Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame inducting Class of 2023 Saturday

June 6, 2023

WXXV,

On Saturday, the Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame will induct its class of 2023 at the Lyman Community Center.

The star-studded group of 12 features 10 athletes and two coaches serving as the eighth class to be recognized dating back to 2014.

Leading up to the big moment, three of those athletes were kind enough to chat with WXXV this afternoon. Those being former Gulfport track star Rico Griffin, who went onto Southern University, Gulfport East Football alum Robert Hicks, who went onto Southeastern Louisiana, and another former Gulfport East Football standout Dr. Tim McCabe, who went onto Nicholls State. Class of 2018 Hall of Famer Bryan Caldwell said, “Every year we say this is the best class we’ve ever had, and then the next year we seem to say the same thing again, so there’s just such a rich history of athletics in this community.”

Dr. McCabe said, “After the years of playing in Gulfport, going back and thinking about all of my teammates and different things that just brings back some great memories, and like I said, just lucky to be here.”

Griffin said, “Keep trying, perseverance. I did not make the track team the first two times I tried out, and I just kept trying and I finally got it, and once I got it, I just kept on.”

Hicks said, “There had been some talk years ago that you were going to be in there, just keep on waiting, and so at that moment there, that was definitely a blind side because I wasn’t expecting it then. The guys that I really appreciate their big honor is that most of us left and went to school and finished school, and that’s the ultimate goal there is to finish school.”

Class of 2014 Hall of Famer William ‘Prince’ Jones said, “Everybody that we picked, and we always use this, we don’t care how good you were in high school, it’s what you did after high school and that’s what we kind of set it on and we’ve just got so many and you can’t go wrong. Like we always say, there’s not a right and a wrong answer because all of them are good.”

The inductees are chosen from seven schools: The Gulfport High Admirals and the old Gulfport High Commodores, Harrison Central, St. John, Gulfport East, 33^rd Avenue, and North Gulfport.

Saturday’s event starts at 6 p.m.

Here’s the full list of inductees: