Alabama Sports Hall of Fame selects Jake Peavy, Phillip Rivers, Justin Tuck, 5 others for its Class of 2022

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Alabama Sports Hall of Fame near the BJCC in Birmingham. Photo via Jacob Blankenship for Bham Now

This week the Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2022 to be inducted into the Hall this coming spring.

Leading this year’s class is 9-time Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers from Athens, 2-time Super Bowl Champion Justin Tuck and former Cy Young award winner, Mobile native Jake Peavy. 

Also, for the first time ever, a softball coach, University of Alabama’s Patrick Murphy, has been chosen.

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Here are the newly elected inductees for the Class of 2022 with some fun facts about them:

  • DOYLE ALEXANDER – Cordova Alabama – Over a 19 year Major League career Alexander played for 8 teams. He was a fan favorite in the mid-80s when he played for the Atlanta Braves.
  • WILLIAM ANDREWS – Auburn University – A 1000+ yards rusher for Auburn, Andrews amassed 2000+ total yard seasons with the Atlanta Falcons —a rare feat. His career was cut short by a devastating knee injury.
  • KEITH ASKINS – Athens, Alabama – Known for playing defense on the successful  late 80s Coach Wimp Sanderson team, Askins played for Miami Heat becoming a captain and later a coach on its NBA Championship teams.
  • RUSTY GREER – Fort Rucker, Alabama/Albertville High School – Greer spent his entire 15 year pro baseball career with the Texas Ranger organization. He had 3 100+ RBI seasons in the 1990s and batted .332 in 1996.
  • PATRICK MURPHY – University of Alabama – ASHOF’s first softball inductee, Coach Murphy has lead the Tide to one national championship and 13 Women’s College World Series appearances. Since Murphy became head coach in 1999, Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament every year.
  • JAKE PEAVY – Mobile, Alabama – A Mobile native who played high school baseball at St. Paul’s Episcopal, Peavy’s big season in the Majors was in 2007 when he was named the National League Cy Young award winner in the 2007 season, where he led the NL in wins and strikeouts and led the MLB in ERA.
  • PHILIP RIVERS- Athens, Alabama – One of the most prolific passers in NFL history, Rivers finished 5th all-time in passing yards and 6th in TDs when he retired this year. He is now coaching high school football in Fairhope, Alabama even though several teams wish they could coax him out of retirement this year.
  • JUSTIN TUCK – Kellyton, Alabama – Justin Tuck was the defensive leader on the New York Giants Super Bowl 42 & 46 championship teams. A two-time Pro-Bowler (2008, 2010), Tuck was presented with the New York Giants Ring of Honor in 2016. He had 510 career tackles, 66.5 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, and three interceptions.

Here are some videos featuring the new inductees:

This will be the 54th Class inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The eight newly elected inductees will bring the total number of inductees to 385.

The 54th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on May 7, 2022. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

Pat Byington
Pat Byington
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