Harris County-Houston Sports Authority Inisder

New class of Houston sports Hall of Fame inductees announced

New class of Houston sports Hall of Fame inductees announced
George Foreman heads the latest Houston Hall class. Gary Miller/Getty Images for Houston Sports Awards

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It was a perfect Saturday morning and the putting green at Champions Golf Club was packed. Some were getting in a little work. Others were waiting for a special moment.

In the middle of the green, Jack Burke Jr had his head down, showing a member how to stroke through the ball. He took another stroke and the ball slipped into the hole.

He turned around and - with Champions green and white balloons blowing in the wind - was welcomed to the 2019 Houston Sports Hall of Fame Class by Chairman of the Houston Sports Hall of Fame selection committee John McClain, and Harris County – Houston Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke.

The 95-year-old Burke joins Houston Oilers Luv Ya Blue quarterback Dan Pastorini, two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist George Foreman and A.J. Foyt, one of the best drivers ever to slip into a race car.

It's hard to top last year's inaugural class of Earl Campbell, Hakeem Olajuwon and Nolan Ryan – Houston's 34s – so we cast a wider net for the 2019 Houston Sports Awards and are celebrating a lifetime of Houston sports, one decade at a time, February 6 at the Hilton Americas.

And it just so happens that Burke, Foyt, Foreman and Pastorini highlight four of those decades as they mark anniversaries of some iconic milestones.

For Burke, who graduated from St, Thomas High School, that means celebrating the 70th anniversary of his first professional win – the 1949 Metropolitan Open. He went on to win 17 PGA TOUR events, including both the Masters and PGA in 1956. And it doesn't stop there. The World Golf Hall of Famer also played on five Ryder Cup teams, captained two Ryder Cup teams and Champions, the club he co-founded with Jimmy Demaret, hosted the 1967 Ryder Cup.

For our 60th Anniversary celebration, it was a no brainer as 1958 was the year that AJ Foyt Made his Indianapolis 500 debut. He would go on to win Indy four times, the first ever to accomplish that feat. He won at every level and is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Already a member or International Motorsports Hall of Fame, The Auto racing Hall of Fame, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, and countless others, AJ Foyt was genuinely thrilled to recognized by his hometown.

"I'm glad to be in the Hall of Fame here,'' he said. "I was born and raised here and I guess this is where I'm gonna die, but it's great to be here and Houston's been a good town for me.''

50 Years, the golden anniversary. Fitting, since it was 1968 that a kid from the 5th ward in Houston would take home a gold medal at the Olympic games in Mexico City. That kid, George Edward Foreman, would go on to become a boxing legend. Foreman was a two-time heavyweight champion, and has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame as well as the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Of course if you ask anyone under the age of 30, Big George is best known for his George Foreman Grill.

When Foreman was surprised with the Hall of Fame news, he admitted he wasn't sure he would ever amount to much, let alone become an iconic boxer and Hall of Famer.

"What a tremendous opportunity to have walked the streets of Houston, Texas, where I thought nothing much would become of me, I really didn't,'' Foreman said. "And now to be mentioned in the Sports Hall of Fame in Houston, it really is probably the most important award I've ever received."

It has been said many times that if Earl Campbell was the heart of the Luv Ya Blue Oilers, then Dan Pastorini was the soul.

The first-round draft pick in 1971, Pastorini was the charismatic leader of Bum Phillips' rough-and-tumble team that created an electric movement with its 35-30 win over Miami on Monday Night Football on November 20, 1978. His best season was in 1978 when he threw for a career-high 2,473 yards and 16 touchdowns.

"It means the world,'' Pastorini said of the honor. "Last year, when I had the opportunity to present to Earl it was quite thrilling for me because the 34s (Campbell, Olajuwon and Ryan) should be in there. But to represent the Luv Ya Blue years and our teams back then is very special to me. We don't really have an identity in this city, except for the love and the respect we have from the Luv Ya Blue fans and they keep us alive.

". . . This now gives us permanency in the city. It'll be something we can take our grandchildren to and say – We were here; we were part of this great history of the city of Houston."

Robert Brazile, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, was the first to call and congratulate, just moments after Pastorini was notified. Both were very emotional and looking forward to reuniting in February.

# # #

If you love Houston sports, you might want to purchase a ticket for the 2019 Houston Sports Awards Golden Ticket Raffle.

