Ben Hogan, Sammy Baugh among the inaugural class of the Fort Worth Sports Hall of Fame

Assembling any list is asking for a debate, i.e. a fight.

When it comes to a potential inaugural class for the Fort Worth Sports Hall of Fame, there must be boundaries. Boundaries carved in dry sand.

Any Hall of Fame is inexact, so react accordingly.

First Class of Fort Worth Sports Hall of Fame:

Johnny Rutherford, motorsports, March 12, 1938 - pres.

The long time Fort Worth resident and graduate of North Side high school is one of America’s greatest race car drivers. He is a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, and won 27 Indy car races in his career.

A member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame, Rutherford drove every style of car that existed in the early days of the profession, most notably NASCAR and the Daytona 500.

Ben Hogan, golf, August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997

The name should do it.

The long time Fort Worth resident is of the greatest golfers who ever lived. After serving in the Army during World War II, he won the PGA in 1946. In 1948, he won the PGA and U.S. Open.

Between 1945 to ‘49, he won 37 tournaments.

Sixteen months after surviving a near fatal car crash in 1949, he came back to win the U.S. Open at Merion in Pennsylvania. He would go on to win more U.S. Opens, the Masters, the British Open, among others.

Along with Jack, Arnie and Tiger, Hogan is one of the rare one-named legends of the sport.

Robert Hughes, basketball coach, May 15, 1928 – pres.

A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Hughes has more wins coaching basketball than any person but one, ex Granbury girls’ basketball coach Leta Andrews.

Few coaches in any sport are as synonymous with their school, and community, the way Hughes remains with Fort Worth’s Dunbar in Stop Six.

When Fort Worth was still stuck in segregation, Hughes began his career at I.M. Terrell where he coached from 1958 to 1973. He moved to Dunbar in 1973 where he coached and taught for 32 years, and turned Dunbar into a national power.

Tris Speaker, baseball, April 4, 1888 – Dec. 8, 1958

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Speaker played football and baseball while he attended Polytechnic College, now Texas Wesleyan.

He sustained an arm injury playing football at Polytechnic College that doctors told him required amputation.

After overcoming that injury, he played in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1928, and was one of the greatest contact hitters who ever lived. In 1916 led the AL in seven offensive categories.

He retired with 792 doubles, which remains a major league record. He was named American League MVP in 1912.

Donald Curry, boxing, Sept. 7, 1961 – pres.

The Fort Worth native was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019 for his achievements in the 1980s.

Curry was part of the lost generation of American boxers who were members of Team USA but missed the 1980 Summer Olympics because of the U.S. boycott of the games in Moscow.

Curry held the WBA welterweight title from 1983 to ‘86, and was the undisputed title holder in 1985 and ‘86. He was the WBC light middleweight title holder from 1988 to ‘89.

Sammy Baugh, football, March 17, 1914 – Dec. 17, 2008

The TCU alum was the best player of his generation, and was America’s first celebrity football player.

A two-time All-American at TCU in his three-year playing career, he led TCU to a 29-7-2 record and wins in the 1936 Sugar Bowl and 1937 Cotton Bowl.

Slingin’ Sammy Baugh originally began in pro baseball but switched to football and played 16 seasons for the Washington Redskins, starred in a Hollywood movie, and was a part of the Pro Football of Fame’s first class in 1963.

Sandra Haynie, golf, June 4, 1943 – pres.

One of the best players while she was on the LPGA Tour in the 1960s and ‘70s, she was inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 1977.

In 1974, she became the second woman’s player to win the LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open in the same season. In 1970, she was named the Player of the Year.

Between 1961 and 1976, she won 39 tournaments. Overall, she won four majors, 42 LPGA Tour events, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Dan Jenkins, sports writer, Dec. 2, 1928 – March 7, 2019

The Paschal and TCU alum is arguably the greatest sports journalist who ever lived; his work was appointment reading when it appeared in Sports Illustrated, Twitter, or an email. No one could have loved his town more than Dan Jenkins loved Fort Worth.

Rogers Hornsby, baseball, April 27, 1896 – Jan. 5, 1963

Born in Winters, Texas, Hornsby moved to Fort Worth when he was 6. He was raised here, and after his career as a major league baseball player ended he managed the Fort Worth Cats.

He played in the big leagues from 1915 to 1937, was a two-time MVP, won seven batting titles, two triple crowns, one World Series and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942.

Hornsby finished with a career batting average of .358, second only to Ty Cobb.

Mitzi Lucas Riley, rodeo, Jan. 10, 1928 – pres.

A member of the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, she reportedly learned to ride a horse before she could walk. She made her rodeo debut when she was only 6, in 1933, filling in for her mother who was injured during a show performing a trick.

She turned down lucrative offers from Hollywood and became a rodeo fixture for 20 years. Her routines often included combining gymnastic moves on a horse.

She was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1995, and honored at the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

LaDainian Tomlinson, football, June 23-1971-pres.

A member of the college football and NFL hall of fames, Tomlinson was a standout at TCU (1997-2000) where he set numerous program and national records, including a 406-yard single-game rushing record on Nov. 20, 1999, against UTEP. As a senior, he won the Doak Walker Award as the country’s top running back.

The fifth pick in the 2000 NFL draft, Tomlinson went on to a stellar NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets. TCU and the Chargers have retired his uniform number.