Jim graduated from Albuquerque’s Eldorado High School where he played basketball, wrestling, golf and football. Only a starter at quarterback his senior year (1980), he led the team to a 13-0 record and a New Mexico State Championship in football under Coach Jerry Hall for a 14-11 victory over Clovis (11-2). In that game, Everett also played safety on defense. The same two teams had met in the championship two years earlier with Clovis taking a close 7-3 victory. Jim attended Purdue University on a football scholarship where after redshirting his freshman year, he went on to pass for 7,411 yards and 572 completions in 965 attempts (7.7 yards per attempt), 43 touchdowns. His senior year numbers were outstanding with 3,651 passing yards and 285 completions in 450 attempts. Everett finished 6th in the 1986 Heisman Trophy balloting behind winner Bo Jackson and such other players as Miami’s Vinnie Testaverde. Everett was selected in the 1986 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers, the third player taken in the first round, but was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in September. He became the Ram’s starting quarterback, going on to pass for 3,000 yards in five consecutive seasons with the club. He played 8 seasons in all for the Rams (1986-1993), three seasons for the New Orleans Saints (1994-1996) before retiring after the 1997 season with the San Diego Chargers. In Everett’s 12 year NFL career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1990 and the UPI Second Team All NFC in 1988. He amassed 34,837 passing yards (20th in the NFL) with 2,842 completions in 4,923 attempts, 203 touchdowns against 175 interceptions. Everett appeared in 158 games, starting all but five of them. His career passing completions and attempts rank rank 23rd and 22nd in the NFL, respectively. Jim earned a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, minoring in Computer Science and an MBA from Pepperdine University. He is now a Registered Investment Advisor and for many years has headed up his own firm, The Jim Everett Company. He is active in local charities through the Jim Everett Charity Foundation and is a founder and board member of Quarterback Greats, which represents the NFL group rights to outstanding retired NFL quarterbacks.
0 Comments
We normally focus on sports that are played at the high school level and above, but will depart from this from time to time. Unless you are a ski enthusiast, you may never have heard of Betty Woolsey, but in recognition of the 2014 Winter Olympics, she is our subject. We believe that she was the first athlete with New Mexico ties to compete in the Winter Olympics. Betty's parents were Theodore Salisbury Woolsey, Jr. (a graduate of Yale University and a descendant of evangelist Jonathan Edwards) and Ruby Hilman Pickett in Albuquerque in 1908 where Theodore was appointed to serve as a district forester the same year. Elizabeth Davenport "Betty" Woolsey was born in Albuquerque in late December of that year, the first of five daughters. Betty grew up in a log house in Albuquerque. Her bedroom window faced the craggy Sandias to the east which, she said, cast a spell on her, leading to a life-long affair with the mountains. The family eventually relocated to the east coast as she continued to develop her love of skiing. After entering international ski races in Europe, she was chosen to participate in the 1936 Winter Olympics (officially known as the IV Winter Olympic Games) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Woolsey was selected to captain the women's team, the first United States Olympic Women's Ski Team. She was considered to be the best skier on the team, excelling at downhill. Only 17 medals were awarded in the Games. Neither the men nor the women on the 1936 United States team won medals, but the experience gained would have provided a great base for future teams, had the next two Olympics (1940 and 1944) not been cancelled for World War II. After 1936, Betty skied competitively for a few years, winning the 1939 United States Downhill Championship in Mount Hood, Oregon. She continued to pursue her love of the sport, founding and developing Trail Creek Ranch, a ski center and dude ranch near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She was elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum in 1969 and the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club has initiated the Betty Woolsey Olympian Endowment in her honor. McDonald was born in Roy, NM (Harding County) where he attended school through his freshman year in high school, before moving to Albuquerque and graduating from Highland High School. He then attended Oklahoma University. At OU, he was a Consensus All-American (1955 and 1956) and won the Maxwell Award in 1956 as Best Collegiate Player. Tommy scored touchdowns in 20 of his 21 games in college. He was primarily a running back at Oklahoma under Coach Bud Wilkinson, having the distinction of playing on a