ASHOF announces 2025 class
The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is pleased to announce the Class of 2025 to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on May 3, 2025.
The class was selected by ballot through a statewide selection committee; votes were tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The newly elected inductees for the Class of 2025 are as follows: Robert Alison Baumgardner, Keith Butler, Otis Davis, Jason Dufner, Mark Ingram, Mike Mitchell, Charlers “Butch” Moore, and Frank Warren.
Starting with the first class in 1969, this will be the 57th Class inducted into the ASHOF. The eight newly elected inductees will bring the total number of inductees to 409.
The 57th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on May 3, 2025.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the ASHOF Museum at 205-323-6665.
CLASS OF 2025 BIOGRAPHIES:
ROBERTA ALISON BAUMGARDNER / TENNIS
Born December 13, 1943, in Alexander City, Baumgardner began playing tennis at the age of seven under her father’s coaching.
She won multiple junior tournaments and was ranked the top junior tennis player in the south region for four years. She was also ranked seventh in the country among those 18 years old and younger.
University of Alabama tennis coach Jason Morton convinced Baumgardner to join him in Tuscaloosa, becoming the school’s first female to receive an athletic scholarship.
Baumgardner competed on Alabama’s men’s tennis team compiling a career record of 39-14 over three years.
A few opposing coaches refused to allow their players to compete against Baumgardner solely because she was a female.
She won the women’s collegiate singles title in 1962 and 1963. Baumgardner continued to compete after college, winning the Blue-Gray championship four times, the Southern Championship three times and the Alabama State Closed Championship in 1965 without losing a single game.
The University of Alabama hosts an annual “Roberta Alison Fall Tennis Classic” and named their indoor tennis facility in her honor.
KEITH BUTLER / FOOTBALL
Born May 16, 1956, in Anniston, Butler played linebacker at Memphis State University where he was an AP All-American his senior year.
He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1978 NFL Draft. Butler played 10 seasons with the Seahawks, totaling 813 tackles which ranks him second among the franchise’s all-time tackle leaders.
After retiring from the NFL, Butler joined his alma mater, Memphis, as an assistant coach; coaching linebackers, defensive ends, and special teams from 1990-1997.
He joined Arkansas State’s coaching staff, serving as defensive coordinator for one season before becoming the linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns for three seasons.
He then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as their linebackers coach in 2003. He would serve in this position until 2014 when he was promoted to defensive coordinator.
Butler served as defensive coordinator of the Steelers for seven seasons and retired after the 2021 season. Butler won two Super Bowls as a coach with the Steelers.
OTIS DAVIS / TRACK & FIELD
Davis was born July 12, 1932, in Tuscaloosa. Following a four-year stint in the Air Force, where he played basketball and baseball, Davis enrolled at the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship.
After not receiving enough playing time, he joined the track and field team. Coach Bill Bowerman initially utilized Davis as a jumper, but soon had him running with the sprinters as well.
Just two years later, Davis broke the world record in the 400 meters and anchored the world record-breaking 4×400 relay team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, winning a pair of Olympic gold medals.
Davis was the first Oregon athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. After retirement from running, he began a career coaching and teaching in the U.S. and Germany.
Davis received the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year Award in 1961, and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1992, and the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1996, he was a torch bearer for the Atlanta Olympics.
(to be cont’d)
