Jimmy Lange
Boxing 2021
Jimmy Lange was inspired after meeting Sugar Ray Leonard at 6 years old, and he knew he would become a professional fighter. He grew up in Arlington, graduating from Bishop O’Connell High School. He was trained and advised by the legendary Angelo Dundee, Don Turner, Jackie Callen, and was managed by his father, John Lange.
A stellar boxing career with a record of 38 wins (25 by knockouts), 6 losses and 2 draws , he has fought at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, DAR Constitution Hall, the DC Armory, the DC Convention Center, Caesar’s Palace, Baltimore and Virginia Beach and other venues before a massive following of loyal friends fans and family from his hometown Arlington and the DC metropolitan area.
In 2011 and 2012, he held both the World Boxing Union junior middleweight title and the North American Boxing Union welterweight title. A featured boxer on NBC’s reality based hit show “The Contender“, produced by Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard, Jimmy won the consolation fight in Las Vegas.
After he left the ring, he has been involved with charity events, mentoring at-risk youth, Dream Works, and the Washington Football Team.
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Morris “Mo” Levin
Basketball Coach 1995
Morris “Mo” Levin played high school basketball in Asbury Park, New Jersey. As a high school junior he played on the JV's fifth team. Mo became a successful basketball player through determination and because of a freak accident that occurred during a baseball game while a junior in high school - a thrown ball shattered his glasses, implanting shards of the glass lens into his right eye, leaving him without sight in that eye. Mo bad been an outstanding baseball player but following the accident, he concentrated all his athletic efforts on basketball. Through sheer determination and hard work, he became first-team varsity starting center in his senior year.
Following graduation in 1947, Mo moved to Arlington. He soon became involved in the county basketball league and in 1948 and 1949 was a player/coach for teams sponsored by the South Arlington Lions. In 1950, he entered the University of Maryland and played basketball for four years, three years on the varsity team (1951-1954), becoming starting center his senior year. Mo received his degree from Maryland in January of 1955 and soon thereafter became a social studies teacher and assistant to head basketball coach, Ralph (Pop) Guinther, at Washington-Lee. The 1955 W-L team turned in a 23-3 record, won the Northern District and finished runner-up in the state.
In 1956, Mo became the head coach. During his seventeen year head coaching career at W-L, his teams won 219 games, four district titles (1960, 1962-63 and 1964) and three state championships (1962, 1963 and 1966). Mo was the recipient of the Better Sports Club Coach of the Year Award in 1962, the Royal Crown Cola Coach of the Year Award in 1966, and the Coach and Athlete Magazine Coach of the Year Award in 1966.
Shelley Mann
Swimming 1961
Shelley Mann swam to Gold. In 1954, the butterfly became a new stroke, and in 1956, at Melbourne, Australia, it was inaugurated into the Olympic Games. She won the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:11.0.
During her career, she set nearly 30 American records, including several world standards, in the 100-yard and 100-meter butterfly, and in the 400-meter individual medley. In the U.S. national championships, she was five times individual high-point scorer. Mann graduated from W-L in 1957, and Cornell in 1961.
Over the years, she received numerous honors, including the B’nai B’rith Award in 1955 for “High Principle and Achievement in Sport.” In 1966, she was inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
John "Mac" McLaughlin
Coach/Administrator 2017
John E. "Mac" McLaughlin was born in Youngstown, Ohio. Mac was a twenty-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. His first involvement with soccer came in the mid-50s when, as a Marine, he participated on an All-Service soccer team that traveled around the Mediterranean and southern Europe pitting American military teams against local teams.
As a Marine, Mac participated in combat actions is Korea, Lebanon and Vietnam. He and his wife, Jackie, settled in Arlington in 1958. His first involvement with Arlington soccer came in 1973 when he coached an under-14 girls team for the Arledge Soccer Club. In 1975, Mac became vice president of the fledgling Arlington Soccer Association (ASA). The following year he was elected president of the ASA. In 1977, with the growth in the number of players and teams, the ASA Board of Directors selected Mac to work full time to manage the activities of the association as Executive Director, a position he held for the following 33 years.
In this position, Mac worked with the 12 member clubs to register players and create teams as well as allocate practice space and develop game schedules for the member clubs. He not only arranged to schedule referees from a local referee association but also trained youth referees from players in the ASA. Mac handled all of the ASA finances, including collecting player fees and, in turn, paying referees.
