Hiwassee College to Induct Six into Hall of Fame
The Hiwassee College Athletic Hall of Fame will induct five former players and one former coach at its annual luncheon on Saturday, May 15, at 12:00 noon. Barbara Dooley, mother of Derek Dooley, new Head Football Coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, will be the featured speaker. This year’s inductees are:
 Steve Dixon 1964-66, Baseball:
Dixon was an outstanding pitcher and hitter for the Tigers. A two-time NJCAA All Conference selection in baseball, Dixon helped lead the Tigers to the Regional Tournament where he was named MVP in 1966. He was also named the NJCAA Player of the Year that year, and was selected for the NJCAA All American team.
Steve left Hiwassee as the all-time leader in career batting average (.427), home runs (19) and single games strikeouts (21) by a pitcher. After signing a scholarship with UT, he elected instead to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals after
being selected in the draft. Dixon played in the minor leagues for several years. His Hiwassee jersey is retired.
 Donald Doran 1955-56 Basketball/Baseball:
Doran was a two-sport letter winner at Hiwassee. During the ‘55 season, he averaged 17 points per game and scored 29 points on two different occasions. In ‘56, Doran scored 49 points in a
win over Georgia Southwestern in the Southeastern Junior College Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 89 points in three games and was named All-Southeast
College guard in 1956.Doran also played first base for the Tigers.
Due to injuries to the pitching staff, Doran pitched every other game for most of the season in ’55. After leaving Hiwassee, Donald joined the Navy and eventually joined Eastman Chemical where he worked until his
retirement in 1995.
 Roger France, Basketball Coach 1987-93:
Roger France returned Lady Tigers basketball to national prominence during his six seasons as coach. After his first season, France’s teams never failed to win at least 20 games during his tenure. In ’90 he coached the Lady Tigers to a 26-9 and sixth-place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.
After leaving Hiwassee, France continued his winning ways at Cleveland HS where he went 71-27 and coached the team to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances. France took over at Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett HS in ‘96, where he is the winningest coach in their
history with 214 wins. In 28 seasons as a head coach, France has amassed a 504-322 record and has led his teams to the post season 23 times.
 Johnny Morgan. 1972-77, Basketball:
As an outstanding member of the Tigers, Morgan helped lead the team to the regional finals in both of his seasons at Hiwassee. He was selected to the All-Region Team both seasons as well.
Morgan went on to play for Tennessee Wesleyan College and was inducted into the Tennessee Wesleyan College Hall of Fame in 1987. He is a member of the Blount County Hall of Fame as well. Currently Morgan serves as the head basketball coach at McMinn Central High School where he has led the Lady Chargers to the state tournament multiple times, including three second place finishes.
 Amy Spence, 1969-71, Basketball:
A native of Sweetwater, Tennessee, Spence was an outstanding player for the Lady Tigers. She was Hiwassee College's first female athlete to be named an All-American and was selected to the
All-Tournament Team in Oklahoma. She was named to the Southern Women's Athletic All-Conference Team in 1971.
Upon graduation from Hiwassee, she played two seasons at Tennessee Tech. Spence was selected to participate in the Olympic trials and played for an
independent AAU team in St. Louis. She is now retired from Exxon and lives on the family farm in Sweetwater.
 Alonzo Webb, 1966-68, Basketball/Baseball:
Webb was one of the first two African-American athletes at Hiwassee College in 1966. After scoring 1,000 points and named Honorable-Mention All State in 1966 at Glasgow HS, (KY), he came to Hiwassee where he averaged 14 pts. as a freshman and 18 pts. as a sophomore. In 1967,
the Tigers won the Regional Championship and advanced to the National Tournament where they finished 12th. Alonzo was named to the All Dixie Conference team in 1968 and also played baseball for the Tigers.
After a stint in the army, he graduated from Bowling Green Business School and went on to coach boy’s track and girl’s basketball at Bowling Green HS in the 1990’s. He worked for Siegel-Robert Automotive Plant and retired in 2009. |
This year’s featured speaker will be Barbara Dooley, the mother of Derek Dooley, UT Head Football Coach, and wife of legendary SEC football coach, Vince Dooley and author of Put Me In Coach. Barbara is one of the most entertaining speakers in the South and will share her zany tales of football, family and foolishness.