Nolan Richardson could have been upset. He could have been unhappy. He could have been bitter. After 
Instead, he was gracious.
And so were Texas Sports Hall of Fame officials. They welcomed Richardson at the reception and induction banquet with open arms and apologized in one way or another for not inducting him sooner. Jay Black, vice president of the Hall, told me he was sorry it took so long. President Jared Mosley and master of ceremonies Brad Shram expressed regret that sometimes it takes a “long” time to induct someone.
For his part, Richardson thanked the Hall for inducting him and mentioned the delay only in passing. He said he had been inducted into 12 previous Halls of Fame which was like having a large cake and now it would have “icing” on it.
AND SUPER public speaker that he is, Richardson gave an acceptance speech that those at the induction banquet will long remember. He had the crowd in stitches with jokes one moment, listening with sheer rapture other times.
He introduced those at his table, which included KVIA-TV general manager Kevin Lovell, who was so instrumental in getting him inducted.
I was at his table, too, and Richardson introduced me as the one who gave him his first writeup when he was nine years old and hit a homerun in Little League.
“At first, Ray reported that the homerun went 257 feet,” Richardson said. “But (the distance) grew through the years. It became 300 feet, then 400 feet. Today (at the reception before the banquet), I asked Ray the distance again. He said it was 500 feet.”
The crowd burst into laughter.
IN MORE serious moments, he told of how he lost his mother at age 3 and was raised by his grandmother. He called her “the captain of the ship” and said that she told him achieving success would be up to him and him alone. He lived by that philosophy and imparted it to his players.
He praised El Paso, saying that he couldn’t have had the opportunities he had anywhere else in the country. Segregation was still rampant in the country in the 1950s but, he said, the principal at Bowie High School at the time, Frank Pollitt, opened the door for him by hiring him to teach seventh grade.
That’s all he needed, he said, just a crack in the door to success. He went on to coach the Bowie High basketball team with great success, win a junior college championship with Western Texas, win a NIT title with Tulsa and win a NCAA championship at University of Arkansas. He is the only coach in the country to win all three of those national titles at the college level.
OTHERS INDUCTED into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame with Richardson were Prairie View A&M and NBA star Zelmo Beaty (deceased), former Dallas Cowboys vice president of Player Personnel Gil Brandt, BYU Heisman Trophy quarterback Ty Detmer, Dallas Cowboys All Pro safety Cliff Harris, former University of Texas swim coach Richard Quick (deceased), Dallas Cowboys All Pro defensive back Everson Walls and Baylor NCAA and Olympic 400 meter champion Jeremy Wariner.
Richardson was highly sought for interviews by the media and autograph seekers. Perhaps it was because of the long time it took to induct him or because it was the first chance for most of the media in the eastern part of the state to interview him or because of his outgoing personality.
Whatever, it’s no exaggeration to say he was the center of attraction.
OH, YES. A special note of thanks to Brad Shram, the legendary sportscaster of Dallas Cowboys games. He is one of the people Lovell contacted for help to get Richardson inducted and, Lovell says, Shram quickly got to work spreading the word throughout the state.
What is that saying? Better late than never?