The Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame

2009 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame chose 10 outstanding individuals as their 2008 Hall of Fame inductees at the Awards Banquet on August 9th, 2008.

This year's MC was Mike'l Severe and Tommy Warren was the Keynote Speaker.

The honorees each will have a plaque on display at the North Omaha Boys and Girls Club at 26th and Hamilton Streets until a permanent site for the hall is constructed.

	Ernie Britt, Omaha Tech: A high school All-American in football, at tight end. Ernie was also All-Nebraska in basketball, and on the 880 relay he tied for an all-class gold medal. He played basketball at Fairbury Junior College, leading in scoring and rebounding.
	Tom Carodine, Boystown: The 1947 All-Nebraska quarterback was a four-sport standout for the Cowboys, and the mayor of Boystown. He played football at Loyola of Los Angeles and at Nebraska. He was also the first black athlete at NU to score a touchdown in the post-World War era.
	Harley Cooper, Bellevue College: A two time National Golden Gloves champion, Harley was also on the Olympic Boxing Team. He was the Gloves Heavyweight Champion in 1963 and the Light-Heavyweight Champion in 1964.
	George Crenshaw, Omaha Central: The first national champion in wrestling at UNO, he was the 1963 winner at 167 pounds after being runner-up the previous year at 157 pounds. At Central, he was a state champion during his senior year.
	Fred Farthing, Omaha Tech: The starting fullback and leading rusher as a junior at Minnesota in 1964, he competed in five sports - football, basketball, wrestling, track, and golf as a senior at Tech. He was All-Conference and set a league record with 32 points.
	Rich Glover, University of Nebraska: The 1972 Outland and Lambardi Award winner was a two year starter for the Huskers at middle guard, making 22 tackles in the fabled 1971 win over Oklahoma.
	Russell Harrison, Omaha Tech: A three-year letterman at Kansas State. As a senior at Tech, he ran for 1,025 yards on 112 carries as a fullback and was added to the All-Nebraska team. He was also a Class A runner-up in both hurdles races.
	Mallery Ivy, Omaha Central: Mallery won 11 individual gold medals, and 14 overall, at the state track and field championships, ranking as the most ever in Nebraska. She had the all-time best of 11.7 seconds in the 100 meter. She also lettered in track for four years at Tennessee.
	Jon McWilliams, NU: Enshrined in the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, he was a three year letterman at NU from 1953 to 1955 and was All-Big Seven. He played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL. At Sidney, he was all-starter in football.
	Mel Washington, UNO: The World Herald's 1971 state college athlete of the year was the NAIA 177-pound national champion in wrestling in 1969 and 1971. His career record was 104-4. The Rochester, NY., native also set six team records in football as a 215-pound defensive tackle.
	Dhafir Muhammad: A three time NAIA wrestling champion, the older brother of Mel Washington was runner-up at nationals as a freshman. He was twice named the outstanding wrestler at the NAIA's. His career record was 82-6-1.