Lincoln University will induct its inaugural class into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28. The first group of inductees will be honored during a ceremony at halftime of the Lincoln-Johnson C. Smith football game.

The school is looking for nominations for the Athletics Hall of Fame. The Lions have a great sports history. There are number of possible candidates as first ballot hall-of-famers. The following athletes, coaches and contributors should receive major consideration for this honor.

Dr. Frank “Tick” Coleman

Coleman is the school’s most prestigious alumnus. Coleman is known as “Mr. Lincoln.” He was a big reason why Lincoln brought football back to the school after a 48-year absence. The Lions restored the program in 2008.

Coleman played quarterback for Lincoln from 1931 to 1935. He was a real pioneer. Coleman was the first Black quarterback to play at Central High School. He guided the Lions to two consecutive Public League championships in 1929 and ’30.

He had great football prowess even before he arrived on Lincoln’s campus. Coleman encouraged many student athletes to achieve on and off the field. He passed away on December 25, 2008.

Robert “Whirlwind” Johnson

Johnson is known as “the godfather of tennis.” In 2009, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He’s responsible for developing the outstanding tennis careers of Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson. In addition to his trailblazing efforts in tennis, he was a terrific football player. In 1924, he was selected to the Negro All-American football team.

Monte Irvin

Irvin was a three-sport athlete at Lincoln. He played baseball and football, and ran track for the Lions from 1938 to 1939. Irvin and Hank Thompson became the first African Americans to play for the then-New York Giants on July 8, 1949. In 1951, Irvin and Thompson joined Willie Mays to form the first all-Black outfield. In 1951, he hit .312 with 24 home runs and a major league best 121 RBIs.

Irvin completed a nine year major league career with a .293 average, 99 home runs, 443 RBIs and 366 runs scored. After retiring in 1958, he became the first African American to work in the MLB Commissioner’s office under Bowie Kuhn as a public relations specialist. He held this position from 1968 to 1984. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. The San Francisco Giants retired his No. 20 jersey in 2008.

Bob Smith

Smith earned 13 letters during his college career (1948–1951). He played football, basketball, baseball and bowling. He played quarterback for the legendary coach Manuel Rivero. Smith was the director of sports information at Rutgers from 1972 to 1994. He had a distinguished career as a sports publicist at a major Division I school. Smith is retired and lives in North Brunswick, N.J.

Franz Alfred “Jazz” Byrd

Byrd was an All-American running back and quarterback for Lincoln’s football team. He is one of the school’s all-time great football players. He also ran track for the Lions. Byrd is a member of the class of 1925.

Manuel Rivero

Rivero coached football, baseball, track and field and basketball at Lincoln. He coached baseball for nearly 40 years. He was also director of athletics. Rivero was a tremendous football and baseball player at Columbia University. In 1986, Lincoln named its gymnasium Manuel Rivero Hall.

Clive Terrelonge

Terrelonge had a great track career at Lincoln. He earned 19 Division II All-American honors in the 400 meters, 800 meters and 4x400 meter relay. He is a former NCAA two-time 400 meter champion, three-time 800 meter champion and still has the 800 meter NCAA Division II outdoor record. Terrelonge was a two-time Olympian for Jamaica. He is now the associate head track coach at the University of Connecticut.

Rob Knox

Knox, a Chester High product, was Lincoln University’s first full-time sports information director. Knox, a Lincoln University alumnus, did an outstanding job of promoting and publicizing his alma mater.

He brought national attention to Lincoln when the school decided to bring football back in 2008. He was instrumental in getting major publicity from ESPN.com, The New York Times and other news outlets. He was the Lions’ SID from 2004 to 2009. After that, he had a two-year stint as the SID at Kutztown University. He is now the statistics manager in the Statistics & Analysis department at ESPN.

Nominations are due or post marked by July 9. For more information, go to www.lulions.com.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Rob Knox, a 1996 Lincoln University graduate, will be the master of ceremony for Lincoln University’s 2012 inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony. Knox, a Chester High product, currently works for ESPN in Bristol, Conn., as a statistics manager in the Statistics & Analysis department. He has been employed at ESPN since Oct. 2011.

Prior to working at ESPN, Knox distinguished himself as a sports information professional. He worked five years at his alma mater, Lincoln University, and two years at Kutztown University. Before entering into sports information, he was a full-time reporter at the Delaware County Daily Times.

Knox was named the 2011 College Sports Information Directors’ Association (CoSIDA) Rising Star Award winner. He was also a member of the CoSIDA Board of Directors as a college division representative and the president of the Black College Sports Information Directors’ Association (BC-SIDA).

The 2012 hall of fame class includes inductees Manuel Rivero, Dr. Frank “Tick” Coleman, Munford Merrill “Monte” Irvin, Ashley Parker, Clive Terronlonge, Dr. Tarron Richardson, Barrington “Barry” Fearon, Rhondale Jones, Tehma Hallie Stanton Smith, Robert Eugene Smith and Dr. Leonard L. Bethel. The class will be celebrated this weekend and the induction banquet is Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., in the Student Union Multi-purpose Room.

The inductees will be introduced at halftime of the Lincoln–Johnson C. Smith football game on Saturday, Sept. 29. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Tickets for the banquet are $30 for adults and $15 for children (12-and-under). Reservations can be made by clicking the form and submitting it online at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or through fax at (484) 365-8120.