As the ASA progressed, more skilled soccer players were placed on "travel" teams that played against teams from other jurisdictions. Since the travel leagues dealt only with their member clubs, Mac assumed the responsibility for the Arlington travel teams. This led to an annual Thanksgiving tournament (1980-1988) between the ASA and the travel teams, which was coordinated by Mac.
From 1977-2010, nothing happened in youth soccer in Arlington without Mac playing a vital part. From its small beginnings in the early 1970s with 24 teams and 500 players, youth soccer in Arlington grew to nearly 400 teams and almost 6,000 players by 2010. His service to youth soccer was recognized by his induction into the Arlington Soccer Association Hall of Fame and his receipt of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association's Exemplary Service Award. The Better Sports Club named him Sportsman of the Year in 2009.
Mac McLaughlin passed away in 2015 at the age of 84.
George McQuinn
Baseball 1958
George McQuinn played first base for twelve years in the Major Leagues. He broke in with the Cincinnati Reds in 1936, and from 1938 to 1945, was a standout with the old St. Louis Browns of the American League. After World War II, McQuinn played one year with the Philadelphia Athletics and two years with the New York Yankees. His highest
single-season batting average was .324 in 1938. In 1939, he played in all 154 games and hit 20 homers and 94 RBIs, both career highs. His lifetime average was .276 over 1,550 games. He massed 1,588 hits. Proudly, he was an Arlington youth sports sponsor.
McQuinn played in two World Series. The first in 1944, when the Browns lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted .438, including a two-run home run, which won the first game for the Browns 2-1. He was on
the winning side in 1947, when the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was a seven-time All-Star (1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945 [cancelled], 1947 and 1948), and finished sixth in the MVP voting in 1947.
McQuinn was born in Arlington in 1910. He graduated from W-L in 1929. He died in Alexandria in 1978
Jesse Meeks
Football/Gymnastics Coach - 2020
Jesse was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1927. After graduating from West End Birmingham High School, he joined the US Marine Corp in 1944 - 1947. After leaving the marines, he enrolled in Howard College in Homewood, Alabama and graduated with the BA in 1957 followed by Masters in Teaching from Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1952.
Jesse started coaching in Arlington at Wakefield High School where he coached the Jr. High football team in 1954 and started a gymnastics club and mens team. The next year he coached the varsity football team until he moved over to the new Yorktown High School in 1960.
At Yorktown he coached varsity football, gymnastics, track, tennis, golf, and was an assistant coach for the basketball team, In men's gymnastics he won the Virginia State Team Championship in 1963,1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1973. He was on the VHSL roles committee for gymnastics and was instrumental in developing it as a varsity sport. He retired as head football coach in 1975 and from gymnastics and teaching in 1985. Many of his athletes went on to compete in college and even became coaches in their respective sports.
During summers, he was the manager of the Dominion Hills pool on Wilson Boulevard for decades, where he coached many Arlingtonians how to swim and dive.
Jesse Meeks was inducted into the Better Sports Club of Arlington Coach of the Year in 1969. Arlington’s Jesse Meeks has provided significant and long-term contributions to athletics.
Tim Mengering
Gymnastics Coach 2012
Tim Mengering was born in West Virginia and grew up in Arlington, where he graduated from Washington-Lee. He went on to graduate from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and did post-graduate work in child development, physical education, athletic training and secondary education at the University of Virginia, William & Mary, Virginia Tech and Shenandoah University.
In 1971, Tim began his 32-year career as a physical education teacher in the Arlington County public school system. Tim worked at several elementary schools including Nellie Custis, Oakridge, Jamestown, Long Branch and Hoffman-Boston.
Tim has served as a Virginia State Board Member for the USA Gymnastics organization, which is the national governing body for virtually all aspects of the sport including the Junior Olympics program for women's gymnastics. Tim is also a Certified USA Gymnastics Meet Director. In the mid-1970s, Tim and fellow P.E. teacher, Steve Garman, began incorporating gymnastics instruction into the after-school recreation programs at the elementary schools where they taught. They soon realized that there was sufficient local talent and interest in gymnastics to create a competitive team. In 1979, Tim and Steve established the Arlington Aerials, which then consisted of approximately 20 gymnasts. The new team became one of only two women's gymnastics teams in Arlington participating in the rigorous Junior Olympic program.
After several years at Gunston, the program expanded to such a degree that a larger facility was needed for Arlington's competitive and recreational gymnasts. In 2000, the Arlington Aerials moved into the Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center, a 28,500 square-foot county athletic complex on Four Run Mile Drive.
