Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame banquet rescheduled for August
The 19th annual Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame banquet, scheduled for May 4 in Abilene, has been postponed and has been rescheduled for Aug. 10.
“In light of the COVID-19 restrictions, the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors has decided it is best to postpone our annual banquet,” said board chairman Al Pickett. “The banquet has been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 10 and will still be held at the Abilene Convention Center. We thank everyone for their understanding during these unusual times.”
Paid VIP Table tickets dated May 4 and already mailed out will be honored at the rescheduled date and not reissued. Paid individual tickets, none of which have yet been mailed, will be mailed out on August 1. Tickets for the banquet are still for sale. The deadline for the purchase of table or individual tickets or for any necessary refund is July 17. Tickets or Tables can be purchased on the web site at www.bigcountryhalloffame.org or by calling 325-668-3685.
Boone Magness
Scheduled to be inducted at the August. 10 banquet is Boyce “Boone” Magness of Breckenridge, who will be honored posthumously with the Bill Hart Memorial Legends Award, along with Milton Martin of Avoca.
Boone Magness was a standout quarterback for the Breckenridge team that tied Port Arthur 0-0 in the 1929 state championship game after upsetting defending champion Waco in the semifinals. He later played at Washington State. In 1968, he was in the first class of inductees into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Also to be honored in August are world champion roper Lari Dee Guy of Clyde, former Abilene High and University of Texas football standout Ahmad Brooks, former Abilene High football and baseball star David Bourland, former Baltimore Colts safety Jerry Don Logan from Graham and C.H. Underwood, who was the coach at O’Brien that won the UIL’s first six-man state football championship.
Former Sweetwater tennis coach Freddie Scott and former Sweetwater and Abilene High tennis coach Fred Scott will receive the Legacy Award. Long-time Associated Press writer Mike Cochran from Stamford will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement for Media Award, and legendary Ranger College coach and athletic director Ron Butler will be recognized as the second recipient of the Impact on Big Country Athletics award.
