The University of Memphis will honor athletic heroes from the past 40 years this Friday.
Eight former Tiger athletes along with three award recipients will be honored at a banquet for The M Club Hall of Fame at the Holiday Inn located on campus.
Tommy Buford, Christina Ladyman, Mark Little, Jay McCoy, Danny Pierce, Joe Proctor, Tim Roop and David Waldschmidt are the athletes being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Bill Koeneman, Peter Scatamacchia and Nick White will be honored with annual awards at the banquet.
"All of these are good athletes and are like the (members) before them in the same image," said Al Brown, director of the M Club.
He said the awards have been given out since 1973 and through the years, the M Club has refined the process and number of inductees selected.
"At this point, there is nothing we would change about (the process)," said Brown.
Ballots are sent out to U of M lettermen and the votes are then tallied and the top eight are selected for the M Club. Brown said former players have more to do with the players inducted, whereas the administration decides the annual awards.
The Billy J. Murphy award, the Ralph Hatley Silver M Award and the Dr. C.C. Humphreys Golden Tiger award will be given to Scatamacchia, White and Koeneman.
Tommy Buford was named men's tennis coach at The U of M in 1966 and won 421 career games in his coaching career. He was inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
Jay McCoy was a tailback and fullback during his football career at The U of M. He also kicked the game-winning extra point against Virginia Tech and ranks third in Tiger history with 27 rushing touchdowns.
Also on the football front, Danny Pierce was a solid quarterback for the Tigers in the late 1960s. The Washington Redskins drafted him in 1970 as a running back, but earlier in his athletic career he was a St. Louis Cardinals draft pick.
Pierce passed away earlier this year.
Jay Proctor played basketball at The U of M and was named sophomore of the year in 1969 in the Missouri Valley Conference. He scored 699 career points as a Tiger then went on to a lengthy coaching career, that saw himself rise from coaching a local Catholic high school to being an assistant coach for an Alabama State team that went to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2004.
Tim Roop was a golfer at The U of M who set a school record by shooting 64 on an 18-hole course. After graduating, Roop finished as runner-up in the Tennessee and Mississippi State Amateurs.
David Waldschmidt was a standout track and field athlete at The U of M and set two school records in the 120-yard outdoor hurdles and the 50-yard indoor hurdles.
More recently, Tiger athlete Christina Ladyman has a special status in her induction. Ladyman and her father, Henry, are the first ever father-daughter combination to be in the M Club.
"She was one of the greatest players I've ever coached," said U of M women's tennis coach Charlotte Peterson. "She was so easy to work with and loved people, always had a smile on her face and was just a very friendly person."
Peterson gave a glowing example of her former athlete, saying that after each match Ladyman would get a photo with her opponent for her scrapbook. This she did no matter whether she won or lost the match.
Former Tiger outfielder Mark Little will also be the inducted. He finished his career in 1994 after setting many offensive records for the baseball team and helping his club to a long run in the NCAA Tournament.
"He was just an outstanding player in his own right," said Bob Winn, associate athletic director for external affairs. "Off the field he was quite a gentleman and he was just a first-class individual.
Mark had all the tools to be a prototype outfielder with his speed and batting average."
Little holds the career batting average record with a .424 clip. He also holds the single-season records for hits, runs scored, runs batted in, home runs, slugging percentage and total bases.
He has played in over 150 Major League Baseball games and has also spent time with the Memphis Redbirds.