The Arlington Aerials competitive team has grown to over 150 gymnasts from the 20 that originally started the program. There are currently more than 1,500 local residents enrolled in the recreational gymnastics program that Tim and Steve initiated, and is now run by the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources.
There are approximately 65 gymnastics clubs throughout Virginia that are eligible to compete at the state Junior Olympic championships. Over a seven-year period, the Arlington Aerials captured a total of 579 Virginia state medals and 29 regional medals. This is a testament to the effort and expertise put forth by Tim Mengering for so many years.
Eric Metcalf
Football 2023
Eric Metcalf starred at O’Connell High School in football and track and field. He still holds school records in the long jump, triple jump, 100, 200, and 400-yard dash. His indoor long jump of 7.75 meters remains the seventh longest distance by an American high schooler.
After high school, he attended the University of Texas and was selected to the All-Southwest Conference football team three times. In 1987, he was conference Player of the Year and second-team All-America. He completed his college career with over 4,000 yards from scrimmage and another 1,650 yards on special return teams and holds every Texas running back receiving record. In track and field, he holds the Texas long jump record (8.44 meters), twice won the NCAA Long Jump Championship and Southwest Conference Long Jump Titles, and won the U.S. Junior National Long Jump Championship.
The son of NFL great Terry Metcalf, Eric was drafted 13th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1989 NFL Draft and set the team’s rookie rushing record. In his second season, he led the NFL in kickoff return yards and touchdown returns. He led the league in punt return touchdowns four different seasons. In 1995, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons where he led the team with 104 receptions. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and All-Pro twice and retired from pro football as the first player to total over 7,000 yards in offense and 7,000 yards in returns. His NFL ‘total all-purpose yards’ ranks ninth all-time. In 2023, he was again nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration.
After his NFL career, Eric successfully coached high school football, as well as track and field at the University of Washington. He also started the Seatown Express, an elite high school track and field club.
Ray Michael
Media/Sportsman 1987
Ray was the "Voice of the Redskins" at RFK and Griffith Stadiums for 44 years and the "Voice of the Better Sports Club" as Master of Ceremonies for its Annual Awards Banquet for 26 years. During those 26 years, through 1983, many distinguished guests, celebrities from the sports world, business community and public service, appeared at the sports banquet to brighten the festivities and to help honor the youth of Arlington. Ray’s light most often shined the brightest. He was a real "pro" and did much to make the banquet a memorable experience for all who attended.
Ray was a native of Fairmont, West Virginia, and received a degree in Journalism from West Virginia University. He moved to Arlington in 1939 and began a successful career in radio and television. He worked for WMAL radio until 1947, then switched to WNBW, which became WRC, and did radio and television sportscasts until he retired in 1974.
Ray dedicated much of his adult life to the support of youth, particularly to those in Arlington. He was an avid sportsman and served on the Better Sports Club's Board of Governors for many years. Ray was the recipient of the Billy Castleberry Award as its outstanding member in 1972. He died in 1984 at the age of 70.
Wayne Millner
Football 1960
Wayne Millner played seven seasons (1936-1941 & 1945) for the Washington Redskins, where he was named All-Pro and caught two touchdown passes from Sammy Baugh as the franchise won its first NFL Championship in 1937, defeating Chicago Bears 28-21.
Millner was a resident of Arlington during his playing days with the Redskins. During his NFL career, he caught 124 passes for 1,578 yards and 12 touchdowns, the best ever for a Redskin up to that time. While playing in the NFL, he was assistant coach at Catholic University, helping them to the 1940 Sun Bowl. Later, he returned to the Redskins as a scout.
He is a member of the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame and the NFL All-Decade Team of the 30s. He was a consensus All-American at Notre Dame, and was later selected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He entered the Navy after the 1941 season, missing three seasons of play in the NFL to serve during World War II.
In 1968, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He died while living in Arlington in 1976.
Tia Moore
Basketball 2023
Tia Moore, a native of Arlington, attended Wakefield High School and was instrumental in bringing Wakefield’s girls basketball program to prominence in 1995-1999, scoring over 1,000 points, earning All-National District, All- Region and All-Met honors, and being named the team’s MVP in her junior and senior years. In 2009, she was recognized with a jersey ceremony at Wakefield to celebrate her contributions to and lasting impact on the program.
After graduating from Wakefield, she attended Christopher Newport University, where she played basketball while majoring in Education. Her team won a district championship and made 3 NCAA tournament appearances. Tia was named to the All-Conference Team in four consecutive years, was named Conference MVP twice, and made the conference All-Tournament Team twice.
