-year starter for the Seahawks. During his college career, Reynolds set the single season record for the most doubles and the program mark for the most doubles in a career. After his playing days were over, Reynolds returned toCherryville as an assistant coach and helped guide the Ironmen to the 1992 State Title. After that '92 title, Reynolds became the head coach of the East Rutherford Cavaliers and remained at the helm until retiring in 2020. During that time, Reynolds and the Cavs have claimed 15 conference championships, nine West Regional Titles, three State Runner-Ups and an impressive six State Titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2016). During his 27 years at East, Reynolds compiled a record of 533-185 for a .748 winning percentage to go with a .720 winning percentage in the postseason. Reynolds also enjoyed success coaching American Legion baseball and he is still going strong after 33 seasons. He began coaching Cherryville Post 100 in 1988 until 1991 before becoming the head coach at Gastonia from 1992-96. While with Gastonia Post 23, Reynolds garnered a 90-53 record. Reynolds returned to coach Cherryville in 1997 and has become synonymous with Post 100’s success over the years. He has led them to 14 Area IV Titles, five State Championships, (1997, 1998, 2003, 2007 and 2011) and a pair of Southeast Regional Titles in 1998 and 2003. By winning those Regional Titles in ‘98 and ‘03, Cherryville advanced to the American Legion World Series, where Reynolds guided them to a second-place finish on both occasions. In all, Reynolds combined coaching record between both high school and Legion baseball is 1308-522, a .715 winning percentage. He is currently the assistant coach at East Rutherford with his son, Cavalier head coach Drew Reynolds. “All the credit for this honor goes to my players,” Reynolds said. “I did not throw, catch or hit a single pitch. It was all them. The thing I’m most proud of is the .720 winning percentage in the playoffs (with East Rutherford). Not many teams can say that.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keGI0GdatCw

< Back Billy Ray Vickers 2022 Forest City native Billy Ray Vickers was a force on the football field for the CHASE Trojans on both sides of the ball during his high school playing career from 1972-76. He went on to have a productive four seasons at NC State before an injury cut a promising NFL career short. Vickers, who grew up working on his grandparents' cotton farm, played at CHASE under fellow RCSHOF member Coach John Keeter. In 1974 asa junior, Vickers rushed for 632 yards and two touchdowns, as the Trojans finished at 4-4-1 in the Southwestern Conference. Vickers came into his own during his senior season of 1975. He and teammate Ray Harris formed a fearsome backfield tandem with each crossing the 1,000-yard mark, the first pair of teammates to reach that milestone during the same season in CHASE history. In all, Vickers rushed for 1,241 yards and 19 touchdowns in 1975, helping CHASE to an undefeated regular season and a conference title. In CHASE'S first round playoff win versus Watauga, held at Gardner-Webb's Spangler Stadium, Vickers rushed for four touchdowns in the Trojans' 45-0 victory. He was also the team's leading tackler that day. As a result of his outstanding senior season, Vickers was selected to play in the 1975 Shrine Bowl where he was named Defensive Player of the Game. Vickers was recruited to NC State (where he majored in Animal Science) by legendary coach Lou Holtz and played for Bo Rein. As a sophomore, Vickers rushed for a career-best 726 yards, helping NCSU earn a 24-14 Peach Bowl victory over lowa State. Vickers was featured in a Sports Illustrated preview of that game. As a junior, he scored eight touchdowns, and even though he was hampered by injuries in 1979 as a senior, Vickers averaged 4.6 yards per carry for a Wolfpack team that won the ACC Title. In all, Vickers garnered 2,375 All-Purpose yards and 12 touchdowns during his college career. Vickers was drafted by the Washington Redskins and later signed by the Baltimore Colts, but a knee injury cut his NFL career short. Vickers turned his efforts to other endeavors, mainly the manufacturing industry. Through the years, he has built several successful businesses and now he is the founder, owner and CEO of seven companies. One of those companies is Modular Assembly Innovations (MAI), a $1.2 billion automotive component manufacturing enterprise based in Dublin, Ohio. It employs more than 350 workers in four states and is ranked in the top five on the Black Enterprise List of 100 Top Black-owned companies in the nation as of 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Mvzg8bN_k