Six to be Inducted Into A&M Athletic Hall of Fame
Oct 21, 1997 | Football
October 21, 1997
Six Aggie sports greats will be inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame at the 20th Annual Burgess Banquet Nov. 7 at Pebble Creek Country Club. In addition, two supporters will be named to the Hall of Honor for their contributions to the school and its athletics program.
Hall of Fame honorees will be football All-Americans Bucky Richardson '91 (Missouri City) and Kevin Smith '92 (Irving), softball All-American Liz Mizera '88 (Garden Grove, Calif.) track All-American Marvin Mills '73 (Arlington), and baseball standouts A.D. Alsobrook '40 (Houston) and Frank Stark '64 (Beaver Creek, Ohio). Hall of Honor inductees will be Dr. Tony Barcelona '46 (Bryan) and Tom Lyles '49 (Tyler).
For Burgess Banquet ticket information, contact the Lettermen's Association at 409-846-3024.
Richardson and Smith were part of A&M's powerful 1991 football team that is considered among the finest in school history. The 1991 Aggies finished 10-2, including a perfect 8-0 Southwest Conference record, played in the Cotton Bowl and finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally.
A consensus All-SWC quarterback who placed 10th in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1991, Richardson earned four letters and led the Aggies to SWC titles in 1987 and 1991. He also won the coveted Aggie Heart Award as a senior and was an eighth-round draft pick by the Houston Oilers, where he went on to play four seasons.
One of the winningest quarterbacks in SWC history, Richardson rushed for 2,095 yards in his career, most ever by a SWC quarterback. As a freshman, he was named offensive player of the game in the Cotton Bowl, leading the Aggies to a 35-10 pasting of Notre Dame. After missing the 1989 season with a knee injury, he re-gained the starting job and led A&M to a 65-14 win against Brigham Young in the 1990 Holiday Bowl, again earning player of the game honors.
One sports writer wrote of Richardson, "He's the greatest competitor this league (SWC) has ever seen." Richardson ranks fifth in A&M history in total offense with 5,134 yards and scored 44 touchdowns.
Smith earned consensus All-America honors as a senior in 1991 and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. In addition, he was a semifinalist for 1991 national defensive player of the year by Football News. He also led the SWC and ranked No. 7 nationally in punt returns with a 14.5 average and returned two punts for touchdowns.
Smith's 20 career interceptions rank him among the all-time leaders in NCAA history and are a school record. Smith was a three-time All-SWC selection and was a vital part of the 1991 "Wrecking Crew" that led the nation in total defense and pass defense. A four-year letterman, Smith was a first-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and started at cornerback for the Cowboys 1992 and 1993 world championship teams.
Mizera earned All-America honors at shortstop in 1987 and 1988, leading the Aggies to the 1987 NCAA Championship. She was named all-tournament at the College World Series in 1986 and 1987 and was selected to the NCAA All-Decade Team for the 1980s.
In 1988, Mizera received the prestigious "Most Courageous Athlete" award by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association. She was a two-time nominee for the Broderick Award as the nation's top female college athlete and earned a gold medal as a member of the U.S. team at the 1987 Pan American Games.
A three-time NCAA all-region pick, she was named A&M's most valuable player in 1988. A four-year letter-winner, Mizera owned the NCAA record for career home runs (34) until 1994 and owned the NCAA single season record for home runs (18) until 1993.
A 1970 All-American, Marvin Mills was a member of A&M's world-record setting 880-yard relay and indoor mile relay. He helped the 1970 440-yard relay to the SWC title and placed second in the 100-yard dash and 220-yard dash at the conference meet.
The 1970 indoor mile relay team of Harold McMahan, Marvin Mills, Willie Blackmon and Curtis Mills set the world record with a time of 3:05.7 at the USTFF National Indoor Championships.
The 880-yard relay team, consisting of the same runners, tied the world record twice at 1:22.1 at the Texas Relays and in the preliminaries the Drake Relays before finally breaking the record with a time of 1:21.7 in the finals at the Drake Relays.
He helped the Aggies to SWC indoor titles in the mile relay in 1970 and 1971. At one time, he owned or shared nine school records. A four-year lettermen, Mills led A&M to the SWC outdoor team title in 1970.
His brother, Curtis, was inducted into the A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979. The Mills are only the second brother tandem to be named to the Hall of Fame, joining football players Charlie Krueger (1972) and Rolf Krueger (1995).
Alsobrook was a All-SWC outfielder in 1938, 1939 and 1940 and was named the team's most valuable player in 1938 and team co-captain in 1940. He served in the Air Force from early in World War II until his retirement in 1972, eventually earning the rank of Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.
Stark earned All-America honors as a first baseman in 1964 and earned All-SWC and all-district VI laurels in 1962 and 1964. He was named the team's most valuable player in 1964 after leading the Aggies to the SWC title.
Barcelona has been a member of 12th Man Foundation since 1955. He was an inaugural member of the foundation, which was formerly known as the Aggie Club. He has been a member of the Association of Former Students since 1946 and since 1950 has served as the official veterinarian of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Lyles has been active in the Tyler A&M Club since 1960 and serves on the club's board of directors, He previously was active in A&M clubs in Galveston, New Orleans and Houston and has served on the A&M President's Council of Advisors and the A&M Chancellor's Council of Advisors.