She is the third leading scorer in CNU history with over 1,500 career points, as well as its seventh all-time rebounder. Tia still holds a multitude of other career records there. She was inducted into Christopher Newport’s Hall of Fame in 2009 and was selected for the All- Conference 25th Anniversary Team in 2011.
After graduating from CNU with a B.A. in Education, she spent several years teaching and coaching the youth of Hampton Roads before returning to Northern Virginia. Since then she has spent two decades in a multitude of educational roles at the secondary and post-secondary levels, assisting young adults and colleagues and holding such positions as mentor, teacher, instructional coach, department chair, dean and school administrator, making a difference by being a positive role model for students, faculty members and the community. In 2020, she was named Virginia’s Secondary School Physical Education Teacher of the Year. In addition to her continuing role in the local school system, she is also a National Open Trainer and works with school systems all over the United States to improve curriculum and instruction.
David J. Morgan
Athletic Administrator 2005
David J. Morgan was born in Washington, D.C. He was three years of age when his parents moved to Arlington. He attended Maury, Thomas Jefferson and graduated from Washington-Lee in 1970.
Dave loved athletics and while growing up in Arlington participated in many of the sports programs run by the County Recreation Department, including baseball, basketball and football. He played American Legion baseball and was a member of W-L's varsity wrestling team. He was an excellent student and standout leader throughout his school years in Arlington. While in high school, guided by his mentor, the late W-L coach and athletic director, John Youngblood, Dave set his goal to become a teacher and coach.
Dave went on to the University of Virginia and earned a degree in Education. In 1974, he began his teaching and coaching career at Wakefield. From 1975-1977, Dave was a teacher/coach at Stratford, Thomas Jefferson and Washington-Lee. The classroom subjects he taught included U.S./Virginia History, Government, World Civilization, Geography and Environmental Science. He was a head coach and assistant coach on Freshman, JV and varsity levels for football, baseball, wrestling, track, softball and golf. Dave received the 1978 Better Sports Club's Coaching Award for his outstanding accomplishments as a championship wrestling coach while at Stratford.
In 1978, Dave was lured away from Arlington by Fairfax County. He received an offer he couldn't refuse - to become a teacher/coach and Social Studies Dept. Chair at South Lakes. From 1978-1984, he achieved much success there, as he did throughout his career. In 1979, Dave earned his M.Ed. Secondary School Administration Degree from UVA. From 1984-1989 he was Director of Student Activities at Jeb Stuart, from 1989-2001, he was the DSA at South Lakes, and from 2001 until his retirement in 2004, he was the DSA at Oakton. During his career, Dave continued to upgrade his career knowledge, completing programs administered by the NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association). In 1988 he earned the title of Certified Athletic Administrator, and in 2001 the title of Certified Master Athletic Administrator, joining a very elite group of athletic administrators nationwide to achieve that level of professionalism. Dave has authored a variety of articles on the subject of athletic administration and was a highly sought after speaker, nationwide, on aspects of athletic administration, among them, Coaching, Student Activities and Leadership Training.
Dave was named Virginia AAA Athletic Director of the Year in 1999. He served with distinction on the boards of the Virginia State High School Athletic Directors Association, and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. He served as president of both organizations and received their highest honors, the VIAAA Award of Merit in 1999, the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2001, the National Federation Citation in 2003, and was inducted into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame in 2004.
William G. "Bill" Murray
Sportsman 2020
Bill Murray is a lifetime resident of Arlington. He played Little League baseball for Stewart Buick, coached by the legendary Bert Whittington. At Kenmore Junior High, he played football, basketball, wrestled and competed in sprints and long jump for the track team. At Washington-Lee High School, Bill was the starting shortstop for the baseball team as a junior and senior, winning the Northern District championship both years. His junior year team defeated Bishop O’Connell High School, ending its 42-game winning streak, a national high school record at that time. Playing football at W-L, Bill was a starting running back and linebacker. He was captain of the team his senior year and was an All-District running back. That year he won the Al Harringer Award as the school’s Athlete of the Year. He was inducted into W-L’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020.
Bill went on to play football at Randolph-Macon College, where he started at running back for three years. His junior year the team went undefeated, and remains the only undefeated team in the school’s history. In his senior year, Randolph-Macon was declared the NCAA Small College Co-National Champion. Both of those teams have been inducted into the Randolph-Macon Athletic Hall of Fame.