Temple-USF homecoming game set for noon

The Temple homecoming football game against South Florida on Oct. 6 will kick off at noon at Lincoln Financial Field. The Big East Network will televise the game as its Game of the Week. The Owls (1-2, 0-0 Big East) have a bye this week before hosting the USF Bulls (2-2, 0-1 Big East) in their Big East opener.

BBWAA Philadelphia Chapter announces 2012 Phillies award winners

Cole Hamels was the unanimous choice for the Steve Carlton Most Valuable Pitcher Award and Carlos Ruiz won the Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player Award in voting by the Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Jimmy Rollins and Juan Pierre also were honored by the writers. Rollins won the Dallas Green Special Achievement Award. Pierre won the Tug McGraw True pro Award.

Hamels is a three-time winner of the Carlton Award. He leads the Phillies in wins (16), ERA among starters (3.11), strikeouts (208) and shutouts (2).

Ruiz got all but three votes for the Schmidt Award. Hamels finished second and Rollins was third. Ruiz, who made his first NL All-Star team this season, leads the Phillies with a .327 batting average to go with career-highs in homers (16) and RBIs (65).

Rollins receives the Special Achievement Award for becoming the fourth player in team history to reach 2,000 career hits and the first shortstop in MLB history to have 2,000 hits, 400 stolen bases and 100 home runs, and also for surpassing Larry Bowa for most games played at shortstop (1,731) on the club’s all-time list.

Pierre gets the True pro Award given to the player who best exemplifies the Tugger’s good-natured personality and for his professional cooperation with beat writers. Ryan Howard finished second in the voting for the second straight year.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Lincoln University is looking for nominations for its 2013 Athletic Hall of Fame Class. The athletic department will induct its second Hall of Fame class on Sept. 27. The class will be introduced during halftime of the Lincoln vs. Livingstone College football game on Sept. 28 at the Lincoln University Football Stadium.

The members of the inaugural Hall of Fame class were Dr. Leonard L. Bethel, Dr. Frank “Tick” Coleman, Barrington “Barry” Fearon, Munford Merrill “Monte” Irvin, Rhondale Jones, Ashley Parker, Dr. Tarron Richardson, Manuel Rivero, Robert Eugene Smith, Dr. Tehma H. Smith and Clive Terrelonge.

Here are some worthy candidates that certainly merit consideration for the second class:

Rob Knox

Knox did an excellent job as Lincoln University’s sports information director. He spent five years as the Lions SID. He played a significant role in providing Lincoln with a great deal of publicity. He placed feature stories in Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com. His publicity efforts brought national attention to the school’s track and field program. He played a huge role bringing national publicity to the return of Lincoln University’s football team in 2008. His timely press releases and sports information produced a number of college basketball and track and field All-Americans. Knox, a Chester High alumnus, is 1996 Lincoln University graduate. He currently works for ESPN in Bristol, Conn. as statistics manager in the statistics & analysis department.

Sterling Wright

Wright, a 6-foot-7 forward, was a sixth round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1973. Wright scored over 1,000 points and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in his career. He was a NAIA All-American.

Darrel Lewis

Lewis was a prolific scorer. He was one of the top scorers in Division III. The 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 26.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a game his junior year.

George Gooden

Gooden had a great basketball career at Lincoln University. The 6-foot-2 guard received NAIA All-American honors. He scored 1,237 career points and played with Wright. The Lions had one of the best small college programs in the NAIA.

Benjamin “Alvin” Arnold

Arnold was a two-year starter for Lincoln under head coach Doug Randolph. He could score and handle the ball. He had a knack for hitting the big shot. At 6-foot, Arnold was a terrific leaper. He could dunk with ease and explode to the basket. He was also a great defender.

Dennis Caldwell

Caldwell had the ability to create his own shot. He had a great jumpshot. He could get in the lane with his ballhanding and quickness. Caldwell played some great basketball durung a great era for Black college basketball that featured players like Rubin Collins, Talvin Skinner, James Roundtree and Marvin Webster.

Alondra Woodard

Woodard was the Lincoln’s first female track and field All-American in 1989 under Hall of Fame coach Cyrus Jones. She was a key member of Lincoln’s NCAA track and field championship team that year. She was a great sprinter.

Jordean Matthews

Matthews was a tremendous all-around athlete. She ran track, played volleyball and softball. Matthews became the first African-American female in the 54-year history of the ECAC-SIDA organization to receive an award during its annual banquet . She received the distinguished Bill Esposito Award for her work in sports information. She was also nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Bobby Young

Young was a tremendous track and field athlete. He received All-American honors in the 200, 400, 4x100 relay, 4x200 relay and 4x100 relay teams. In 2005, he was named the Most Oustanding Athlete.

Juan Edney

Edney was an 11-time All-American in track and field. He anchored Lincoln’s 1989 outdoor 4x100 relay team, which captured the Division III championship. He is now the head track and field coach at Rutgers-Newark.

Franz Alfred “Jazz” Byrd

Byrd was an All-American running back and quarterback for Lincoln’s football team. He is one of the school’s all-time great football players. He also ran track. He is a member of the class of 1925.

Robert “Whirlwind” Johnson

Johnson is known as “The Godfather of Tennis.” In 2009, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is responsible for developing the outstanding tennis careers of the late Arthur Ashe and the late Althea Gibson. In addition to his trailblazing efforts in tennis, he was a tremendous football player. In 1924, he was selected to the Negro All-American football team.

Nominations are due or post marked by June 1, 2013. All nominations submitted in 2012 will be included in the pool for consieration with the 2013 nominees for the 2013 class. For more information, go to www.lulions.com

Contact Staff Writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .