HALL OF FAME 2014 INDUCTEES• Tracy Bleil (Special Category): First woman to bowl an 800 series in Chattanooga ... First woman to bowl a 300 game at three alleys in greater Chattanooga area ... Highest average in city eight times with high of 226 ... Highest average in state four times ... Bowled on PWBA professional tour 1997-2001, finishing runner-up five times ... Holds city all-events record with 2301 ... Won several state and city events ... Inducted into CABA Hall of Fame in 2012.• Reggie Gaddis (Wrestling): Prepped at Notre Dame, undefeated senior year at 23-0, state champion and runner-up for best wrestler at state tournament ... Earned scholarship to UTC, where he wrestled for four years at 126 pounds ... Most valuable freshman in 1970; most valuable wrestler 1973 ... Team captain 1972 and '73 ... Record with Mocs 60-19, highlighted by second-place finish at SEIWA in 1970 and two thirds ... TSSAA referee 19 years ... Started OLPH wrestling program.• Danny Gilbert (Wrestling): State champion in 1975 at 105 pounds and captain of East Ridge squad that won state team title ...Wrestled on 1976 UTC team that was second in the NCAA Division II tournament ... Coached and taught at Northwest Whitfield, East Ridge, Ooltewah and Sale Creek ... Pioneers won state in 1991 ... State runner-up in 2006 at Ooltewah ... Officiated TSSAA 1994-present and Referee of Year in 2008 ... Worked as volunteer in NCAA tournament 16 years.• Mark Guhne (Golf): Head coach at UTC, his alma mater, since 2005 and has been Southern Conference Coach of the Year four times and guided the Mocs to five SoCon titles and 17 team championships, including Carpet Capital and East Region ... Named Eaton/Golf Pride East Region Coach of Year in 2009 ... Mocs have twice been ranked No. 1 in country during regular seasons and qualified for NCAA Championships in 2009 and 2012 ... Has coached four All-Americans.• Ellen Kovacevich Hanna (Swimming/Diving): Three time state high school diving champion while competing for GPS ... Two-time state high school medley relay champion while swimming backstroke ... Unbeaten in Chattanooga Youth Foundation dual meet competition in 1968 and '69 ... Two-time city meet champion ... Competed in synchronized swimming ... Inducted in GPS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 ... Coached at Fairyland Club 1971-73.• Norman Hofferman (Softball): Played on four state championship fastpitch teams and was all-state four times, all region twice ... Led the Chattanooga Dixie Major League in hitting once with a .343 mark, averaged over .300 all 16 years he played ... While playing for Chattanooga Gas in 1963 state tournament, he had three homers, two doubles and drove in 11 runs ... Was also a star in slowpitch with Kobax and Golden Gallon, hitting more than 100 home runs.• Andy Kelly (Football): Former Rhea County all-state and Gatorade All-America quarterback who broke many passing records at the University of Tennessee, where he was a three-year starter who led the Vols to two SEC titles and was the MVP of the 1991 Sugar Bowl ... Professionally, he played two years in the World Football League for Rhein Fire and 15 years in the Arena Football League ... Kelly set many records in the Arena League, including passing yards, pass completions and TDs ... He was nominated for the Arena League Hall of Fame in 2013.• Larry Knight (Baseball): Being honored posthumously (died in 2002)...Arguably the best prep pitcher in Greater Chattanooga history ... Led Lookout Valley to 1980 state championship ... Still is ranked second nationally in strikeouts per game in a season (18.6) and second career (15.1) ... Holds city record for most K's in a season (223) and career (589) ... Pitched five no-hitters ... Struck out 28 in extra-inning game against Polk County ... Holds record for career ERA (1.12) ... Played minor league baseball five years.• Stewart Lawwill (Tennis): Southern champion five years running (1992-1996) in 30s and 35s ... Won national 35s singles in 1998 in Springfield, Mo. ... Won City Singles 30s title six years in a row (1991-1996) ... Won the City Open three times ... On national championship team Southern Section in 1996 and in 1993 with Flexall ... Won 35s doubles in 1998 ... Prepped at McCallie where he was three-year starter ... Member of UTC SoCon champ teams four years ... Won five SoCon individual titles.• Tommy Layne (Coaching/Administration): Currently principal at Sequatchie County High School and serves as a member of the TSSAA Board of Controls ... On board of directors for TACA for five years ... Boys basketball coach at high school alma mater Whitwell for 23 years, two at Sequatchie ... Had 18 seasons with 20-plus wins, seven district titles ... Coached girls at Whitwell three years, winning 20-plus games every year ... Started Whitwell baseball program and coached nine years.