college team that went undefeated his entire three years on the varsity squad. Two of those years (1955 and 1956), the Sooners won the National Championship. In 1956, he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind winner Paul Hornung of Notre Dame and Johnny Majors of Tennessee, ahead of such other notable players as Jimmy Brown of Syracuse and John Brodie of Stanford. He also won the MVP award in the North South Shrine Game in Miami. Tommy was a third-round draft pick of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles in 1957, and spent most of his career with Philadelphia. In the NFL, he was primarily used as a wide receiver, selected for the Pro Bowl six times (1959-1963 and 1966). Following his time with the Eagles, he played one year with the Dallas Cowboys (1964), two years with the Los Angeles Rams (1965-1966), another year with the Atlanta Falcons (1967) before retiring after his final year (1968) with the Cleveland Browns. During his years with the Eagles, they won one NFL Championship in 1960, defeating the Green Bay Packers 17-13. Twice (1958 and 1960), he led the league in receptions for touchdown and once (1960) for receiving yards. His NFL statistics include appearing in 152 games in 12 seasons, gaining 8410 yards on 495 receptions (17 yards per reception) and scoring 84 touchdowns. Used on special teams early in his career, he had 72 put returns for 404 yards and 1 TD and 51 kickoff returns for another 1,055 yards. In 1985, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. Tommy was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, along with such other players as Mike Singletary, Anthony Muñoz, Paul Krause and Dwight Stephenson. Coach Ralph Tasker of Hobbs, NM died on July 19, 1999 at his home after a short battle with cancer. He was 80 and had also suffered from pneumonia prior to his death. He left behind his wife of almost 49 years, Margaret, his three children, a host of former players and assistants including Ross Black (played for UNM), Bill Bridges (played for Kansas and in the NBA), Rob Evans (played for Lubbock Christian and UNM and coached at University of Mississippi and Arizona State), Larry Robinson (played for Texas), Larry Williams (played at Kansas State), Jeff Taylor, Sr. (played Texas Tech, in the NBA and in Europe), Vince Taylor (played at Texas Tech, the NBA and Europe, now coaching) and Kent Williams (played at Texas Tech). Longtime assistant Don Abbott of Farmington, said of Tasker, ''He basically changed the way the game of basketball was played,'' said Abbott. ''He made better coaches out of all his opponents because of his ability to get the best out of them as well as out of his own teams. He is well respected all over - not only among high school coaches, but college coaches have used some of his innovations,'' Abbott added. ''He was a wonderful teacher in the classroom as well. I was fortunate enough to have him as a teacher, too. He taught government and history.'' [Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 20, 1999] Tasker was born and raised in West Virginia and played his college ball for the Alderson Broaddus Mountaineers. Upon his graduation and after coaching for one year at Sulphur Springs High School in Ohio, Tasker enlisted in the US Army Air Corps, having been motivated by the attack on Pearl Harbor. After his military service, he accepted a coaching position in Lovington, NM in 1946. That is a story of its own, but Tasker was hired by Lovington's superintentent of schools, H. C. Pannell. Both Tasker and Pannell happened to be in Albuquerque at the same time. Tasker was being mustered out of the US Army Air Corps and Pannell was there for a meeting. Pannell offered Tasker the job and Tasker accepted. Three years later, he won his first state championship in Lovington, which proved to be Lovington's only championship for the next 34 years. Tasker then moved to Hobbs in 1950 where he served as head basketball coach for the next 49 years. By the time he retired in 1998, his combined record from the three schools included 1,122 wins, 291 losses and his teams had earned 12 state championships. His last team finished third in the New Mexico state tournament, one game short of notching what would have been Tasker's 37th 20-game winning season. Tasker's teams were known for a productive offense and a merciless full-court press defense from start to finish. His 1970 team averaged 114.6 points a game, a national high school record set before the institution of the 3-point shot. Coach Tasker's twelve New Mexico state basketball championships are as follows: one in Lovington (1949) followed by eleven in Hobbs (1956, 1957, 1958, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1980, 1981, 1987 and 1988). He was twice named National High School Coach of the Year and was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. He also received the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Morgan Wooten Award. Tasker was named