(by Danny Andrews)
The second class of the Plainview High School Athletic Hall of Honor was inducted at halftime of the PHS-Pampa game on Sept. 1 in Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
Chosen from more than 100 nominees by a committee of longtime Bulldog fans, the 2023 honorees received a framed depiction of their biographies, achievements and photos, a medal with their name and Bulldog insignia and commemorative program.
A reception for the attending honorees, those representing deceased honorees and those unable to attend, as well as family members and friends was held before the game at Plainview Junior High where the Hall of Honor display is located.
The inaugural class included former pro football players Lawrence McCutcheon, Jerry Sisemore, Bill Howton and Jamar Wall, basketball stars Ronnie Peret, Alesha Robertson Ellis and Gay Hemphill, baseball standout Willie Ansley and former coaches Greg Sherwood and Danny Wrenn.
Following are profiles on the 2023 inductees.
NEIL BILLINGSLEY, the longest-tenured assistant coach in PHS history, has been on the Bulldog staff since 1978 when Plainview advanced to the state playoffs for the first time since starting football in 1910. He has served as a part-time assistant since retiring in 1996 when he already had 37 years under his coaching belt. A 1956 graduate of Plains High School where he was a 3-time all-district linebacker and offensive guard, he played a year at Cisco Junior College. He also coached at Toyah, Dell City, El Paso and Iowa Park and has served under six head coaches at PHS. He was head track coach from 1982-96. The main Bulldog Stadium fieldhouse was named in his honor in 2019.
BILL CARTHEL, who passed away in 2023, was an all-district third baseman as a senior in 1963 after making honorable mention as a pitcher the previous year. Playing multiple positions at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, he was named to the American Association of College Baseball Coaches All-America Team in 1967. He was drafted by the Dodgers and Indians in college but didn’t sign, eventually playing seven seasons in the New York Mets and Montreal Expos organizations, hitting .234 with 40 homers and 231 RBI in 585 games. He once played all nine positions in an exhibition game for AAA Memphis vs. the Mets.
MICHAEL EGNEW was an all-district selection in football twice and once in basketball. The 2008 graduate won state in the long jump at 23-9 as a senior and had a school record 24-2. He also holds the school mark in the triple jump. At the University of Missouri, he was Associated Press First Team All-American tight end as a junior and finished his four-year career with 147 catches for 1,337 yards and eight TDs. A 6-5, 252-pounder, he was drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft by Miami and also played briefly for Detroit, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and New Orleans. He is head football coach at Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, Mo. and owner of Athletes Performance Institute.
CARL IRLBECK, who passed away in 2022, chalked up a varsity record of 1,065-504 (67.9 winning percentage) coaching boys and girls over a 41-year period. “The General” won boys’ state championships at Plainview (1994) and Abernathy (1980) and had three other teams advance to state. His record in nine seasons at PHS was 215-74. He had multiple 20-plus wins and only three losing seasons, 26 district titles and 30 playoff teams with15 advancing to regionals. The 1956 Happy graduate played at Clarendon JC and West Texas State. He was inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. A longtime math teacher, all four of his children played basketball for him.
RANDY LIGHTFOOT, who passed away in 2022, made all-state three times as a high hurdler and had established or tied six national prep records by the time he graduated in 1971. He won the Texas Class 4A 120-yard-high hurdles as a senior in a national record-tying 13.5 and ran 13.4 that summer in Chicago. He tied a school record of 13.6 in the highs at the University of Texas and, after sitting out two years, transferred to Wayland where he set several records and earned All-American honors. In 2000, he was named one of the top 100 athletes in the region by the Amarillo and Lubbock newspapers and in 2001 was inducted into the Wayland Athletics Hall of Honor.
STEVEN ‘KOJAK’ RIDDLEY, a 1994 graduate, was a two-time all-district honoree in football for Coach Steve Parr’s teams and basketball for Coach Carl Irlbeck’s squads and was named all-state in both sports as a senior. A free safety and receiver, he helped the Bulldogs advance to the quarterfinals with two 11-win seasons and led PHS to the state basketball title in 1994 (making MVP) after a semifinal loss in 1993. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds as a senior. He was twice Junior College All-American safety at Northeastern Oklahoma State University, played briefly at OU and, at age 27, finished his career as a co-captain making 70 tackles with three interceptions at Abilene Christian. He is an employee of Ready Construction in Plainview.