• Robert Long (Baseball): Played in major leagues two years, one with Pittsburgh Pirates, the other with Seattle ... In 1981, he was arguably the best pitcher in AAA, going 15-3 with Portland in the Pacific Coast League and an ERA of 2.98 ... Finished his minor league career with 70-56 mark ... Was dominating pitcher in college with Shorter and inducted into the Rome school's inaugural athletic Hall of Fame class ... All-district and all-state senior year of high school at Central ... Was pitching coach for the Chattanooga State team that went to the Junior College World Series.• Mack McCarthy (Basketball): Winningest basketball coach in UTC history (243-122) with six 20-plus win seasons. ... Regular-season champs eight times in 12 years with the Mocs ... Won Southern Conference tournament five times ... Made NCAA tournament five times, highlighted by 1997 appearance in the Sweet 16, and NIT twice ... SoCon Coach of Year three times ... Later was head coach at VCU and Eastern Carolina ...Was 342-233 in 19-year career ... Assistant AD at East Carolina 2010-present.• Gary McIntyre (Tennis): Part of two SoCon champion teams while playing for UTC ... Assistant coach with Mocs 1984-1997 when school won eight straight SoCon titles ... Also coached at OLPH and Notre Dame ... Won City Recreation singles and doubles titles in 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s ... Captured 17 city and states closed titles ... Coached Notre Dame girls to state title ... Best of Preps Coach of Year in 2013 ... Helped run Chattanooga Junior Development tennis program.• Cathy Ryals (Track): Ryals won two individual state championships while competing for Howard in track ... She won the pentathlon and the 300 meter low hurdles in 1986, two years after helping lead Howard to the team state championship.Hugh Walker (Basketball): Already in two halls of fame, TCCAA and Tennessee Wesleyan ... Started women's basketball program at Cleveland State, where he coached 11 years, winning 205 and losing just 60 ... NJCAA region champs four times ... Team finished fourth in nation in 1975-76, was seventh in 1974-75 ... National coach of year in NJCAA in 1978 ... TJCAA Coach of Year 1976 ... Coached Calhoun (Tenn.) High to 33-3 mark, district, region sub-state titles in 1971.• Karen Weekly (Softball): Co-head softball coach at the University of Tennessee with husband Ralph ... Was two-time academic All-American at Pacific Lutheran ... Led nation in hitting as a senior with .440 average ... She became an assistant to Ralph in 1987; the two led the Lutes to NAIA national titles in 1988 and '92 ... They served separately and together as head coaches at UTC, beginning in 1997, leading the Mocs to a 223-97 mark before departing for UT, where they have been 618-188 with two national runners-up.• Ralph Weekly (Softball): Co-head softball coach with wife Karen at UT for 12 years ... Ralph was inducted into National Fastpitch Hall of Fame in 2011 ... He is internationally known as a hitting coach and has earned two Olympic gold medals as a coach ... Is 1119-369 as head collegiate coach, 618-188 at UT and 191-88 at UTC ... National runners-up in 2013 and 2007 with Vols ... Won SEC tournament twice ... At UTC won four tournament and regular-season championships. .. Earned two NAIA titles at Pacific Lutheran.• Trei Wild (Swimming): Four time All-America swimmer at McCallie (1976-79) ... two-time state champion in 50 freestyle and set benchmark in state senior year ... Won state 100 butterfly as a senior ... In 1979 Junior Olympics was third in 100 fly and sixth in 100 free ... In 1978 in All-America Invitational in Austin, Texas, was fourth in 50 free, fifth in 100 fly and seventh in 100 free ... Held various school and pool records in Southeast ... Swam for Vols 1979-1982, was SEC point scorer all four years.• Mark Wiedmer (Sports Writer): Two-time Tennessee Sports Writer of the Year ... Has won over 50 writing awards in a career that began in 1983 with the Chattanooga News-Free Press ... Two of those awards came from the Football Writers Association ... He has won three feature awards from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association and at least two for his columns ... An outstanding artist, he has had paintings published in several papers and used by the SEC and Southern Conference.
Andy Kelly went from starting at quarterback at Rhea County High School as a ninth-grader to all-state status and then a record-setting career at the University of Tennessee, and he then became the most accomplished passer in the history of the Arena Football League.
On March 3 he will be going into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in a group of 18 inductees that includes eight former athletes and coaches, past or present, at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The UTC contingent includes the Mocs' Sweet 16 coach, Mack McCarthy, and Mark Guhne, who has guided the men's golf team to national No. 1 rankings and two NCAA championship tournaments, as well as Ralph and Karen Weekly, who went from Chattanooga to Tennessee's Lady Vols and two national-runner-up finishes as co-head coaches. The Weeklys, who served separately and together as UTC head coaches, are being inducted as one entity.
Wrestlers Reggie Gaddis and Danny Gilbert and tennis players Stewart Lawwill and Gary McIntyre are the ex-Mocs in this year's hall class.
