The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame celebrated the organization's 40th anniversary at their annual Induction Banquet and Awards Ceremony held February 24th at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville.

"We had a ballroom full of sports personalities, celebrities, civic and political leaders all on hand to honor an outstanding class of inductees," said John Cronan, TSHF immediate past president. "All reports indicated a great evening honoring a very special group of people."

The weekend festivities began with the annual "Reunion of Champions" luncheon, where all former inductees were invited back as guests of the TSHF along with the current class. Later in the day, a Media Reception was held at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

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The 2006 inductees were:

K. S. "Bud" Adams - Owner and founder of the NFL Tennessee Titans and the AFL Nashville Kats, Adams will receive a "lifetime achievement" induction for his role in five decades of professional football history. He was co-founder of the American Football League in 1959 which helped increase television ratings for the sport, create the Super Bowl, and changed the landscape of professional football before merging with the NFL in 1970. Since moving his team to Tennessee, charities across the state have received approximately $15 million in donations from Mr. Adams, his Titans Foundation and through team-related NFL funding.

Richard Dent - an All-American defensive end for Tennessee State University from 1979-82, was drafted by the Chicago Bears where he led the league with 17 sacks in 1984. He was named All-Pro four times in his fifteen-year career and was named MVP in Chicago's Super Bowl XX victory. Dent was a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist in 2005.

Ann Baker Furrow - the first woman to play a men's varsity sport at the University of Tennessee, in 1959 she was the first woman golfer at the University. During her amateur career, she became the number-one ranked junior golfer, was a five-time Tennessee Women's Golf Association champion and won the 1978 Women's Amateur Golf Championship. Furrow is in her 10th year of coaching with the Lady Vol golf team and has endowed a full scholarship for the program among her many contributions.

Rick Honeycutt - a first team All-American from the University of Tennessee, Honeycutt was drafted into the Major Leagues in 1976 and pitched for six teams during his 21-year big-league career. He was an All-star in 1980 and 1983 and appeared in the World Series three times with Oakland in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

E. L. Hutton - a TSSAA official for more than 40 years, Hutton has officiated on the collegiate level in the Southeastern Conference, Gulf South Conference and Missouri Valley Conference. He has worked High School District, Region and State Tournaments and officiated one season for the professional ABA ranks. Hutton served a total of 35 years as Commissioner of the Volunteer State Athletic Conference, the Trans South Conference and the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference. He has been recognized by the TSSAA and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for his outstanding service in high school sports.

Jerry Johnson - recently retired after 45 seasons as head basketball coach for Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis. Johnson is one of only six NCAA men's basketball coaches to win more than 800 games (820-445). He is the second winningest NCAA Division II coach and won a SIAC Division II Championship, a NCAA Division III Championship, four titles in the Volunteer State Athletic Conference and four SIAC Division III Crowns.

D. D. Lewis - first team All-State Linebacker and Defensive Player of the Year at Fulton High School in Knoxville. Lewis was an All SEC Linebacker, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American at Mississippi State before being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1968. He played 14 years for the Cowboys (until 1981) and played in five Super Bowls, winning two (1972 and 1978). He holds the Dallas record with his 27 playoff games. He was inducted to the NCAA College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Larry Schmittou - former president and original owner of the Nashville Sounds is credited with bringing professional baseball back to Nashville. Prior to the Sounds, he won over 500 games as a sandlot baseball coach and over 300 games at Vanderbilt University where he was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1973 and 1974. In professional baseball, Schmittou was named AA Executive of the Year in 1978 and AAA Executive of the Year in 1989.

Rochelle Stevens - a native of Memphis and Melrose High School All-American in Track & Field. Stevens was an eleven time NCAA All-American at Morgan State University in Maryland and was the NCAA Division I 400 meters champion. From 1987-1998, she was ranked in the top ten in the U.S. in the 400 meters (ranked #1 three times). Stevens won a gold medal in the 4x400 relay at the 1996 Olympics and a Silver medal in the 4x400 relay at the 1992 games. Stevens earned numerous medals in international competition before retiring in 2000.

Dr. Earl Ramer (posthumous) - National President for the NCAA (1971 and 1972); the only Tennessean to hold that high office. Vice President of the NCAA from 1963-68 and a member of the NCAA governing Council from 1968-1971. He was a member of the SEC Executive Committee during 1962-65 and longtime Chairman of the University of Tennessee Athletics Board. For many years, Dr. Ramer was a key figure in the administration of intercollegiate athletics across the country.

Luke Worsham (posthumous) - a World War II Army veteran and graduate of the University of Chattanooga where he played football; coached football, wrestling and track at Baylor School from 1949-1991. Worsham is recognized locally and nationally as a pioneer in wrestling. He received the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service Award in 1994.