Somewhere in the deep recesses of the sports radio blabosphere is a giant red button that says, “Hall of Fame debate: Press in case of emergency.”

The argument about whether a particular major leaguer of NFL star was Hall-worthy or just very good quickly becomes tedious, yet it’s an easy topic with which to fill a few hours.

It works pretty well for newspapers, too.

The Vicksburg Warren School District is accepting nominations for its 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame class. There are currently a dozen former athletes and coaches in the Hall, and about a half-dozen more will be added at the next induction ceremony in August.
The Class of 2018 will be selected this summer, and you have a say in who it is.

Nomination forms are available online at the district’s web site (vwsd.k12.ms.us). The deadline for submission is June 1. Anyone can nominate a former athlete, coach or administrator, but there are a few rules on who is eligible:

• Athletes must have attended and participated in a sport for at least two years at Vicksburg High or Warren Central beginning with 1970, and must have been part of a class that graduated at least 15 years prior to nomination.

• Coaches must have coached for at least five years within the VWSD and for at least 10 years in their sport. They must also be out of coaching for the sport they’re nominated in for at least five years.

With those guidelines in place, there are some worthy candidates that jump to mind. Among coaches, John White and Bobby Huell would both be good choices. White coached Warren Central’s basketball team to great success in the 1970s and was later the school’s athletic director. Huell was a key assistant on Vicksburg High’s football staff for nearly 40 years.

Steering away from football, where there is no shortage of candidates, Justin Henry and Roosevelt Brown (VHS baseball), and Courtney Hubert (WC soccer) deserve consideration. Henry went on to star at Ole Miss, while Brown played four seasons in the majors with the Cubs. Both have remained active in the community.

Hubert was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in girls’ soccer in 2001. She went on to play for Mississippi State but was killed in a car wreck in 2002 along with her younger sister Erin. WC’s girls’ fieldhouse is named for the sisters.

Those are only some of the hundreds of former athletes worthy of induction. Have a favorite? Get a nomination form and make their case.

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Ernest Bowker is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com