Second Hall of Fame ceremony adds 21 members
To show how bright the future is, residents of the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Rockville looked to the past.
More than 150 neighbors, friends and relatives of the 21 Lincoln Park Hall of Fame inductees were on hand at the Lincoln Park Community Center Saturday night to honor the accomplishments of the outstanding athletes and residents who grew up there.
Donald Davis, who grew up in Lincoln Park and has known many of the inductees since childhood, formed the Hall of Fame three years ago as a way to introduce young people to role models in their community, he said.
"For the past 15 or 20 years or so this neighborhood was labeled as a drug neighborhood, which is not true," he said. "That's the first impression people get, but I see it differently. It's important for kids to see it differently."
With that in mind, Davis went about creating the Hall of Fame, which honors outstanding athletes and residents every three years.
The ceremony in 2006 was the first.
This year the Hall of Fame committee honored 21 Lincoln Park natives, 18 of whom were present for the ceremony. The following community members were inducted:
-Kathleen Howard, for being a two-time All Star for Carver High School in basketball.
-Angela Prather Hansberry, for being All-County in basketball for Richard Montgomery High School.
-Carl Turner, for basketball.
-Webster Coleman, for football at Wheaton High School.
-James Hill, for high school baseball.
-Wellington Crutchfield, an All-County athlete in football, basketball and track, for winning the state championship in hurdles.
-Ricky Dorsey, for basketball at Wheaton High School.
-Phillip Cross, for being All-County in football and basketball.
-Craig Smith, for being All-County in basketball for Rockville High School and scoring 28 points in the 1973 state championships.
-Victor Jones, for being drafted to the National Football League and playing seven years for the Detroit Lions.
-Ernest Neal, for coaching basketball, conducting basketball camps in Brazil and earning three master's degrees.
-Eddie Terry, for being first team in basketball and football.
-Wayne Ferrell, for coaching the Bullis girls' basketball team.
-Diane Thomas Hill, for earning a golf scholarship after attending Richard Montgomery High School.
-Derrick "Houdie" Davis, for having a 55-8 high school basketball record while at Rockville High School.
-Ronnie Matthews, for being third-team All-American in basketball at Johnson C. Smith University.
-Steve White, for being named All-Metropolitan in basketball.
-Gene King, for playing for the Wildcats and Bermuda All Stars, two all-black baseball teams in Montgomery County during segregation.
-Eugene "Chucky" King, for being All-County in football at Richard Montgomery High School.
-Clyde Colmes, for playing All-County basketball at Peary High School in Aspen Hill.
-Rica Page, for being All-County in basketball at Rockville High School and serving 23 years in the armed forces.