One of our great recent sports traditions here in Warren County was the creation of the Vicksburg Warren School District Athletic Hall of Fame.

Since the first class was inducted in 2016, a total of 45 local sports legends have been recognized. The list includes athletes and coaches from eight different sports who starred at Vicksburg High or Warren Central.

It’s time to renew the tradition and add a few more names.

Nominations are being accepted until July 10 for the VWSD Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. Packets are available at the VWSD Athletics office at 1500 Mission 66, or can be downloaded from the school district’s web site, and then emailed to pberry@vwsd.org or returned to the athletics office.

The nomination forms require some basic information, including accomplishments. If you are nominating someone, be prepared to state their case for induction.

Any athlete, coach or administrator is eligible and can be nominated by the public, provided they meet a couple of criteria.

Athletes must have attended and participated in a sport for at least two years at Vicksburg High or Warren Central beginning with 1970, and must have been part of a class that graduated at least 15 years prior to nomination.

Coaches must have coached for at least five years within the VWSD and for at least 10 years in their sport. They must also be out of coaching for the sport they’re nominated in for at least five years.

A selection committee will review the nominations and select about a half-dozen new Hall of Fame members later this summer. The Class of 2023 will be inducted prior to the Vicksburg vs. Warren Central football game in October.

With the legalese out of the way, here are a few suggestions for this year’s class:

• Roosevelt Brown — The Vicksburg High alum played four years of major league baseball with the Chicago Cubs, and several more in Japan. He has continued to teach Vicksburg’s youth the game as a private instructor and coach.

• Kevin Dent — The former Vicksburg High and Jackson State defensive back is one of only three people from Vicksburg to be inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. If he’s good enough to be in that Hall of Fame, he’s certainly good enough to be in this one.

• Donny Fuller — One of Mississippi’s most respected basketball coaches, Fuller spent 23 of his 32 seasons in the profession leading Warren Central’s girls’ team. He won more than 500 games in his career and was inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014.

• Larry Warner — Perhaps the county’s best running back of the 21st century, Warner rushed for 2,929 yards and 20 touchdowns for Warren Central from 2002-04. He went on to become an FCS All-American at Southern Illinois, where he is now the running backs coach.

• Robby Goodson, Shea Douglas and Brian Pettway — Three members of Warren County’s high school baseball golden age in the late 1990s and early 2000s who went on to outstanding college and pro careers. Goodson starred at Vicksburg and Mississippi State; Douglas at Warren Central and Southern Miss; and Pettway at Warren Central and Ole Miss.

Pettway won the 2005 Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s top college player. He was also inducted to Ole Miss’ M-Club Hall of Fame in 2019.

•  Mark Smith and Michael Myers — The two biggest stars on Vicksburg High’s famed “Swamp Thing” defense of the early 1990s both went on to play in the NFL.

Smith, a defensive tackle, had 20 sacks over six seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns.
Myers also played defensive tackle and had 15 1/2 sacks in 10 seasons with Dallas, Cleveland, Denver and Cincinnati.

Who’s on your list? Get your nomination forms and submit them by July 10 to make your voice heard.

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com