Michael Jordan among 11 Cleveland State hall of fame inductees

Michael Jordan, left, and Darryl Oliver were former baseball players inducted Saturday into the Cleveland State sports hall of fame. Jordan became an NAIA All-American at Tennessee Wesleyan, and Oliver was All-SEC at Ole Miss.
Michael Jordan, left, and Darryl Oliver were former baseball players inducted Saturday into the Cleveland State sports hall of fame. Jordan became an NAIA All-American at Tennessee Wesleyan, and Oliver was All-SEC at Ole Miss.

Michael Jordan is now in Cleveland State's sports hall of fame.

No, not that Michael Jordan. This one was "Cool" Michael Jordan before that other one became hot.

The Jordan who came from Brainerd High School to Cleveland State Community College played on the Cougars' national-runner-up baseball team in 1980 and went on to two years as an NAIA first-team All-American at Tennessee Wesleyan College. He holds the Athens school's record for career batting average at .450.

Jordan was one of 11 members added Saturday to the Cleveland State Cougar Athletics Hall of Fame. They were honored at a brunch ceremony presented by SouthEast Bank at Cleveland Country Club and again between Cleveland State's afternoon basketball games against Dyersburg State.

Also going in for baseball was Darryl Oliver, who came from Central High School in Harrison, hit .370 and made only one error in two years with the Cougars (1982-83) and became an All-SEC second baseman at Ole Miss.

Oliver has been involved in the trucking industry for 30 years, now as vice president of operations for Tranco Logistics, but he said during his ceremony remarks Saturday that "Cleveland State has always been a part of me, and it always will."

Jordan, now 55, also long has been involved in transportation - as a locomotive engineer for Norfolk Southern. He lives in Marietta, Ga., but travels regularly from Atlanta to Chattanooga and even to Cleveland.

He was managing a silkscreen printing business in Atlanta when he went with a friend, as moral support, to interview for a railroad job.

"They interviewed me, too," Jordan related. "I had a job and he didn't, but they gave me the job and not him."

He's been with Norfolk Southern for 25 years.

Jerry Steadman (1971-73) also played baseball for Cleveland State but was inducted Saturday for basketball. Retired from the U.S. Army, he was unable to attend.

Lawanza "Ricky" Crutcher, Debbie Shipley Hill and Neasy Barrett Fitzgerald also were inducted for basketball.

Crutcher (1978-79), who became a two-time Christian college All-American at Lee, came from Chattanooga High School and has returned to his hometown, where he now coaches at Hixson. He spent 28 years coaching in Georgia, leading one Lassiter team from Marietta to a national final against Oak Hill Academy.

"I can say Cleveland State was a launching pad for me," Crutcher told those gathered at the country club.

"This was truly a great place. What I carry away is that this is a most caring place," said Hill (1976-78), who has had a distinguished coaching career at Sale Creek, her high school alma mater.

Fitzgerald (1979-80) noted that she has had three children also graduate from CSCC. The Bradley Central graduate set the Lady Cougars record of 210 assists in 1979-80 and was on the school's first softball team.

Inducted Saturday for softball from that initial squad was Deidra Bates Baird (1979-82) from Ooltewah, who also played basketball. She is the office manager for Tennessee Imaging.

Stan Sherlin (1979-81), another Bradley graduate, returned from Montgomery, Ala., where he has a thriving insurance business and has had an outstanding amateur golf career. Among other achievements, he has been to five national long-drive finals.

Passing up a basketball offer at Tennessee to play both sports at Cleveland State, Sherlin was the only freshman on a Cougars golf team that finished in the top 15 in the junior college nationals. That was the school's last golf team for more than two decades, however, when the program was resurrected with Jason Sewell as coach and returned to the national spotlight.

Sewell was inducted Saturday in the coach/administrator category. He came from Florida to play baseball at Tennessee Wesleyan for Mike Policastro and later rejoined the longtime CSCC coach and athletic director as an assistant coach.

The only other inductee Saturday who came from afar to attend college in southeastern Tennessee was tennis standout Scott Moreland (1991-94), who traveled from Cincinnati to play baseball for the Cougars but made outs in his first 21 fall-season at-bats and wound up finding another sport in which to shine. He reached the junior college nationals in tennis.

The final inductee Saturday was Richard Murray, another Central alumnus, for "meritorious service." He served as manager and statistician for the basketball Cougars while attending CSCC in 1977-79 and has stayed around 35 of the last 37 years to help in a variety of ways, including as an assistant coach. His only time away was the two years he spent as Hiwassee's softball coach.

Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.

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