to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor and the Walt Disney Coach/Teacher of the Year both in 1991. [Arguably one of the most effective coaches in the history of high school basketball, Tasker will likely be the subject of several blog posts.] Bill Bridges was a 2014 inductee into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Bill was born in 1939 in Hobbs, New Mexico and graduated from Hobbs High School, playing ball under the legendary coach Ralph Tasker. He attended Kansas University where he joined the basketball team as a walk on. While at KU, he went on to earn a scholarship, was an All-American and team captain in 1961. His KU team tied for the Big 8 championship in 1960. Bill was the first player in KU history to score over 1,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds. His field goal percentage was 0.401 and free throw percentage was 0.653. During his college career, he scored 1,028 points and had 1,081 rebounds. The Bill Bridges Rebounding Award is presented each year to KU’s leading rebounder. Upon graduating from Kansas University, he was drafted by the NBA Chicago Browns, but joined the Kansas City Steers of Abe Sapperstein's ABL where he led the league in rebounding and was named All-ABL in 1962. The league folded after which Bill went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA (1962-1975) for the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors where he played on his only NBA Championship team his last season in 1975. During his NBA career, he averaged 11.9 points per game and 11.9 rebounds. His NBA career included appearing in 926 games, scored 4,181 goals, made 2,650 free throws for total points scored of 11,012. On the defensive side, his rebound total was 11,054. Upon his retirement from the NBA, Bridges worked as a business consultant in Santa Monica, California. He was inducted into the Kansas University Hall of Fame in 2002 and his jersey number 32 was retired in 2004. Coach Jim Bradley of Las Cruces was a living legend, having won over 300 games in New Mexico high school football and state championships at two schools. He is second only to Eric Roanhaus of Clovis in total wins among New Mexico high school coaches. Bradley’s career began in the 1950s when he served as an assistant football coach under Rudy Camunez at Las Cruces High School beginning in 1958. He later served as Offensive Coordinator under Coach Ed Boykin until 1965. During that period, he also served as Head Baseball Coach, compiling a record of 98-16. Bradley was hired as the first head football coach at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces in 1965, a post he held until 1972, where he led the Trojans to a state championship in 1971. From 1973 to 1977 he served as head football coach at New Mexico State University. While at NMSU, the Aggies tied for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1974 and 1975 and tied Tulsa for first place in 1976. Following his stint at NMSU, he became head coach at Roswell High from 1980 to 1993. His Roswell Coyote teams earned 2 state championships during his tenure. Upon leaving Roswell High, Bradley resumed coaching at Mayfield, where he again served as head coach from 1994 until 2005. His Mayfield teams secured 4 state championships during this period. Coaching honors earned by Bradley include being named to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor, being named Coach of the Year numerous times, receiving Distinguished Service Awards from the National High School Coaches Association. Coach Bradley has served several times on the NMHSCA board of directors and has also served as President of that organization. Coach Jim Bradley has served the student athletes and the State of New Mexico for the better part of six decades. He has three sons who have also been coaches, two of whom are currently head coaches in New Mexico. Sons Michael Bradley and Gary Bradley each led their Farmington and Mayfield teams to State Championships in 2013. To the best of our knowledge, this has never before occurred in New Mexico High School football. In addition to his sons, numerous other coaches have served with him including current Hatch Valley coach Jack Cisco, current Las Cruces coach Jim Miller and former Cleveland head coach Kirk Potter. Coach Bradley passed away in 2015 after an illness. Hank is a Clovis native, graduating from high school in 2001. While in high school, he lettered in football, basketball and track. Hank set the state record for New Mexico high jump at 7’0”, a record which was tied later that year, but which still stands as of this writing. He also earned All-State honors while playing football for the Wildcats as a punter and wide receiver. He continued his career at University of New Mexico where he was the leading receiver in 2004 and 2005. In addition, he was Offensive Player of the Year during that period. Hank was selected as All-Mountain West Conference having 67 receptions for 1,071 yards and 9 