There are only 500 tickets available and the winner will get a pair of season tickets to all Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and Rodeo Houston home games/events during the 2019-20 season. The winner will also receive tickets to two Texans home games and to the Academy Sports + Outdoors 2019 Texas Bowl.

Raffle tickets can be purchased for $100 per ticket and that enters you into the drawing for all the above-mentioned tickets.

All proceeds from Golden Ticket sales benefit Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Foundation and the winner of drawn at the Houston Sports Awards Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at the Hilton Americas. Winners do not need to be present to win. To enter go to https://houstonsportsawards.com/golden-ticket-raffle/

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Should Brice Matthews be untradable now? Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images.

The phrase most associated with the late former Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was “Just win baby.” One has to think Al would strongly approve of the Houston Astros. Going to the fifth inning Sunday against the Mariners the Astros were facing a 3-0 deficit and staring at the prospect of being swept out of Seattle and having their American League West division lead slashed to just two games. Now after roaring from behind with 11 unanswered runs to take the series finale in the Emerald City, and then sweeping three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the Astros stand six games up with 60 games to go. So, if the Astros play just .500 ball the rest of the way (which would have them finish with 90 victories), the Mariners have to play .600 ball to catch them. If somehow the Astros are to maintain their season long win pace to the finish line they’d close with 95 wins, and the race is already over unless someone thinks the M’s are poised to uncork a finishing kick of 41-19 or better. It’s quite a pleasing perch from which the Astros survey the standings. Coupled with the freefalling Detroit Tigers having dropped nine of their last ten games, the Astros amazingly start this homestand sporting the best record in the entire American League. On the homestand they follow four games against the team with the second-worst record in the American League (Athletics) with three versus the team with the second-worst record in the National League (Nationals). I know, I know. There is fear of the Astros playing down to the competition, but that is not the way to look at it. A bad Major League team can beat a good team in a series at any time. If it happens it happens, but it wouldn’t mean it happened only because the Astros didn’t take their opponent seriously. This isn’t the NBA.

Trade deadline looming

Of course, It hasn’t been all good news with Isaac Paredes badly injuring a hamstring Sunday. Paredes could be back in three weeks (doubtful), he could miss the rest of the season. GET WELL SOON JEREMY PENA! Lance McCullers’s latest Injured List stint could be considered addition by subtraction for the Astros’ starting rotation. Whether impacted by his blister issue, Lance was lousy in four of his last five starts. So, one week from the trade deadline, if general manager Dana Brown has the ammo to get one deal done, where does he make the upgrade? The left-handed hitter everyone knows the Astros can use regardless of Yordan Alvarez’s status is a natural priority. With the Astros’ weak farm system it would seem difficult for Brown to put forth the winning offer for the top bats that could be in play. That probably rings even truer now, since if he wasn’t already untouchable, Brice Matthews may have cemented untouchable status by darn near winning the first two games of the Diamondbacks series by himself. Matthews is going to struggle mightily to hit for a good average if he can’t make notable improvement in the contact department, but the power is obvious, as is the athleticism in the field. The 23-year-old Matthews and 22-year-old Cam Smith (though presently mired in a three for 36 slump) are the clear (and right now only) two young shining beacons for the lineup’s future.

You can't have enough pitching

While Brandon Walter has been a revelation, a starting pitcher would make sense unless the decision is to hope Spencer Arrighetti and/or Cristian Javier can contribute meaningfully upon return to the big leagues, likely sometime next month. Going after a reliever or two may make more sense in terms of availability and transaction cost. Overall the Astros’ bullpen has been excellent, but Bryan Abreu is the only trustworthy right-handed option for Joe Espada. Back to Walter. Barely two months ago no way Walter himself would have believed he’d be where he is now. Nine starts since being summoned basically out of desperation, Walter has a 3.35 earned run average, and a stunning 13 to one strikeout-to-walk ratio with his 52 strikeouts against a measly four walks allowed in 53 2/3 innings. Walter has pitched fabulously in seven of his nine starts. He only has two wins, but that’s because in five of the six Walter starts the Astros didn’t win the game they failed to score more than two runs. Walter turns 29 years old in September. His only prior big league experience was 23 innings in relief with a 6.26 ERA for the Red Sox two years ago. The Bosox released him last August, the Astros signed him basically as minor league depth. Look at him (and the Astros) now.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch! 

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