On Saturday night, Texas A&M University-Commerce inducted the 1957 Football Team, the 1972 Tennis Team, the 1972 Football Team, Terry Burnett, Bill Gaines and Jon Gilliam into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 1957 Football Team was one of three teams inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

1957 FOOTBALL TEAM

The 1957 East Texas State University football team went 8-1 in the regular season while claiming the Lone Star Conference Championship. After the regular season, the Lions accepted a bid to play in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 1, 1958. East Texas State pulled off a 10-9 victory over Southern Mississippi on a 31-yard field goal by fullback Neal Hinson. The clutch field goal was the first one for Hinson during the season. The stingy Lions defense halted four Southern Missouri drives inside the 10-yard line without allowing a point. Defensive End Norman Roberts was named the Tangerine Bowl's Most Valuable Player. East Texas was also the only four-year college in Texas to win a postseason bowl game that year. At the end of the season, Roberts was selected First-Team All-American and guard Kenneth Deason and quarterback Sam McCord were named Honorable Mention All-American. Hinson, McCord, Berry, Roberts and Deason were all named First Team All-Lone Star Conference and lineman Buddy Miller garnered second team all-conference honors as well as Arnold and halfback Bobby Ewell were named honorable mention All-Lone Star Conference. Arnold and Hinson were named team captains for the season and were led by Lions Hall of Fame coach J.V. Sikes.

The 1972 Tennis Team was one of three teams inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

1972 TENNIS TEAM

On June 9, 1972, the Lions tennis team won its first national tennis championship in the University's history. Dr. Bill Crabtree, Lions Hall of Fame and Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor Coach, helped coach the team to break a six-year championship reign from Redlands College of California. Harry Fritz led the Lions throughout the season defeating Kim Ketelson of Southeastern Oklahoma, 7-5, 6-3 for the National Singles Championship and joined teammate Bob Hochstadter to win the National Doubles Championship over Southeastern's Ketelson and Mark Milligan. The champion Lions earned a team total of 37 points, only two points better than defending Redlands. In taking down the Lone Star Conference championship, Fritz defeated teammate John Blackmon in the semifinals and set up an all-Lions singles final against Hochstadter. The Lions faced each other again in the doubles finals as Fritz and Hochstadter team up to defeat Blackmon and teammate John McGee, 6-2, 6-4. At the conclusion of the season, Fritz, Hochstadter and Jantz were named First Team All-American, Fritz and Hochstadter earned first team All-Lone Star Conference honors and Blackmon and McGee were each named second team All-Lone Star Conference. Hochstadter was named the team's most valuable player.

The 1972 Football Team was one of three teams inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

1972 FOOTBALL TEAM

Six months after the Lions tennis team earned its first national championship, the Lions football team notched its only national football championship in school history with a 21-18 victory over No. 2 Carson-Newman College of Tennessee. Prior to the championship game, the Lions routed No. 1 Central Oklahoma, 54-0. Head coach Ernest Hawkins, Lions Hall of Fame and Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor Coach, along with team captains Denver Crawley, Harvey Martin and Dour Walker helped the Lions finish with a 10-2 overall record. After the season, Hawkins was named the National Coach of the Year, Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year and the Lions team won the Dwight David Eisenhower trophy. Martin, running back Kenneth Parks and guard Curtis Wester were named first team All-America, while defensive back Autry Beamon earned a second-team selection. Offensive tackle Crawley, defensive back Ricky Earle and wide receiver Dudley Slice were awarded honorable mention All-America honors. Defensive end Martin and linebacker Parks and Walker were named first-team All-Texas, Beamon second-team All-Texas and quarterback Will Cureton, defensive lineman Leroy Johnson and Slice nabbed honorable mention All-Texas honors. Beason, Crawley, Cureton, Earle, Martin, Parks, Slice, Walker and Wester earned first team All-Lone Star Conference honors with Parks being named the conference's most valuable offensive back, while Wester was selected as a unanimous choice for the All-Conference team and won the Offensive Lineman of the Year award. Slice was also a unanimous selection on the All-Conference team. Tight end Calvin Harris and Johnson were picked as second-team All-Lone Star Conference with offensive linemen Kenneth Brown, Jimmy Talley and Jackie Woods. Fullback Nelson Robinson and linebacker James Talbot earned honorable mention All-Conference recognition. Cureton was also a member of the Lone Star Conference All-Academic team. Robinson was tabbed the J.V. Sikes award winner as the teams most valuable player with Beamon being named most valuable defensive back, Johnson the most valuable defensive lineman, Parks the most valuable offensive back and Wester the most valuable offensive lineman. Winning both the 1972 football and tennis national championships, the Lions became the first NAIA school in history to win two national championships in the same year.

Terry Burnett was one of three individuals inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

TERRY BURNETT

Terry Burnett started his track and field career at East Texas State University as a walk-on, non-scholarship athlete in 1964. Before long, Burnett ran his way into the Lions and Lone Star Conference record books. He holds school records in the 330-yard hurdles (37.6 in 1966) and 440-yard hurdles (52.5 in 1968). Burnett was a member of three relay teams that also set school records: the mile relay team with a time of 3:09.8 in 1967, the spring medley team with a time of 3:19.4 in 1967 and the mile relay team that set an indoor mile relay record of 3:22.6 in 1967. He holds a Lone Star Conference record in the 330-yard hurdles at 37.6 set in 1966. Burnett was coached by Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor recipient and Lions Hall of Fame coach Delmar Brown and was a four-year letterwinner and team captain in his junior and senior seasons. Burnett helped lead the Lions to their third-straight Lone Star Conference championship in 1967.

Beverly Gaines, accepting on behalf of her husband - Bill, was one of three individuals inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

BILL GAINES

Bill Gaines joined the East Texas State Lions basketball team in 1966 after transferring from Henderson County Junior College. Gaines played two years for the Lions and was named team captain in the 1967-68 season, During his two year career with the team, Gaines set a school record for most field goal attempts in a game with 36 against Prairie View. He went on to being named second-team All-Lone Star Conference in 1966-67. He had a season-high 33 points against Northwestern Louisiana. In the 1967-68 season, Gaines led the Lone Star Conference and set a Lions school record for points per game with a 25.1 average. After his senior season, he was drafted in the 15th round of the NBA draft by the San Diego Rockets. Gaines played in one game professionally with the Houston Mavericks of the ABA in the 1968-69 season.

Jon Gilliam, as an individiual and as a member of the 1957 football team, was inducted into the A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.

JON GILLIAM

Jon Gilliam was a letterman for the East Texas State Lions in 1957, '58 and '59. Named honorable mention All-Lone Star Conference at center in '58 and '59. He played all three season under Lions Hall of Fame coach J.V. Sikes and was part of the 1957 team that went 9-1, earned a Lone Star Conference Championship and went on to win the Tangerine Bowl, 10-9, over Southern Mississippi. Gilliam helped anchor the 1958 team to a 10-1, another Lone Star Conference Championship and the second-straight Tangerine Bowl victory. The 1959 squad went 9-1 and finished tied atop the Lone Star Conference. During Gilliam's Lions career, he helped the team go 28-3 overall and 18-3 in LSC play. After his Lions football career, Gilliam went on to play eight seasons in the AFL/NFL as an offensive lineman with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. He made an appearance in Super Bowl I. Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers drafted Gilliam in the 14th round.