touchdowns. While at UNM, Hank’s career highs were as follows: Highest number of receptions – 11 vs. BYU on 10/8/05 Most receiving yards: 209 yards vs. Missouri on 9/10/05 Longest passing play: 69 yards vs. Colorado State on 10/30/04 His college play was exemplary, totaling 140 receptions for 2,288 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaging 16.3 yards per carry, gaining over 100 yards in 9 games. Hank also completed in track and field for UNM, twice qualifying for the NCAA Midwest regionals. Hank was an outstanding student who was a four time academic all-MSC honoree, graduating from UNM in 2005 with a degree in General Management. Hank played with three NFL teams during his five year professional career: the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts from 2006 to 2010, being on the Philadelphia roster some time each year. He appeared in 67 games, 11 as a starter, and had 77 receptions for 1,098 yards. As of this writing, Baskett resides in California and is married with one son. Kathy Whitworth's beginnings in golf can be traced to the southern Lea County town of Jal, New Mexico. When she was in high school, there were few organized athletic activities for girls. She and some of her friends enjoyed playing tennis together and when she was fifteen years old, some of them invited her to join them in a round of golf. She was not enthusiastic about it at first, but agreed to go. From that point on, Whitworth says, she "became hooked." Even though golf was then somewhat more difficult for her than other sports, with the help of her teacher, Harry Loudermilk, she learned the basics of the game, playing many rounds at the Jal Country Club. She won the 1957 and 1958 New Mexico State Amateur Championship. Kathy Whitworth's beginnings in golf can be traced to the southern Lea County town of Jal, New Mexico. When she was in high school, there were few organized athletic activities for girls. She and some of her friends enjoyed playing tennis together and when she was fifteen years old, some of them invited her to join them in a round of golf. She was not enthusiastic about it at first, but agreed to go. From that point on, Whitworth says, she "became hooked." Even though golf was then somewhat more difficult for her than other sports, with the help of her teacher, Harry Loudermilk, she learned the basics of the game, playing many rounds at the Jal Country Club. She won the 1957 and 1958 New Mexico State Amateur Championship.
As she progressed, her family supported her, even driving her 400 miles to study with legendary coach and instructor Harvey Penick, long time coach of the golf team at University of Texas in Austin. Kathy became a professional player at 19, joining the LPGA in December 1958. She played her first important professional tournament in 1958, which began her stellar career. Known by sports writers as "the Gal from Jal," she dedicated her life to the game, being named "Most Improved Professional" in 1962. She recalls competing in the early years with then leading pro Mickey Wright. Wright's gifts and accomplishments gave Whitworth the incentive to continue improve her own skills, resulting in her being named "Woman Athlete of the Year" in 1964. Career Highlights: In 1962 Whitworth won her first tournament, the Kelly Girls Open. She was LPGA Player of the Year seven times between 1966 and 1973, won the Vare Trophy for best scoring average by an LPGA Tour Player a record seven times between 1965 and 1972, and entered the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975. She was the LPGA Tour money leader eight times, and was twice named the AP Athlete of the Year. She was the U.S. team captain at the inaugural Solheim Cup match in 1990 and again in 1992. In 1974 Whitworth won the Orange Blossom Classic. It was her fifth triumph in this tournament, also known as the St. Petersburg Open. Only three other LPGA golfers have won the same tournament as many times. Whitworth won a total of 88 tour tournaments. She served three terms as LPGA President and was the Honoree at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in 2002. Whitworth developed tremendous powers of concentration, referring to reaching a "close-off" point enabling her to block out all distractions. Accordingly, she became known as a great pressure player. Not satisfied with making a name for herself, she worked over the years to improve the image of the woman golfer and promote the efforts of the LPGA. She contributed significantly to the growth of the LPGA. It has grown to the major organization that it is today, consisting of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world during the months of February through December each year. |
Welcome
We post articles of general interest about New Mexico athletes, coaches and sports. Some names will already be familiar to you. Others are perhaps not as well known, but we hope you enjoy them all. Archives
December 2015
© 2014, all rights reserved. Categories
All
|