Also being inducted are Robert Long and the late Larry Knight for baseball, former Calhoun (Tenn.) High School and Cleveland State women's coach Hugh Walker for basketball, bowler Tracy Bleil, Norman Hofferman for softball, Ellen Kovacevich Hanna and Trei Wild for swimming/diving, Cathy Ryals for track and field, Sequatchie County principal and TSSAA Board of Control member Tommy Layne for administration and Times Free Press columnist Mark Wiedmer for sports media.
The induction banquet starts at 6:30 p.m. that Monday at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Tickets cost $35 and are available through John Farr at 423-875-9282.
Kelly, now part of the Vol Network football radio broadcast team, helped lead the Volunteers to two Southeastern Conference titles and was the MVP of the 1991 Sugar Bowl. He played two years in the World Football League before a 15-year AFL career that left him with records for passing yards, completions and touchdown passes, among others.
McCarthy, an assistant athletic director at East Carolina University, is the winningest coach in UTC men's basketball history with a 243-122 record for 12 seasons that included eight regular-season Southern Conference championships and five SoCon tournament titles.
Guhne's Mocs have won five SoCon titles and 17 various tournaments since he took over in 2005, and he has coached four All-Americans. The Weeklys won three SoCon regular-season titles in five years at UTC and are entering their 12th season directing the Lady Vols, who hold a preseason No. 1 ranking. Ralph also has been on the U.S. Olympic staff and has a 1,119-369 college record, while Karen's is 618-188.
Gaddis was an undefeated state champion at Notre Dame High School and then went 60-19 in four years at UTC, serving as team captain in 1972 and 1973. Gilbert was an individual and team state champion at East Ridge in 1975 and was part of the 1976 Mocs team that finished second in the NCAA Division II tournament. He has coached at several schools in the area and like Gaddis has been a longtime TSSAA official.
Lawwill came to UTC from McCallie School and was on four SoCon championship tennis teams and won five individual league titles, counting doubles. He was a national 35s champion in 1998 after winning the Southern 30s or 35s from 1992 to 1996. McIntyre played on two SoCon-winning Mocs teams and helped with eight straight titles in his 1984-97 stint as a UTC assistant coach. He coached the Notre Dame girls to a 2013 state championship and was the Best of Preps coach of the year.
Long was an all-state pitcher for Central High School who made Shorter College's inaugural hall of fame and went on to a professional career with one trip to the major leagues with Pittsburgh and another with Seattle. He had a 70-56 minor league record, including a 15-3 season with a 2.98 earned run average in 1981 with Class AAA Portland. He was the pitching coach for the Chattanooga State team that went to the Junior College World Series.
Knight pitched Lookout Valley to the 1980 state championship and holds the local records for most strikeouts in a season (223) and a career (589). His corresponding averages of 18.6 and 15.1 are the second best in the nation for high school baseball, and he struck out 28 in one extra-inning game. He pitched five no-hitters and had a city-best 1.12 ERA for his career and pitched five years in pro ball.
Hofferman, also a football standout, played on four state-champion fastpitch teams and was all-state four times and all-region twice. He had three home runs, two doubles and 11 RBIs for Chattanooga Gas in the 1963 state tournament, and he averaged over .300 each of the 16 years he played in the Dixie Major League. He excelled in slowpitch as well, hitting more than 100 home runs for Kobax and Golden Gallon.
Hanna was a three-time state diving champion for GPS and was on two medley-relay state champions, and she was a two-time city meet champ and coached at the Fairyland Club in the early 1970s. Wild was a four-time All-America swimmer for McCallie with two state championships in the 50 freestyle and one in the 100 butterfly and then was a leader at Tennessee through 1982. He was third in the 100 fly and sixth in the 100 free in the national Junior Olympics in 1979.
Ryals helped Howard win a team state track championship in 1984 and won the pentathlon and 300 low hurdles two years later.
Bleil was the first Chattanooga woman to bowl an 800 series and 300s at three centers, and she had the highest women's average in the city eight times and the best in the state four times. She was a runner-up five times in a 1997-2001 stint on the PWBA tour.
Walker went 205-60 in 11 years as Cleveland State's first women's basketball coach and was the NJCAA national coach of the year in 1978. His 1971 Calhoun team was 33-3.
Before Layne began his long tenure as a school and TSSAA administrator, he coached girls' basketball at Whitwell three years with three 20-win seasons and had 18 20-win seasons in 23 years as the boys' coach. He also coached Whitwell baseball for nine years.
Wiedmer is a two-time Tennessee Sports Writers Association writer of the year and has received more than 50 writing awards ina career that began in 1983 with the News-Free Press. He also is an artist whose paintings have been used by the Southeastern and Southern conferences.