Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Five Sports Legends

Five individuals who made an impact on the field or on the court were inducted into the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night in the Magnolia Room at the Laurens County Museum.

Roy Walker, Ed Pitts, Ann Simmons Dean Parks, Shell Dula and Buddy Jennings join 18 previous inductees as members of the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame. Each new member or a member of their family had a chance to speak to the capacity crowd that enjoyed a night of food, fun and fellowship.

The process of selecting the 2022 class of the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame began in the summer of 2019. The class was originally scheduled to be inducted in March of 2020 but the pandemic postponed the event until 2022.

“We were ready to induct this great class in 2020 but the pandemic brought that to a halt,” said Billy Dunlap, president of the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame. “It’s exciting to get this back on the calendar. It was a great night celebrating five tremendous individuals.”

Once nominations were complete in 2019, the nominating committee, made up of eight individuals from Laurens County, narrowed the field of 40 nominations down to 10 finalists. The 10 finalists were then taken to the anonymous 3-person selection committee that picked the five finalists that make up the class of 2022.

To be eligible for the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame, nominees must have lived in Laurens County for five years and must be 10 years out of high school.

Members that were inducted into the first three classes of the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame include: Keith Richardson, Chrissy Floyd, J.D. Fuller, Kevin Long, King Dixon, Barry Atkinson, Cally Gault, Sam Owens, Kinard Littleton, Rickey Foggie, Truman Owens, Bobby Ivey, Chick Galloway, William Hill, Bill Hogan, Lonnie Pulley, Phil Rogers and Clovis Simmons.

The Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame also remembered King Dixon, William Hill and Bill Hogan on Tuesday night. Those members passed away since the last induction ceremony in 2019.

Members of the class of 2022 of the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame are:

Shell Dula – A native of Laurens and a graduate of Presbyterian College, Dula coached high school football for 40 years. During his illustrious career, Dula was a head coach for 32 years, winning 254 games and six state championships. Dula was head coach at Greenwood, Ninety Six and Union. He is one of two coaches to win state championships at three different schools.

Buddy Jennings – Jennings led Laurens to back-to-back Class 4A Division II state football championships in 1983 and 1984. He was the head football coach at LDHS from 1982-1987, winning region coach of the year four times. Under Jennings, the Raiders won region titles in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986.

Ann Simmons Dean Parks – Parks coached at Clinton High School from 1974-1980. She won an upper state championship in track and girls’ basketball in 1978-79. Parks was named the S.C. High School Basketball Coach of the Year in 1978-79. She coached at Newberry College from 1983-1990. As a player at Ware Shoals High School, Parks led her team to back-to-back state basketball championships in 1968-69 and 1969-70 and a perfect 42-0 record.

Edward Pitts – A native of Clinton, Pitts played football at Clinton High School from 1952-55 and the University of South Carolina from 1956-1959. Regarded as one of the Gamecocks’ finest linemen, Pitts was a 2-way starter at tackle. He was twice named All-ACC and was named All-American after his senior season. Pitts was the director of the Gamecock Club for 22 years.

Roy Walker – Walker was an All-State and All-Region football player for the Clinton Red Devils, winning a state championship in 1975. Walker was a captain on the Presbyterian College football team as an All-Conference and All-American offensive tackle. Widely considered one of the greatest players in Blue Hose history, Walker won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the top offensive lineman in S.C., regardless of classification.

For more information on the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame or to nominate someone, visit www.laurenscountysportshalloffame.com.