Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson and former Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne headlined the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame 2024 class that was inducted Saturday night.
The enshrinement ceremony took place at the Omni Nashville Hotel and included 10 other inductees. Voice of the Titans Mike Keith, a 2021 Hall of Fame inductee, served as master of ceremonies.
Also inducted was Paul Annacone (University of Tennessee, tennis), Charlie Bayless (Happy Valley High basketball coach), Chris Burke (UT baseball), Thay Butchee (Nashville-area tennis pro), Scott Hamilton (Olympic gold medal figure skater), W.S. “Babe” Howard (Millington business owner and philanthropist), Jean Patton Latimer (Tennessee State track), Larry Liles (Memphis-area racquetball), Dave Loos (Austin Peay basketball coach and athletic director) and Fred Warren (East Tennessee State golf coach).
Johnson, a 2008 first-round draft pick by the Titans, in 2009 became the sixth player in history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. It earned him the NFL offensive player of the year award and the nickname CJ2K.
At 38, he was the youngest inductee in the class and perhaps the most surprised.
"People asked me if I was surprised to be in this class and I told them I was not surprised because I didn't know about it; I didn't know there was a Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame," said Johnson, who is from Orlando, Florida. "When you talk about hall of fame, everybody thinks about the big one (Pro Football Hall of Fame), the one with the gold jackets."
Johnson, who finished his NFL career with the New York Jets (2014) and Arizona Cardinals (2015-17), researched the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame after being notified he was being included in the 2024 class.
ESPN SNUBS THE TITANS:Which Tennessee Titans made ESPN NFL top-10 position rankings and who was snubbed
NASHVILLE PREDATORS CATFISH ON THE ICE:Watch: It's started, catfish thrown on ice at Predators' NHL playoffs Game 3 at Bridgestone
"After I found out what it was, I was amazed," Johnson said. "Especially for me to not be from Tennessee and I am still getting in. Being that Tennessee is the team that made my dream come true and it being like my second home is amazing. It's a great honor."
Rinne became the first player in Predators history to have his jersey number retired in 2022. He also was the first to have a statue erected outside Bridgestone Arena in 2023. He joined former teammates David Legwand and Mike Fisher in the Hall of Fame.
Rinne was unable to attend the induction ceremonies; voice of the Predators Pete Weber stood in for him.
Burke was an All-American and All-SEC infielder at Tennessee as a junior in 2001. He also made the College World Series all-tournament team.
He finished his three-year career as the Vols' all-time leader in at-bats (777), hits (314), runs scored (224), singles (199), doubles (72), triples (17) and total bases (498).
"I'm kind of blown away by the opportunity to be included with so many great athletes, coaches and media members that have influenced the state of Tennessee through athletics," said Burke, who was inducted into the UT Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. "It's a huge honor."
Burke was a first-round pick (10th overall) of the Houston Astros and played six seasons in the major leagues with the Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
This marked the 40-year anniversary since Hamilton won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. He moved to Nashville 18 years ago and has remained heavily involved in ice skating and with the Predators.
Like Johnson, Hamilton was caught off guard by his election to the Hall.
"I was teaching Learn to Skate over at Ford Ice Center and somebody grabbed the microphone and said, 'Oh by the way, (Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame executive director) Brad Willis is here to induct you into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and I was like, 'Really?' " Hamilton said. "It's cool. It's such an amazing honor and it's just so surreal that my home of 18 years has come to this."
After spending four years as the Christian Brothers men's basketball team, Loos was at Austin Peay from 1990 to 2017. On his way to winning 420 games, he led the Governors to the NCAA tournament four times and the National Invitation Tournament twice. He also served as Austin Peay's athletic director from 1997 to 2013.
"It was challenging," Loos said when asked about serving two roles for six years of his career. "I'd have to choose to get up real early in the morning and get done what I needed to do for myself because when I got to the office, I was on somebody else's time and there was something going on almost constantly."
Josef Newgarden, Dalton Knecht, Bill Dance and Morgan Rice also honored
Other top awards presented Saturday included legendary fisherman Bill Dance (Tennessean of the year), Jack Elder (Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement), Fisk gymnast Morgan Price (female armature athlete of the year), Tennessee basketball player Dalton Knecht and Vanderbilt golfer Gordon Sargent (male amateur athletes of the year), IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden (professional athlete of the year), Nashville Predators (pro team of the year), Tennessee softball (amateur team of the year) and the 2000-04 White Station High School basketball team (legacy).
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
"
Local Nashville, TN
Most Popular
Comments / 0