In addition to his athletic achievements, Bill has been a major contributor to Arlington sports. He has coached youth baseball and currently serves on the Board of the Arlington Senior Babe Ruth League. He has also served as Chairman of the Arlington Sports Commission, the body that advises the County Board on sports issues. In 2009, Bill co-founded the Arlington Sports Foundation, whose purpose is to seek funds for the construction/renovation of athletic facilities. He has also served on the Board of the Arlington Sports Hall of Fame and is currently President of the Better Sports Club of Arlington.
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Del Norwood
Baseball Coach 1998
Del Norwood coached junior varsity baseball at Washington-Lee in 1957 and 1958 with a record of 31-5. He coached varsity baseball from 1959-1987 with a record of 384-180. His teams won Districts 19 times and Regionals 14 times. Although for more than half of his career, Virginia did not recognize state champions in baseball, Norwood's teams achieved state runner-up status twice. He is the most successful baseball coach in the program's history.
Norwood also coached varsity soccer, starting the program in 1964, with five years of winter soccer before moving the team to the fall for another seventeen years winning over 300 games. Other involvements in athletics at Washington-Lee include starting the varsity rifle team in 1960, coaching JV boys basketball for two years in 1972 and 1973, restarting the girls varsity basketball program in 1974, coaching for fifteen years and coaching the boys and girls varsity cross-country teams from 1985-1987. He was also official boys varsity basketball timer from 1965-1985 and wrestling timer over the same period. Perhaps Norwood's greatest contribution to Washington-Lee was his dedication. A coach and a teacher for over 32 years, until his retirement in January of 1988, Norwood never missed a single day of school when students were present.
Del Norwood was born in Rockland, Maine. He graduated from Gould Academy in Bethel, in 1946. While at Gould, he earned varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1950, lettering in basketball and baseball, and earned his Master’s Degree from George Washington University in 1966.
Norwood signed a professional baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1950. His five-year minor league record was 46-34. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1952-1954. Del managed professionally in the Appalachian Rookie League for the Minnesota Twins from 1960-1963, winning the league twice and finishing second twice. He managed for the Kansas City Royals organization in 1964. Norwood managed the semi-pro Luray Colonials from 1965-1968, winning the league all four years.
Del gained many honors through his association with baseball. Among them, he was named Coach of the Year by the Better Sports Club (1972), inducted into the Home Plate Club Sandlot Hall of Fame (1977) and the Virginia High School Hall of Fame (1992).
Tommy Orndorff
Softball Coach 2006
Tom Orndorff is well known in Arlington and beyond the metropolitan area as the head varsity softball coach at Arlington's Bishop Dennis J. O'Connell High School. He is also O' Connell's Assistant Athletic Director tasked with all the responsibilities and chores associated with that position.
A West Virginia University grad and former journalist, Orndorff has been coaching softball at O'Connell for the past 25 years and has compiled one of the most phenomenally successful records of any coach, anywhere, in any sport, over that period of time. Over the past quarter century, more than just a few of his teams have been ranked in the top echelon of high school softball teams in the U.S. Orndorff's success is the height of consistency. Competing in the metropolitan Catholic Girls leagues (the CGAA and WCAC) and against strong public high school teams over the past 20 years, his O'Connell teams have compiled a record of 450-54 and many regular season league, tournament and Virginia Independent School state championships.
Orndorff's reputation as a coach/teacher in developing outstanding players extends to colleges throughout the country, particularly those with strong women's softball programs. Many of his players have received full athletic scholarships and others partial scholarships based on their participation in softball at O'Connell.
Orndorlf also coaches softball outside of high school when the school is out on extended vacation. The age grouping for his teams (The Shamrocks) mirrors his high school teams, usually 18yo and under. He's been coaching the Shamrocks for 30+ years with much of the same winning success, even though his teams have competed at a level of competition even greater than his high school teams. His Shamrock teams are "Travel" teams playing 60-70 games a season. Over the past 30 years, they've traveled the country, qualifying and playing in 20 ASA 18U Gold National tournaments. These national tournaments are huge, up to 64 of the best fast-pitch softball teams in the U.S. The travel team tournaments are usually dominated by West Coast and southwestern U.S. teams. Eastern teams do very well to finish in the top ten. Orndorff's teams have finished in the top ten seven times, finishing 2nd in 2003, and winning the tournament championship outright in 2005 with his Arlington-based Virginia Shamrocks - a truly outstanding achievement.
