A touching moment. One of many that night. And so many standing ovations. Blanchard quoted Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Curtis-McConico asked the people who helped support her to stand. Nearly three dozen people rose. Dick Culler’s son, Dick Jr., told how his dad paid for his college tuition. He worked third shift in a local hosiery mill, and after graduation, he played 13 seasons in the major leagues as a shortstop. The push for a hall of fame started in 2014 with Bryan Norris, HPU’s assistant athletic director for development. He wanted to find a tangible way to connect former student-athletes to the school. After the 2015 inaugural class, the Hall of Fame committee will choose four to five new members each year. The members will become part of a hall of fame display in the Jerry and Kitty Steele Center and an information kiosk in the school’s proposed basketball arena. “This is something student-athletes can strive for,’’ Norris says. “They want to be all-conference or All-America. This is something else. They can make the Hall of Fame in their sport. That makes the Hall of Fame a special thing.’’ It will always be special to Payne. He’s the former kid from small-town North Carolina. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother and aunt. When he came to High Point, Davidson became like a father to him. Twenty minutes after the ceremony had ended, Payne stood near the stage, talking, smiling and hugging everyone he saw. He told anyone who asked about the future of his plaque and medallion. It’ll go on his mantle above his fireplace. He wants to see it every day. ■
The Inaugural Class • Andreia Blanchard (’81). A three-time All-American basketball player. Ranks second on HPU’s all-time scoring list with 2,374 points and led the school to its only national championship in 1978. • Dick Culler (’36). A threesport athlete for High Point College. Played basketball, soccer and baseball. A 13-year major league shortstop. • Karen Curtis-McConico (’98). A two-time All-American. Holds the school’s records in women’s basketball for scoring (2,612), career points per game (22.7) and career assists (645). • Bob Davidson (’55). Played baseball and basketball as a student. Served as head coach of the school’s men’s and later women’s cross-country and track program. Coached for 39 seasons, the longest tenured coach in the school’s history. • Otis Foster (’78). Holds nine baseball records
at High Point, including career home runs (60). Only HPU baseball player ever drafted in the first round. Selected 15th overall by the Boston Red Sox in 1975. Played five seasons in the Red Sox organization. • Gene Littles (’69). The school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball (2,398). Played six seasons in the ABA. Enjoyed a 28-year career in the NBA, which included coaching stints in Cleveland, Charlotte and Denver. • Brian Payne (’93). Holds three of the school’s track records, all in hurdles. Was the two-time NAIA national champion in the 110-meter hurdles. Won the individual title in the 55-meter hurdles in 1993. • Jerry Steele. School’s athletic director from 1972–1998. HPU’s all-time winningest coach (MBB: 1972–2003). Guided the school to eight conference titles in NAIA and NCAA Division II.
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