South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame president Xavier Starkes recently announced that the Jacobs Family, Presbyterian College head men's basketball head coach Gregg Nibert, USC women's basketball head coach Coach Dawn Staley and Sonny Dickinson, and Warren Peper will be honored for their various contributions to sports in the Palmetto State when the organization hosts its 55th annual banquet and induction ceremony on May 11 at the Columbia Metro Convention Center.
The Jacobs Family will be recognized with the Bobby Richardson Sportsmanship Award sponsored by Pete and Ane DiVenere.
Nibert will be honored with the Felix “Doc” Blanchard Athlete/Citizen Award.
Staley will be honored with the Willie Jeffries Ambassador for Sports Award that is sponsored by Defender Services, and Dickinson will receive the fourth annual Dom Fusci Leadership in Action Award that is being sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union. Peper, the longtime face of television sports and news in Charleston, will be bestowed with the fifth annual Herman Helms Media Excellence Award that is sponsored by Boyd Management of Columbia.
Those five honorees will be distinguished along with the new inductees of the SCAHOF Class of 2015 which include Clemson running back Terry Allen, USC pitcher Kip Bouknight, Lander tennis coach Joe Cabri, New England Patriots' tight end Ben Coates, Clemson soccer standout Bruce Murray, Furman football coach Jimmy Satterfield and former Spartanburg Herald-Journal Sports Editor Les Timms. Timms will be enshrined posthumously.
Tickets (table of eight for $500) and program sponsorships may be purchased by calling the SCAHOF office at 803/779-0905. The affair, which includes a reception and dinner, begins at 5:30 p.m.
Bobby Richardson Sportsmanship Award
The Jacobs Family, Clinton
The Jacobs Blocking Trophies, in existence since 1928, are awarded annually in five collegiate conferences to players voted as the best blocker. Voted on by their leagues defensive coordinators, the Jacobs Blocking Trophies have transitioned from an honor once awarded to such skill positions as wide receivers and quarterbacks to its current status as the crowning honor for an offensive lineman.
The trophies are carried on today by the family of the founder, Dr. William P. Jacobs. Jacobs, who was born and reared in Clinton, graduated from Presbyterian College in 1916 where he helped organize and coach the school's first football team. He became the quarterback, who, in those days, called signals and did the downfield blocking, but seldom carried the ball.
Later, as he coached a high school team, Jacobs realized that the blocker received no plaudits. It was always the ball carrier or quarterback who was written up in the paper and seldom did the blocker get credit for clearing the way. So in 1928, he originated a trophy, a beautiful sterling silver loving cup, to be awarded to the college player in South Carolina who “best exemplified unselfish sportsmanship” clearing the way for the ball carrier. It is reported to be the first such award presented in the United States.
In 1933, Jacobs duplicated the cup and began a “best blocker” presentation annually in the huge Southern Conference. Again in 1935, when the Southeastern Conference split from the SoCon, he had a duplicate Jacobs Blocking Trophy made to present to the best blocker in the SEC.
After Dr. Jacobs' death, the Atlantic Coast Conference was formed from the SEC. His sons, William and Hugh, added a fourth cup for the ACC and carried on the presentations. An award for the South Atlantic Conference was added in 1990.
Bobby Richardson Sportsmanship Award
2015 – The Jacobs Family, Clinton
2014 – Billy D'Andrea, Clemson
2013 – Not awarded
2012 – Bobby Cremins, Charleston
2011 – Les Robinson, Sullivan's Island
2010 – Armanti Edwards, Greenwood
2009 – Not awarded
2008 – Andre Roberts, Columbia
2007 – Not awarded
2006 – Sam Gado, Columbia
2005 – Kevin Kimery, Columbia
Felix “Doc” Blanchard Athlete/Citizen Award
Gregg Nibert, Basketball Coach
Presbyterian College, Clinton
This past season was Coach Gregg Nibert's 26th year in charge of the Presbyterian College men's basketball team. He is the winningest coach in program history with more than 400 wins. However, the veteran coach has won the hearts of many in the past decade.
Since 2006, Nibert, and his wife, the former Peggy Harling of Simpsonville, have served as foster parents. The Niberts have been fostering children since 2006, and Gregg and Peggy have brought 37 babies into their home, some for only a couple of weeks, others a couple of years. While the Niberts' dedication to foster care has given these special children a second chance at happiness, it has meant more for Gregg and Peggy, as well as their children, Shaun and Van, whose lives have been enriched by these selfless acts of kindness and compassion.
A 1979 graduate of Marietta College, Nibert began his coaching career at Rice University where he served as an assistant coach under Mike Schuler, who would later earn NBA Coach of the Year honors with the Portland Trailblazers. In 1981 when Butch Estes accepted Presbyterian's head coaching job, Nibert moved with fellow Owl aide Estes to Clinton. He then moved to Furman University as a part-time assistant under Paladin coach Gene Davis. A year later, Estes took Davis' spot at the helm of Furman's program and Nibert was shifted to the full-time assistant's post, a slot he would man until being named Presbyterian's 17th head basketball coach on April 26, 1989.
Felix “Doc” Blanchard Athlete/Citizen Award
2015 – Gregg Nibert, Clinton
2014 – Not awarded
2013 – Not awarded
2012 – Not awarded
2011 – Shrine Centers of the Carolinas
2010 – Judge Sol Blatt, Jr., Charleston
