Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State to Host Annual Hall of Honor Banquet
June 21, 1999 | General
March 24, 1999
STILLWATER, Okla. - Eight outstanding individuals and one team will be inducted into the Oklahoma State University Athletic Hall of Honor in ceremonies in Stillwater on Friday, April 9.
The third annual Hall of Honor Induction ceremonies will take place at the Center for International Trade and Development on the OSU campus beginning at 6 p.m.
The list of 1999 inductees includes former football All-American Leslie O'Neal, baseball standouts Robin Ventura and Pete Incaviglia, golfers Val Skinner and Bob Tway, wrestler Kenny Monday, basketball standout Cab Renick and multi-sport star Dick Soergel.
The eight individuals will be honored, along with the NCAA-champion 1959 baseball squad.
Reservations for the 1999 Hall of Honor Induction Banquet can be made by calling Jacque Childers at (405) 744-3583. Tickets are $50 each and include a cocktail hour at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 and a dance following.
The deadline for making reservations is Sunday, April 4.
1959 National Championship team
(NOTE: Portions of this are taken from a story written by the late Bill
Platt)
The third time was a charm for OSU Baseball Coach Toby Greene. It was won 40 years ago in Omaha, Nebraska, when Greene's Aggies defeated Arizona in his third trip to the College World Series. The 1959 squad finished the season with a 27-5 record, although only two players were named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-America second team: Ben Bancroft and Joe Horlen. Jim Dobson was named the Most Valuable Player of the CWS. After beating Arizona, Coach Greene, a man of few words, stepped to the microphone with the trophy in hand and said, "Tonight, these young men around me, have made an old man very happy. Thank you." Members of that team were: Dennis Abercrombie, Bob Adams, Bob Andrew, Bruce Andrew, Ben Bancroft, Toby Bensinger, Ray Bond, Win Chandler, Donald Childers, Jim Dobson, Tim Green, Joe Horlen, Hayden Karn, Marvin Kline, Connie McIlvoy, Grayson Mersch, Jim Mihura, Mike Mulvihill, Roy Peterson, Gentry Politte, George Scott, Tim Smalley, Dick Soergel, Don Soergel, Larry Sullivan, Lew Wade, and Ned Watkins.
Jesse "Cab" Renick
Jesse "Cab" Renick was one of just 13 Oklahoma State basketball players to ever be named first-team all-conference at least twice, when he was named All-Missouri Valley in 1939 and 1940. He was also a two-time first-team All-American in 1939 and 1940, Oklahoma State's first player to ever be named twice. His 1940 Aggie team won the Missouri Valley Conference title with a perfect 12-0 record, and also won the prestigious All-College Tournament championship with a 37-34 win over Texas Tech in the finals. Renick was a Gold Medal winner in the 1948 Olympic games and was elected the team captain. He was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, and played many years for the Phillips 66 Oilers.
Dick Soergel
Dick Soergel, one of the most versatile athletes in OSU history, lettered three years in baseball, basketball and football at Oklahoma State. In football, he led the Pokes in passing for three years, and was 10th in the nation in passing in 1959 with 1,102 yards. In 1958, he led OSU to a victory in the Bluegrass Bowl. He is sixth on the all-time Cowboy passing list with 2,226 yards, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1960. In baseball, Soergel threw a one-hitter against Iowa State in 1959, en route to the Cowboys National Championship season. Soergel was named All-Big Eight and first-team All-American in 1960. In 1998, Soergel was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
Bob Tway
Bob Tway was a three-time first-team All-American from 1979-1981, and won the Big Eight Individual title in 1979, Tway was a member of the NCAA National Champions in 1978 and 1980. Tway was also a member of the World Amateur Team in 1980. Tway's most prestigious honor came in his senior year in 1981, when he was named the Fred Haskins Player of the Year. He claimed three tournament titles that year and added four runner-up finishes. Since joining the PGA Tour, Tway is the most successful OSU golfer to enter professional golf. In 1986, he won the PGA Championship and was named the PGA America Player of the Year. Tway was voted by his peers as the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year in 1995.
Val Skinner
Val Skinner, the most decorated Cowgirl on the LPGA Tour, was a two-time All-American and Big Eight Individual Champion in 1980 and 1982. She led OSU to a third-place team finish in 1982, the highest in school history. Skinner had nine individual collegiate victories, the most by any OSU women's golfer. In 1982, she was named GOLF Magazine's Collegiate Player of the Year, and was also named as the Big Eight's Female Athlete of the Year. Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Skinner played six events on the Women's Professional Golfers European Tour and claimed four titles. On the LPGA, she won six individual titles in her first 10 years and was a member of the victorious US Solheim Cup team in 1996. Skinner established the "Cure for the Tour" charity event to help fight against breast cancer.
Pete Incaviglia
Pete Incaviglia is the most recognized power hitter in Oklahoma State and NCAA history. As a junior, he set a national single-season record for home runs (48), runs batted in (143), total bases (285), and slugging percentage (1.140). He set the NCAA career record for home runs (100) and holds the Big Eight career record for RBI's (324) and total bases (635). He was named first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Eight. Incaviglia was drafted in the first round and 15th overall by the Montreal Expos in 1985. He was one of only five position players since the draft began in 1965 to go directly from amateur baseball to the major leagues. On Jan. 14, 1999, Incaviglia was named college baseball's Player of the Century by Baseball America.
Kenny Monday A three-time All-American for Oklahoma State, Kenny Monday won the 150-pound national title in 1984 and was the Big Eight Champion in 1982 and 1983. He led the Cowboys to a pair of NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984. Monday's 121 career victories rank sixth on the all-time win list at Oklahoma State and his 51 falls rank second on the OSU all-time list. His career record of 121-12-2 is ninth best in the OSU record book. Monday, a three-time Olympian, was a Gold Medal winner in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, and won the Silver Medal in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992, he also competed in the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He won the Ed Gallagher award, given each year to a former OSU wrestler who exemplifies the spirit and leadership of a champion.
Robin Ventura
Truly one of the greatest collegiate baseball players of all-time, Robin Ventura finished third in Baseball America's "Player of the Century" poll for college baseball. Ventura still holds college baseball's hitting-streak record at 58 games, while boasting a .428 career batting average. In 1986, Ventura was named Freshman of the Year by Baseball America as well as All American and first-team All Big-Eight. As a sophomore, Ventura was named Baseball America's Player of the Year, once again earning All-American and All-Big Eight honors. Ventura was named All-American his junior season and received the Golden Spikes award as the best player in college baseball and was named the Player of the Decade, as well as the starting third baseman on the All-Time team. Ventura played in the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Ventura won five Gold Gloves while playing for the Chicago White Sox.
Leslie O'Neal
A two-time All-American for Oklahoma State, Leslie O'Neal was a runner-up for the Lombardi Award as the nation's top defensive player in 1985. He was named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year his junior year and earned All-Big Eight honors all three years. O'Neal was a first-round draft choice of the San Diego Chargers in 1986, and he was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting 82 tackles and 12.5 sacks his first season. He missed the following two seasons with a career-threatening knee injury, but returned in 1989 and earned his first Pro Bowl invitation. He was named first-team All-Pro and All-AFC, and was also named the Comeback Player of the Year. For his career, he has six Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro selections. O'Neal is the eighth-leading sacker in NFL history.
