NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday the 12 inductees to be enshrined at its 52nd Annual Induction Banquet on June 16, 2018, at the Omni-Nashville Hotel. Five of those 12 are from the University of Tennessee.
A sixth Vol will be honored during the ceremony as VFL and founder of the Pilot Oil Corporation (now Pilot Flying J) Jim Haslam II will receive the Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award. Haslam was a starter on the offensive line during Tennessee’s 1951 national championship season. He was also a captain on the 1952 team.
The five former Vols slated for induction next summer include former UT men’s basketball standout and NBA All-Star and current general manager of the Westchester Knicks Allan Houston, former UT running back Johnnie Jones, former UT offensive lineman and current Oakland Raiders scout Raleigh McKenzie, former UT linebacker and current general manager of the Oakland Raiders Reggie McKenzie and 2004 Olympic gold medalist pole vaulter Tim Mack.
The other members of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame 2018 induction class include former Tennessee Titans all-pro safety Blaine Bishop, ACC tennis coaching great Chuck Kriese, MTSU multi-sport athlete Jackie Pope, former University of Memphis kicker Joe Allison, Maryville High School coaching great and current associate head coach at Furman University George Quarles, Tennessee State track standout and Olympic bronze medalist Isabelle Daniels Holston (posthumous) and former Lipscomb Academy football head coach Glenn McAdams (posthumous).
Tickets and sponsor packages for the induction banquet weekend can be purchased by contacting Lynn Powell Toy at 615-202-3996 or by e-mailinglynnpowelltoy@gmail.com.
The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, which held its first induction banquet in 1966, has as its goal to enshrine successful teams and individuals who display sportsmanship, good character and success, creating a legacy for others to follow. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Museum is housed inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, a 501c3, pays tribute to all those who have made an impact through sports in Tennessee. The Hall subscribes to the principle that sports serve society’s highest ideals by educating youth through sports. It promotes the virtues of competition, fair play, friendship, solidarity, mutual understanding and respect for human dignity. The best way to honor our sports legends is to pass this legacy down to future generations.
Allan Houston – Men’s Basketball
Allan Houston arrived in Knoxville as a state champion and McDonald’s All-American out of Louisville’s Ballard High School, and his father, Wade Houston, was UT’s head coach during Allan’s entire college career. Allan graduated from UT in 1993 with a degree in African-American studies. In 2003, Allan established the Wade Houston Scholarships for minority undergraduate students at UT.
Allan Houston finished his Big Orange career as the school’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, with 346 career treys to rank sixth all-time in NCAA history. He captured the 1993 SEC scoring title by averaging 22.3 points per game and also set UT’s single-season scoring record with 806 points as a sophomore in 1990-91. Houston played his way to MVP honors at the 1991 SEC Tournament, was named to ESPN’s five-man Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team and also earned a spot on Tennessee’s All-Century Team.
Houston ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring in 2002-03, averaging 22.5 points per game. He led the league in free-throw percentage (.919) and ranked fourth in 3-pointers made (178) that same year. He served as a Knicks co-captain from 1999-2005 and was a key contributor during the franchise’s run to the 1999 Eastern Conference Championship. His 11,165 points with the Knicks trails only Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.
In addition to his NBA success—which included six playoff appearances (during which he averaged 19.3 points per game), two All-Star appearances and a career scoring average of 17.3 points per game—Houston also earned Olympic gold with USA Basketball’s men’s team at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.
Johnnie Jones – Football
Johnnie Jones starred on the gridiron from 1981-84 and currently ranks fourth all-time in UT history with 2,852 career rushing yards. He is the only running back in Tennessee history with two seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing. He rushed for 1,116 yards in 1983 and 1,290 yards in 1984. Jones also racked up 517 career carries (eighth all-time), 19 rushing touchdowns and 13 100-yard rushing games (tied for third-most).
Before starring at UT, Jones had a legendary career at Munford High School, rushing for 4,547 yards and 47 touchdowns and earning consensus all-state honors and All-South honorable mention accolades as a senior. He was part of a talented Tennessee class that included fellow 2018 hall of fame inductees Raleigh McKenzie and Reggie McKenzie, as well as Alan Cockrell, Carl Zander and Alvin Toles. Jones was a 1984 Second Team All-American (Gannett) and earned First Team All-SEC honors in 1983 and 1984.
