WHITE HALL - An estimated crowd of about 200 people were on hand Saturday for the Rison Booster Club’s induction of the inaugural class of the new Rison High School Sports Hall of Fame held Saturday evening at the White Hall Community Center.The first class consisted of legendary college and high school football coach Jimmy “Red” Parker, All-State football and basketball player Havis Hyatt, former Arkansas Razorback All-Conference football player George Walker, long-time Rison High School athletic and community supporters Ray and Roy Martin, and the 1950 state championship football team.Dustin Prescott, booster club president, and Brian Phillips, coordinator for the new Rison Sports Hall of Fame, emceed the event.According to the bylaws of the Rison Sports Hall of Fame, each class of inductees can consist of six individuals, or one team and four individuals. Those considered for the Hall of Fame can be athletes, coaches, contributors or teams.Prescott explained that a Rison Hall of Fame executive committee narrowed the list of nominees to 10 finalists. Members of the Rison Booster Club then voted on those nominees by ranking them in order of preference. Those nominees not selected in this round are automatically included in the 10 finalists for next year.All of those selected for the first class attended Rison High School from the 1930’s and 1950’s, and most of them have passed away. Children of the inductees accepted the honor on their behalf.Two surviving members of the 1950 state championship football did take part in the program. Charles Hobson of Little Rock provided remarks through a pre-recorded video message while Harold Baker McKinney of Fayetteville, an All-State lineman from that team, spoke at the event. Some of the inductees are already members of other halls of fame, but many of their family members said being included in the very first class of the Rison Sports Hall of Fame wa...
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.