Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2003 Announced
Six individuals have been named to the Kansas State University Sports Hall of Fame, the athletic department announced Wednesday. The six will make up the 2003 Hall of Fame Class.
The class will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 10, 2003 in ceremonies at the K-State Student Union. The inductees will also be honored as part of ceremonies during Wildcat home basketball games on Saturday, Jan. 11.
JUDY AKERS (Women’s Basketball Coach, 1968-79)
Finished her 11 seasons at K-State with a 206-94 career record (.687) as coach of the women’s basketball team from 1968-79...Stands as the winningest coach in women’s basketball history for Wildcats... Won two Big Eight championships (1975-76, 1976-77)... Had six 20-win seasons in her 11 years and her teams never finished below .500...
Led the Wildcats to the AIAW National Tournament in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979, picking up two sixth-place finishes... Won the AIAW Region VI title twice (1973, 1977)... Helped establish women’s basketball as an intercollegiate sport at K-State, winning the first 11 games played in Wildcat history... Earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kansas State.
DICK KNOSTMAN (Men’s Basketball, 1951-53)
One of three Wildcats to earn All-America honors twice (1952, 1953)... Also earned All-Big Seven Conference honors in the same seasons... Finished career with 1,083 points to rank 12th on all-time scoring list and is fifth on Wildcat career rebounding list with 774 boards... Career-best 42-point game against Oklahoma in 1953 still ranks fifth on K-State single-game list... Had career-best 23 rebounds in the same game.
His 22.7 ppg average in 1953 is the second-best scoring season in history... Led Wildcats in scoring as junior (16.3 points per game) and senior (22.7 ppg)... Wildcats were ranked third by AP and sixth by UPI after 1951-52 season in which K-State went 19-5... 1952-53 ‘Cats finished 17-4, won the Big Seven Tournament and finished the year ranked ninth by UPI and 12th by AP... One of three Wildcats to score in double figures with 11 points as sophomore in 1951 NCAA West Region Final win over Oklahoma A&M... Drafted by Syracuse in 1953.
LON KRUGER (Men’s Basketball, 1972-74; Men’s Basketball Coach, 1986-90)
Big Eight Conference Player of the Year twice, winning the award both his junior (1973) and senior (1974) seasons... Was Big Eight Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore... Academic All-American in 1973 and 1974 and was a three-time Academic All-Big Eight honoree... Three-time winner of Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award at K-State...
Helped K-State to back-to-back Big Eight titles as a guard in 1972 and 1973... Finished with 1,063 points in his three seasons, scoring 17.6 points per game as a senior and averaging 13.3 ppg over his career... Ranks fourth in K-State history with an .826 career free-throw percentage... Best single game was a 37-point outing against Colorado in the Big Eight Holiday Tournament... Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the ninth round of the 1974 NBA Draft.
Returned to his alma mater to become the 17th head coach in school history, directing the Wildcats to an 81-47 record and four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament in the 1986-90 seasons...
Recognized as National Association of Basketball Coaches District Coach of the Year following the 1988 season... Also coached at Pan American, Florida and Illinois, and is currently the head coach of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
FRED MERRILL, SR. (Contributor)
Merrill has always been ready to support his alma mater when asked to assist with Wildcat athletics. He has been part of facility improvement and projects all over the athletic venues at Kansas State, including the Dev Nelson Press Box at the football stadium, the indoor football facility, Colbert Hills Golf Course, Frank Myers Field at Tointon Family Stadium and the addition to the Vanier Football Complex...
In addition to his involvement with Wildcat athletics, he has been involved in a wide variety of campus projects... A member of the KSU Foundation Board of Trustees, Merrill has contributed to several academic programs and colleges throughout the university... He was instrumental in the success of the Essential Edge campaign...
Merrill, a 1949 graduate of K-State with a degree in milling science, is chairman and CEO of Cereal Food Processors and lives in Leawood, Kan... His son, Fred Merrill, Jr., was a track and field athlete at Kansas State.
CLARENCE SCOTT (Football, 1968-70)
All-American in his senior season at Kansas State as voted by The Sporting News and Look magazine... Also earned first team All-Big Eight Conference honors... Played in the Coaches’ All-America Game, the College All-Star Game, Senior Bowl and North-South Shrine Bowl postseason all-star events...
Played three seasons at cornerback for Kansas State... Had five interceptions as a sophomore, three as a junior and four as a senior... Led or tied for the team-lead in all three seasons... His 12 career interceptions rank fourth all-time at K-State... Finished his career with 173 tackles, including 101 solos... Had 71 tackles as a sophomore with 13 pass breakups... Credited with 29 pass breakups in his three seasons...
First-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1971 NFL Draft, the 14th pick overall... Ranks second behind K-State Hall of Famer Veryl Switzer as the earliest Wildcat ever taken in the NFL Draft... Played 13 seasons for the Browns (1971-83), starting as a defensive back in the 1974 Pro Bowl.
OREN STONER (Men’s Basketball, 1932-35; Football, 1933-34; Men’s Track & Field, 1932-35)
Earned eight letters combined in three different sports at Kansas State...
First team All-Big Six Conference selection... Key member for K-State in 1934 run to the Big Six Championship, serving as halfback, defensive back, kick returner and punt returner... Scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half to lead K-State to a 19-7 Thanksgiving Day win over Nebraska that sealed the Wildcats’ first league title...
Honorable mention All-Big Six performer in basketball in 1935... Served as team captain for the 1934-35 squad... Legendary
Kansas head coach Phog Allen put Stoner on an all-defensive team for players who had faced the Jayhawks during Allen’s time in Lawrence.
Member of shuttle hurdle relay team that set world record at Kansas Relays in 1934... Participated as a hurdler on Wildcats’ 1935 track and field team that won Big Six Conference indoor team title...
Coffeyville High School gymnasium has been named in his honor...
Retired in 1972 from Coffeyville High, where he was a teacher, administrator and coach.
JACQUE STRUCKHOFF (Women’s Track & Cross Country, 1984-88)
Four-time All-American as a distance runner for the Wildcats... Earned All-America status in cross country twice (1984, 1985)... Placed second individually at 1985 Big Eight Championships... Was sixth as a senior...
As freshman in 1985, won Big Eight outdoor title and league indoor championship at 3,000 meters... Captured 2-mile and 3-mile indoor titles at Big Eight Championships in 1986...Was indoor All-American as sophomore with seventh-place finish at 3,000 meters at NCAA Nationals...
Swept the distance events at 1987 Big Eight outdoor meet, winning at 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters... Earned All-America status with fourth-place finish at 1987 NCAA Outdoor Nationals at 10,000 meters...
Captured Big Eight outdoor title at 10,000 meters as a senior at the 1988 championships...
Held both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter school records at K-State until Amy Mortimer broke the 5K mark last season...
Struckhoff’s 10K record still stands at 33:22.64 set at the Penn Relays in 1987 and is 27 seconds faster than the woman in second on that list... Her time of 15:54.12 at 5,000 meters stood as the school record for 16 years... Has school record with 9:52.75 indoors for women’s 2-mile run...
Ranks on K-State all-time indoor lists in mile (8th), 3,000 meters (3rd) and 5,000 meters (4th)...
Three-time first team Verizon Academic All-American (1986, 1987, 1988) as voted by the College Sports Information Directors of America... Named a finalist for the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2002.