Alabama Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2022
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Coosa native Justin Tuck among inductees
Justin Tuck, Coosa County native, speaking at Central Middle School Coosa County in February 2014 as part of Tuck’s “R.U.S.H for Literacy” program. File photo by Christa Jennings
Special to the News
The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the Class of 2022 to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on May 7, 2022.
The class was selected by ballot through a statewide selection committee; votes were tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The newly elected inductees for the Class of 2022 are as follows: Doyle Alexander, William Andrews, Keith Askins, Rusty Greer, Patrick Murphy, Jake Peavy, Philip Rivers, and Justin Tuck.
Starting with the first class in 1969, this will be the 54th Class inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The eight newly elected inductees will bring the total number of inductees to 385.
The 54th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel on May 7, 2022. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at 205-323-6665.
Class of 2022 biographies:
DOYLE ALEXANDER – BASEBALL | Born September 4, 1950, in Cordova, Alabama. Over his 19-year MLB career, Alexander played for the Dodgers, Orioles, Yankees, Rangers, Braves, Giants, Blue Jays, and Tigers. Drafted by the Dodgers in 1968, he debuted with the team on June 26, 1971. In 1976, he helped the Yankees win the AL East division and pitched game one of the World Series. In 1984, he led the AL with a .739 winning percentage. He was traded from Atlanta to Detroit during the 1987 season. After the trade, he went 9-0 with a 1.57 ERA and helped the Tigers secure a division title. The next season he was elected to the AL All-Star team. He finished his career with a 194-174 record, 3.76 ERA, and 1,528 strikeouts.
WILLIAM ANDREWS – FOOTBALL | Born December 25, 1955, in Thomasville, Georgia. Andrews played football at Auburn University from 1976-1978 where he amassed over 1,000 yards rushing. He was drafted in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons with the 79th pick. He played with the Falcons from 1979-1986 and his career started with a bang as he tallied 167 rushing yards in his first NFL game. Andrews broke 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie and was named on the All-Rookie team. In 1981, Andrews led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage and also scored 12 touchdowns. In 1983, Andrews continued to dominate with 1,567 rushing yards and 2,176 scrimmage yards, second in both categories that year. Andrews was selected to the Pro Bowl four times from 1980-1983 and was named first-team All-Pro in 1983 after receiving the honor of second team All-Pro in 1981 and 1982. In total, Andrews amassed 5,986 career rushing yards which was 24th all time at his retirement.
KEITH ASKINS – BASKETBALL | Born December 15, 1967, in Athens, Alabama. Askins played forward for the University of Alabama from the 1986-87 to 1989-90 seasons. In 1989, he was named first-team All-SEC Tournament. Askins was a member of three SEC Tournament champion teams and reached the Sweet Sixteen twice. He signed with the Miami Heat in 1990 as an undrafted free agent. He played nine seasons as a reserve and defensive specialist with the Heat. Askins served as a captain for the Heat for four consecutive seasons from 1995-99 and won the team’s leadership award in both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. He retired from playing in 1999 with career totals of 1,852 points and 1,428 rebounds. Immediately after retiring, he joined the Heat’s coaching staff as an assistant for Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra where the team won three championships. After 14 years on the Heat coaching staff, he became the organization’s director of college and pro scouting.
RUSTY GREER – BASEBALL | Born January 21, 1969, in Fort Rucker, Alabama. Greer graduated from Albertville High School and played baseball at the University of Montevallo. The Texas Rangers drafted him 279th overall in the tenth round of the 1990 MLB Draft. On May 16, 1994 he made his MLB Debut versus the Oakland Athletics. He hit a home run in his second at-bat. In 1996, he had one of the best seasons of his career, batting .332 (fifth in the American League) and recording his first of three 100-RBI seasons. The next season he finished seventh in the AL with a .321 batting average and hit a career high 26 home runs. For his career, he had a .305 batting average and a slugging percentage of .478. Greer spent his entire 15-year career in the Rangers organization. In 2007, he was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.
PATRICK MURPHY – SOFTBALL – COACHING | Born November 28, 1965, in Waterloo, Iowa. Murphy began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 1990. He was hired as an assistant at the University of Alabama in 1996. He was named head coach at Alabama in 1999, taking the team to its first Women’s College World Series in 2000. In 2012, Murphy led Alabama to its first National Title and the first in SEC history. Under Coach Murphy, the Crimson Tide have appeared in 13 Women’s College World Series, won six regular season championships, and won five SEC Tournament Championships. Since Murphy became head coach in 1999, Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament every year. He is a five-time SEC Coach of the Year and his staff has won a NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year award and 11 NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards.
JAKE PEAVY – BASEBALL | Born May 31, 1981, in Mobile, Alabama. Peavy was drafted out of St. Paul’s Episcopal School by the San Diego Padres in the 15th round as the 472nd pick of the 1999 MLB Draft. He was called up to the major leagues in 2002 where he pitched for the Padres from 2002-2009, before he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2009. Peavy played five seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2013. In 2014, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants where he eventually retired in 2016. Peavy was an All-Star in 2005, 2007, and 2012 and won back-to-back World Series with the Red Sox in 2013 and with the Giants in 2014. He was named the National League Cy Young award winner in the 2007 season, where he led the NL in wins and strikeouts and led the MLB in ERA. He was awarded a Gold Glove Award in 2012. Peavy ended his career with a record of 156-126 with a 3.63 ERA and 2,207 career strikeouts.
PHILIP RIVERS – FOOTBALL | Born December 8, 1981, in Decatur, Alabama. Rivers played quarterback for NC State from 2000-2003. He was awarded ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, and ACC Athlete of the Year in 2004. Rivers was also named to the second-team All-ACC team in 2002 and to the first-team All-ACC team in 2003. He was selected by the New York Giants as the fourth pick of the 2004 NFL Draft but was traded to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning. In 2008, Rivers led the NFL in passer rating and was the co-leader for passing touchdowns. He led the league in passing yards in 2010 and in completion percentage in 2013. Rivers was a nine-time Pro-Bowler (2006, 2008-2011, 2013, 2016-2018) and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2013. In 2020, Rivers signed with the Indianapolis Colts after 16 seasons with the Chargers. He retired after the 2021 season and currently coaches football at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, AL.
JUSTIN TUCK – FOOTBALL | Born March 29, 1983, in Kellyton, Alabama. Tuck attended the University of Notre Dame where he redshirted his freshman year and played three seasons with the Irish. He set several school records despite struggling with an ACL injury in his final season. His sophomore season he set the school record with 13.5 sacks and 43 tackles for loss. He holds the school record with 24.5 career sacks. In 2005, he was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the NFL Draft. During his career, Tuck won two Super Bowl titles (XLII, XLVI), was a two-time Pro-Bowler (2008, 2010), second-team All-Pro (2010), first-team All-Pro (2008), and was presented with the New York Giants Ring of Honor in 2016. He had 510 career tackles, 66.5 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, and three interceptions.