Ken Sailors was an American professional basketball player active in the 1940s and early 1950s. A 5-foot-10-inch guard, he is notable for popularizing the jump shot as an alternative to the two-handed, flat-footed set shot.
Sailors was born in Bushnell, Nebraska and grew up on a farm south of Hillsdale, Wyoming, where he developed his effective jump shot while playing against his 6-foot-4-inch older brother Barton. He eventually brought his skills to the University of Wyoming, and in 1943 he led the Cowboys to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Sailors was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player for his efforts. He was the unanimous selection as College Basketball Player of the Year in 1943. He would earn the honor again in 1946. Sailors was the only player in the history of Wyoming Cowboys basketball to be selected as an All-American three times (1942, 1943 and 1946).
From 1946 to 1951, Sailors played professionally in the BAA and NBA as a member of the Cleveland Rebels, Chicago Stags, Philadelphia Warriors, Providence Steamrollers, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Baltimore Bullets. He was second in the BAA in total assists in 1946-47, was named to the All-BAA 2nd team in 1948-49 and averaged a career high 17.3 points per game in the 1949-50 season. He scored 3,480 points in his professional career.
Detlef Schrempf is a German-American retired professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies from 1981-1985, and was drafted into the National Basketball Association by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft. Originally selected eighth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 NBA draft, Schrempf became a regular in NBA rotations after being traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for veteran center Herb Williams in February 1989. Playing for the Pacers, he finished second in the NBA with a .478 three-point percentage in 1987, and eventually worked his way into the starting lineup.
In 1991 and 1992 he won consecutive NBA Sixth Man Awards. In the 1992-93 season, he was the only player in the NBA to finish in the top 25 in scoring, rebounding and assists, and was selected to play in the National Basketball Association All-Star Game, the first of his three appearances.
Following the 1992-93 NBA season, Schrempf was traded to the Seattle Supersonics for forward Derrick McKey and guard/forward Gerald Paddio. He ranked second in the NBA in three-point accuracy during the 1994-95 season with a 51.4 three-point field goal percentage. On a Sonics team that also featured Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Sam Perkins, and Hersey Hawkins, Schrempf reached the NBA Finals in 1996, where they lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in six games. Schrempf became the first (and one of only two to date, along with Dirk Nowitzki) German-born NBA player to reach the NBA Finals. While with the Sonics, Schrempf played in the NBA All-Star game in both 1995 and 1997. Schrempf was released by the Sonics in 1999 and signed the same day by the Portland Trail Blazers, with whom he played until his retirement from professional basketball in 2001, playing in a total of 1,136 regular season games and 114 playoff games.
Schroeder was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American player in 1942; the No. 2 for 4 consecutive years, 1946 through 1949, and the latter year saw Schroeder ranked World No. 1 by Pierre Gillou (president of the Fédération Française de Tennis).
Schroeder was born in Newark, New Jersey, but developed as a tennis player in Southern California under the guidance of Perry T. Jones. He has been considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time by many.
Richard Guy “Dick” Shrider was an American professional basketball player and college coach. Shrider was selected in the 1948 BAA Draft by the New York Knicks after a collegiate career at Ohio. He played for the Knicks for four total games in 1948 before then playing in the National Basketball League for the Detroit Vagabond Kings.
Shrider then became a high school boys’ basketball coach at Gallipolis High School until 1955, at which point he took over the boys’ basketball team at Fairborn High School. In 1957, Miami University in Ohio named him as their new head coach. In 1957-58, his first season, Shrider’s Redskins went undefeated against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents. They became the first MAC team to ever win an NCAA Tournament game that year as well. During Shrider’s nine seasons as Miami’s head coach he led them to four MAC championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances (1958, 1966). He compiled an overall record of 126-96, and in 1996, he was named an honoree of the school’s “Cradle of Coaches” award.
Mack was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Listed as 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, he was known more for his fielding than his hitting, teaming up with Cleveland shortstop Lou Boudreau for a great double play combination in the early 1940s. Mack was selected to the 1940 American League All-Star team and pinch hit for starting second baseman Joe Gordon in the eighth inning.
Mack ended with a .966 career fielding percentage and helped complete 597 double plays. He saved Bob Feller’s 1940 opening day no-hitter with a diving stop on the final out. After the 1946 season, Mack was traded to the Yankees by new Indians’ owner Bill Veeck. It was one of many deals orchestrated by Veeck, but in it Cleveland obtained pitcher Gene Bearden, who would pitch the Tribe to the 1948 pennant as a rookie.
In a nine-season career, he had a batting average of .232 with 34 home runs and 278 RBIs. He stole 35 bases, scored 273 runs, and accumulated 113 doubles and 24 triples. He had 629 career hits in 2707 at-bats.
Mack died in Bucyrus, Ohio. His son, Tom played for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1999. Ray, too, had the option of playing football, but passed it up for baseball.
John Marshall was an American football coach. He worked primarily as a defensive coordinator and a linebacker coach for over forty years. While working with the San Francisco 49ers he was a part of two Super Bowl winning coaching staffs. Over his forty year career he coached at three colleges and for eight different professional teams. His most recent tenure was with the Oakland Raiders.
Robert “Bob” Matheson was a NFL linebacker who played thirteen seasons between the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. He was drafted in the first round of the 1967 NFL Draft as the eighteenth overall selection. This would be a notable draft as it was the last one that the AFL and NFL held separate drafts for before merging.
Matheson became known as the fourth linebacker on the Miami Dolphins under coach Don Shula when they became one of the innovators of the 3-4 style defense. Matheson won two Super Bowls while with the Dolphins this included being a part of the 1972 Dolphin team that posted the only undefeated team in NFL history. Matheson passed away in 1994 due to complications with Hodgkin’s Disease.
Phi Delta Theta Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Mike Mathis was a National Basketball Association referee from 1976 to 2001. Over his career in the NBA, Mathis officiated nearly 2,340 games, including 12 NBA Finals and three NBA All-Star Games. Mathis wore uniform number 13 during his career. He is also the owner and Chief Executive Officer of ProHoop Courts, Inc., which specializes in the installation of basketball goal systems and playing surfaces.
Joseph Don “Dandy Don” Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960-1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was an NFL MVP and named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970-1984. As an original member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team on ABC, he famously played the role of Howard Cosell’s comic foil.
Don Meredith is often times referred to as the original Dallas Cowboy. He was signed to the team before they had a coach, a stadium or even a nickname. He played a nine year career entirely with the Cowboys before retiring. He led the team to two NFL championship games, including one of the most famous games in sports history, the legendary “Ice Bowl” against the Green Bay Packers. Though he never led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl, he was regarded in high esteem by fans and fellow players alike. He led the expansion team to many of their first accomplishments in a storied franchise including their first playoffs birth and first winning season.
During his career, Meredith had a 50.7 percent completion rate, throwing for 17,199 yards and 135 touchdowns with a lifetime passer rating of 74.8. He was named the NFL Player of the Year in 1966 and was named to the Pro Bowl three times. According to the NFL, the longest pass with no yards after catch was his 83 yard pass to Bob Hayes.
Jack Mildren is perhaps best known as the “Godfather of the Wishbone” going back to his quarterbacking days at the University of Oklahoma. Mildren set records in his 1971 senior season that have since been exceeded. The Sooners posted an 11-1 record with the wishbone averaging a remarkable 472.4 yards rushing per game. Mildren set records for most rushing yards in a season (1,140 – 1971), most career touchdown passes (25), and season passing efficiency (209.0 – 1971) record.
Following his collegiate career, Mildren played three seasons of professional football before retiring. He continued to stay in the public eye when in 1990 when he was elected to as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.
