FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2009


Anderson, Hall, Joseph highlight Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame’s 2009 induction class

–Former Cocoa High School and New York Giants football player Bob Anderson, former Tivoli High School football standout Willie "Boogie" Hall, and former Madison High School athlete Carl Joseph front the list of eight individuals selected for induction this year into the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Joining them in the Class of 2009 are longtime Ledger prep sports writer Durward Buck; Bartow High School softball coach Glenn Rutenbar; Royal Palm Beach High School girls track & field coach Jay Seider; Oak Ridge High School girls track & field coach Bill Stamper; and former Lincoln High School football coach David Wilson.

This is the 18th group to be inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame, formerly the FHSAA Hall of Fame. Founded during the 1990-91 school year, the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame keeps alive the tradition and spirit of high school athletics, and honors each year those persons who, through distinguished achievement, have excelled in one or more high school programs sponsored by the Association and its member schools. This year’s eight inductees bring the number of deserving individuals who have been enshrined in the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame to 127. They include student-athletes, coaches, administrators, contest officials and other contributors, such as sports writers, who have raised the level of awareness of high school activities through their efforts, achievements and dedication. The 2009 Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Awards Banquet will be held April 26 at the Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel in Gainesville.

Anderson, 70, lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track & field at Cocoa from 1952-56. He was Brevard County's leading rusher and scorer in football his sophomore, junior and senior years, and was a first-team All-State selection and an All-American his senior year. He was an All-County and All-Conference selection in basketball and baseball his sophomore, junior and senior years, and set school, county and conference records in the 100-yard dash and shot put in track & field. He went on to play football and baseball at West Point, and was voted seventh in the Heisman Trophy standings his sophomore year. Upon graduation, he served as a lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division for three years, and then played in the NFL with the New York Giants in 1963 and 1964. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Hall, now deceased, played football, basketball and baseball for Tivoli High School in DeFuniak Springs, a member of the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association, from 1948-1952. He set a single-game scoring record in football with 13 touchdowns and 468 yards, and scored 22 touchdowns and four extra points in two consecutive games. He received the NWFOA Award for the Most Outstanding Athlete twice. He was a two-team MVP in all three sports for Tivoli, scoring double figures in points and steals in basketball and consistently hitting for the cycle in baseball. He was a three-sport athlete at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, before returning to Walton County to teach and coach for the next 36 years.

Joseph, 48, earned eight letters in three sports at Madison High School. Born without a left leg, he declined to use a prosthesis and participated in football, basketball and track & field on one leg. He started at noseguard in football his sophomore year, and was named Big Bend Player of the Week for his seven solo tackles and four assists during a game. Also a starter his senior year, he had 11 solo tackles and six assists in the season opener. In track & field, he was a district high jump champion with a mark of 5-10. His story was featured on "That's Incredible," "The Today Show," "To Tell the Truth," and on NFL halftime shows. After high school, he played linebacker and lineman for Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla., and coached at Madison and Jefferson County Middle-Senior High School in Monticello, Fla. He was named the Most Courageous Athlete of 1981 by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, and is the subject of a biography, "One of a Kind: The Legend of Carl Joseph."

• Durward Buck. Buck, 75, has covered high school sports for The Ledger in Lakeland since 1987. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he wrote for the Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News, Morganton (N.C.) News Herald, and the Johnson City (Tenn.) Press before moving to Florida in 1981 to work for the Winter Haven News-Chief. He covered all aspects of prep sports in Florida, participating in state polls and campaigning through his columns for changes such as the 2.0 grade point average required for participation. He is a member of the Florida Sports Writers Association, and was named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Writer of the Year in 1995.

• Glenn Rutenbar. Rutenbar, 51, started the fast-pitch softball program at Bartow High School in 1987, and also serves as the athletic director. Since then, he has earned seven state championship titles (including five consecutive titles from 2002-2006), four state runner-up titles, 14 regional championships and 15 district titles. He ended the 2008 season with a record of 585-108-1. The 2003 team was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today for its 32-0-1 record, and Bartow had a 63-game winning streak from 2002-2004. More than 60 of his players have earned college scholarships. He is the Florida Athletic Coaches Association district softball chairman and is a member of the Polk County Sports Hall of Fame.

• Jay Seider. Seider, 61, is currently the girls track & field coach at Royal Palm Beach High School. He began his coaching career at Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Fla., serving as head track & field coach for 28 years, as well as head football coach and head basketball coach for five years each. He also was the athletic director from 1988-2002. He moved to Royal Palm Beach in 2003 and served as athletic director for three years. At Glades Central, his girls track & field team won 10 state championships, five heptathlon state championships, and 18 regional championships. He was responsible for upgrading the six-lane track to an eight-lane track at Glades Central, enabling the school to host regional track & field meets. He is a past president of the Florida Athletic Coaches Association, and is a member of the Florida Track & Field and FACA Halls of Fame.

• Bill Stamper. Stamper, 54, has coached the girls track & field program at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando since 1979, and the girls cross country program since 1986. He also coached the boys cross country program from 1979-1996. His girls track & field teams have amassed nine state championships and are five-time state runners-up. He has coached 19 All-America athletes, 20 state champion athletes, and 115 region champions. Forty of his athletes have received college scholarships. He served as the Florida Athletic Coaches Association district track & field chair for 13 years, and was a member of the FHSAA Track & Field Advisory Committee. He is a member of the FACA and Florida Track & Field Halls of Fame, and is a three-time finalist for NHSACA National Coach of the Year.

•David Wilson. Wilson, 60, is currently the athletic director at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee. He has served as head football coach at Crescent City High School, Middleburg High School and Lincoln, where he won state championships in 1999 and 2001. His 27-year career coaching record is 213-94-1. One hundred forty-six of his players have earned college scholarships, 96 to Division I schools. He has coached in several All-Star games, including the Florida-Georgia High School All-Star Football Game, the Califlorida Bowl and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was a member of the FHSAA Board of Directors in 1987-88, and is a past president of the Florida Athletic Coaches Association. He is a member of the FACA Hall of Fame, receiving its President's Award in 1988 and its Meritorious Service Award in 1989.

Two separate committees comprised of active and retired administrators, coaches, officials and news media representatives evaluated the nominations of the eight individuals selected for induction to the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame this year. A seven-member screening committee first reviewed all nominations received and determined which nominees were viable candidates for induction into the Hall of Fame. The nominations of those candidates then were forwarded to a 16-member selection committee, which rated the nomination of each candidate to determine the candidates who would be inducted.

The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 750 middle and senior high schools.

Contact:
Laurel Ring
Director of Special Programs, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 350
lring@fhsaa.org