Jones had a breakout year for the Vols as a junior in 1983. He rushed for 112 yards and scored the game-winning 66-yard touchdown in the Vols’ 41-34 win over rival Alabama. Against Rutgers on Oct. 29, he set a new Tennessee single-game rushing record with 234 yards on a still-record 41 attempts. Jones broke his own rushing yards record in the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt with 248 yards, a mark that stood for six seasons. He was named the MVP of the Florida Citrus Bowl, leading the Vols to a 30-23 win over Maryland with 154 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
In 1984, Jones opened the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate. He scored what would be the game-winning touchdown in the Vols’ 28-27 win over Alabama, punching it in from one yard out. His 1,290 rushing yards in 1984 broke his own single-season rushing record and that mark stood for 11 years.
The Seattle Seahawks selected Jones in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft with the 137th overall pick. After short stints with the Seahawks and the Houston Oilers, he had a two-year career in the Canadian Football League, playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1987-88.
Raleigh McKenzie – Football
Raleigh McKenzie enjoyed a standout career at the University of Tennessee from 1981-84. He played at linebacker as a freshman, but moved to center during his 1982 sophomore season. McKenzie helped anchor a line that blocked for Johnnie Jones’ record-setting rushing seasons in 1983 and 1984.
After the Washington Redskins selected him in the 11th round of the 1985 NFL Draft with the 290th overall pick, McKenzie played in the NFL for 16 years and won Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXVI with the Redskins. After playing guard for Washington from 1985-94, he later played for the Philadelphia Eagles (1995-96), San Diego Chargers (1997-98) and Green Bay Packers (1999-2000). Nicknamed “Rallo,” McKenzie played in 227 games in his career and made 184 starts. He earned All-NFL honors in 1991.
McKenzie is currently a college scout for the Oakland Raiders.
Reggie McKenzie – Football
Reggie McKenzie starred at linebacker for the University of Tennessee from 1981-84. His improved with each season and finished his UT career with 174 tackles (108 solo) and 4.0 sacks.
He played in 11 games as a freshman, posting 20 tackles (nine solo). The next year, he tallied 33 tackles (18 solo). As a junior in 1983, he recorded three sacks to go with 32 stops (18 solo). He enjoyed his most productive year as a senior in 1984. Forming a fearsome linebacker corps that also included Carl Zander, Alvin Toles and Dale Jones, McKenzie racked up 89 tackles (63 solo), one sack, one interception and two fumble recoveries during his senior campaign.
The then-Los Angeles Raiders drafted McKenzie in the 10th round of the 1985 NFL Draft with the 275th overall selection. He started as a rookie played for the Raiders from 1985-88.
In 1991, he spent one season as a defensive coach for Dorsey High School in Los Angeles before returning to his football playing career in the spring of 1992 with the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football. He returned to the NFL in 1992, playing two games for the San Francisco 49ers.
McKenzie returned to the University of Tennessee in 1993 and served as an assistant under head coach Philip Fulmer as the Vols went 10-2 and ended the season in the Florida Citrus Bowl. That year, UT landed one of the nation’s top recruiting classes with a group that featured quarterback Peyton Manning.
McKenzie worked for the Green Bay Packers from 1994-2012, rising through the organization’s ranks as a scout, director of player personnel and director of football operations. In 2012, longtime Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis hired McKenzie to become his new general manager, a position that Davis himself had maintained since 1966. After making head coach changes and overhauling the roster in his first few years as Oakland’s GM, McKenzie’s 2016 Raiders posted a 12-4 regular-season record and he was named the NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Tim Mack – Track & Field: Pole Vault
Tim Mack won gold in the pole vault at the 2004 Athens Olympics with an Olympic-record vault of 5.95 meters. He is also a three-time NCAA All-American pole vaulter and won the won the 1995 NCAA Indoor men’s pole vault title with a height of 5.60 meters (18-4.50).
In 1994, Mack finished fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a height of 5.49 meters (18-0.50). Months later, that same height of 5.49 meters (18-0.50) proved to be enough to earn him the 1995 SEC men’s indoor pole vault crown and a few meets later he would win the NCAA indoor title. Mack took sixth place at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a vault of 5.28 meters (17-4.25).
Mack also won gold at the 2001 Goodwill games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia as he cleared 5.80 meters. He continued his early 21st-century rise in the sport, winning at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2002 by clearing 5.70 meters and finishing second at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that same year with a height of 5.74. In 2003, Mack finished third at both the USA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. In 2004, he won the pole vault at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a vault of 5.90 meters, earning his spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
At the 2nd IAAF World Athletics Final in 2004 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Mack won with a vault of 6.01 meters, putting him in the exclusive “6 meters club” of pole vaulters who had reached that elusive height.
-UT Athletics