DELLA RIGGINS, a teacher and coach in Plainview for 25 years, helped the first PHS team in UIL competition, coached by Melynn Hunt, advance to the state semifinals in 1979. The 1980 graduate had 794 points and 782 rebounds over two seasons, making first-team all-district twice and second-team All-South Plains as a senior. She was an all-district hurdler and ran on a regional qualifying mile relay team. She started two years at Clarendon Junior College and helped Wayland go 51-7 in two seasons and a third-place finish at the NAIA national tournament. She was lead varsity girls track coach for several years, mentored several regional qualifiers and had only two seasons with more than four losses coaching junior high basketball.
WILTON L. ‘TUT’ TAWWATER, who passed away in 2015, was the “Voice of the Bulldogs” for 35 years, broadcasting almost 350 football games, including the first three playoff teams in school history. The home broadcast booth at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium is named in his honor. He also did play-by-play for baseball as well as for Bulldog basketball teams that advanced to state in 1954, 1955 and 1971. The 1941 Quanah High School graduate, Air Force B-24 radio operator and Prisoner of War was honored many times for community service that included the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce Sports Committee, YMCA, City Parks and Recreation Committee, Boy Scouts and Summer Baseball coach, heading several All-Star teams. He was chairman of the Council of Governors, the highest position in Texas Lionism, District Governor and taught the Wesley Sunday School Class of First United Methodist Church for more than 40 years.
ARLAND THOMPSON made all-district and all-state offensive lineman as a senior for Coach George Kirk, graduating in 1976. He played a year at center and three at left tackle for the Baylor Bears. He was named All-SWC Second Team lineman by the Dallas Morning News as a senior and 24/7 Sports named him to the All-Time Baylor Football Team. He played in the East-West Shrine All-Star Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. and the Japan Bowl All-Star Classic in Tokyo. At 6-4, 265-pounds, he was taken in the fourth round (103rd pick) of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Also played offensive guard for the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Colts and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL, USFL Denver Gold and San Antonio Gunslingers and the Arena League Detroit Drive. His playing career was hampered by two major knee injuries. He is Senior Principal Engineer at Raytheon Technologies, an aerospace company in Aurora, Colo.
CHELSI WELCH, a 2002 graduate, starred on the first two of three straight Danny Wrenn-coached Class 4A state championship basketball teams from 2001-03 (all were victories over Fort Worth Dunbar; she was MVP as a senior), was twice All-District and All-State, Texas Player of the Year and national All-American as a senior. She averaged 14 points and six rebounds in three seasons. At the University of Oklahoma where she was Co-Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-Big 12 for Coach Sheri Coale’s Lady Sooners, the 5-9 guard was a member of three Big 12 and two Big 12 Tournament title teams, one Sweet 16 appearance, made the 1,000-point club and holds the single-season free throw record of 92 percent. She started 97 of 130 games, averaging 9.1 points and 2.9 rebounds. She tried out at the WNBA Chicago Sky training camp, played one season for the Puerto Rico Montaneros pro league and played on the Lubbock Lady Hawks national AAU championship team. She is Client Engineering Project Manager for Apple in Austin.
JACK WILLIAMS, who passed away in 2004, played football and basketball for the Bulldogs before earning a scholarship to play football and golf at Texas Christian University. All-District in football, he threw five touchdown passes in one game. His senior year of 1945, the Bulldogs were 9-1 but lost to Amarillo High, 7-0 when only one team advanced to the playoffs. His football career was ended by an injury at TCU, but he was the Horned Frogs’ No. 1 golfer and the team finished second in the Southwest Conference twice behind Texas. One of the top amateur golfers in the Southwest, he won more than 110 individual invitational and match play tournaments – including the Plainview Country Club Invitational 17 times and the Men’s West Texas, Tri-State and Life Begins at 40 three times each. Nominated to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2019, he played in the 1960 U.S. Open, finished Low Amateur in his only pro tournament in Phoenix and played on the Texas Cup Amateur Team. He was the longtime owner of Vick’s Cleaners.