Orndorff has been honored with a number of prestigious awards for his success coaching softball. Twice he has been named National Travel Ball Coach of the Year (2002 & 2005) by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Other coaching honors include: Arlington Coach of the Year awarded by the Better Sports Club (1991), and being named "Coach of the Year" on several occasions by Washington Post, Journal Newspapers, Sun Gazette, its predecessors and other newspaper publications and periodicals.
Orndorff is held in the highest regard in softball circles nationally. He is one of 31 coaches from throughout the U.S. which include a great many who are collegiate Division I coaches that were named to the USA/ASA Team Coaching Pool for the Olympic quadrant years of 2005-2008.
Henry Crawford Palmer
Basketball 2023
Following in someone’s shadow is always difficult. Following your brother is even more difficult, especially when his shadow is created from a height of seven feet and you are only six foot nine! But the Washington-Lee High School basketball program did not mind, particularly when they played together.
Henry Crawford Palmer was born September 14, 1970 and entered W-L in 1984. At 6’6”, Crawford’s impact on the W-L basketball program was immediate and impressive, especially as a sophomore playing with his 6’11” brother, Walter. Growing to 6’9”, Crawford was captain of W-L’s team as a senior, earned All-District, All-Region, and All-Met recognition, named to the nationally prestigious McDonald’s All-American team, and played in D.C.’s Capital Classic against the best high school seniors in America. He was graduated from W-L in 1988 and is a member of the W-L Hall of Fame.
During his first three years of college, Crawford played at Duke University, where his team won the 1991 NCAA Championship. In the Fall of 1991, he left Duke and followed his father’s and brother’s footsteps to Dartmouth College. Joining the basketball program for the 1992-93 season, Crawford was chosen a Dartmouth tri-Captain, earned second team All-Ivy League, named Dartmouth’s Most Valuable Player, and selected a second team GTE Academic All-American. In 2004, Crawford was inducted to Dartmouth’s Wearers of the Green club (Dartmouth’s Sports Hall of Fame).
After college, Crawford played professional basketball in Europe for thirteen years primarily in France and Spain. Selected to join France’s National team, he played in the 2000 Olympics winning a Silver Medal.
When his playing career concluded, Crawford served for four years with the French Basketball Federation as assistant general manager and as liaison to French players in the United States, to NBA franchises, and to the NCAA, then as general manager of two French elite basketball programs.
Walter Scott Palmer
Basketball 2023
Walter Scott Palmer was born October 23, 1968, and had an unlikely career in sports. He was cut from his 8th grade team and only continued to play basketball at Washington-Lee High School due to the flexibility and kindness of varsity coach, Dale Bethel, who allowed him to participate in theater productions throughout high school. He graduated in 1986 and chose to follow in the footsteps of his father, Scott, and attend Dartmouth College.
Injured as a freshman, Walter grew to 7 feet and started at center for the next three years. He holds the single game Ivy League record for blocked shots with 12 against Harvard. His 54.8% field goal shooting is third best in Dartmouth history and he is third on the Ivy League list for career blocked shots with 225 and made the All Ivy League second team as a Junior and
first team as a Senior. In 1994, Walter was inducted into Dartmouth’s Wearers of the Green club (Dartmouth’s Sports Hall of Fame) and as a “Legend of the Ivy League” (the Ivy League’s Hall of Fame) in March 2022.
Selected by the Utah Jazz with the 33rd pick of the 1990 NBA Draft, Walter played two seasons in the NBA for the Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks before continuing for another 11 years, playing for teams in Spain, Italy, France, Argentina, and Germany.
When his active playing career ended in 2003, Walter founded a players association in Germany, and then co-founded the European Elite Athletes Association and the World Players Association. In 2015, he served briefly as Deputy Executive Director of the NBA Players’ Association. Alongside his current job at Dartmouth College managing alumni career programming, Walter continues to consult with player unions globally while also serving on the Board of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Bob Peck
Sportsman/Sponsor 1993
Bob Peck has been involved in the Arlington sports scene for over fifty years. His enthusiasm for sports developed on the field of play, as a participant in his early years, and remains to this day as an active golfer. But Bob's main impact on sports has been and continues to be his sponsorship of community youth activities. Since 1939, his steadfast support of youth has brought him many accolades, including 1967 Arlington Sportsman of the Year.
As a civic leader Bob has served the Arlington community with distinction, first as an elected member (1952) of the County Board (serving as Chairman in 1953); active in the Arlington County Chamber of Commerce, serving as president in 1956; and member of the Arlington County School Board 1958-61, serving as chairman two years.
