Michael Strahan, Chris Bosh, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker headline Texas Sports Hall of Fame class

The list is more highly decorated than a Christmas tree.

The nine-member 2022 class to be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame next spring includes a pair of legendary Olympians, three NBA stars, a Heisman Trophy winner and one of the best NFL defensive linemen to ever play the game.

The star-studded group, which was revealed Tuesday afternoon, is headlined by phenomenal long jumper Bob Beamon, NBA stars Chris Bosh, Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker and NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan. The class also includes Baylor’s Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III, homegrown NFL receiver Mike Renfro from TCU, Olympic gold medalist gymnast Carly Patterson-Caldwell and Baylor All-America basketball player Suzie Snider Eppers.

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Beamon competed in track and field at UTEP and is best known for setting a world record in the long jump that stood for 23 years. He easily won the gold in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when he uncorked a leap of 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches, breaking the existing record by almost two feet. He still holds the Olympic record and was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1977.

Bosh lives in Austin after a tremendous record as an 11-time NBA All-Star, a two-time NBA champion in 2012 and 2013 and an Olympic gold medalist. He grew up in Dallas and attended Dallas Lincoln.

He was the fourth pick overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors and spent six seasons with the Miami Heat. He was a dominant post player, making the All-Rookie Team in 2003-04 and the All-NBA team in 2007. Over his 13-year career, he averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In September 2021, Bosh was selected to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Strahan, a product of Texas Southern, became one of the most feared defensive players in NFL history. Drafted 40th overall by the New York Giants, where he spent his entire 15-year career. Strahan was a seven-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL in sacks for two seasons (2001, 2003). In 2001, he set the single-season sack record with a staggering 22.5 sacks and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In his final game as an NFL player, Strahan helped lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory (2008) against the undefeated New England Patriots. He finished his career with 141.5 sacks, sixth all-time in NFL history. He is also a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s and Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

A pair of well-known San Antonio Spurs also will be inducted. Ginóbili is one of only two players to ever win an NBA Championship, a EuroLeague title and an Olympic gold medal and has been heralded as a consummate team player and one of the game’s most instinctive playes, even coming off the bench in his career. After playing seven seasons in Argentina and Italy, winning the EuroLeague title in 2001, he joined the San Antonio Spurs in 2002 and spent his entire NBA career with the Spurs (2002-2018) where he claimed four NBA Championships (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), two NBA All-Star appearances and won the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year award. His No. 20 was retired by the Spurs in 2019.

His teammate, point guard Tony Parker, will join him in next year’s ceremony. The Belgium-born Parker, who grew up in France, had to literally earn his spurs with the demanding Gregg Popovich, but he settled in and wowed with his court savvy and ability to get to the basket. He was an integral part of four Spurs title teams in one of the league’s most enduring dynasties. He averaged 15.5 points per game and 5.6 assists per game throughout his career. He’s a six-time NBA All-Star, was named to four All-NBA teams, and was the NBA Finals MVP in 2007. Parker retired in 2019 having played a total of 1,254 career games. His No. 9 jersey was retired by the Spurs in 2019.

Robert Griffin III is acknowledged as the greatest quarterback in Baylor football history. A four-star recruit out of Copperas Cove, Griffin was named the AP College Football Player of the Year and won the Davey O’Brien Award and the Manning Award. The Heisman winner was drafted second overall by the Washington Football Team, where he won Offensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowl his first season. He played eight seasons with Washington, the Browns, and Ravens.

Eppers was the first in a long line of star basketball players to play for Baylor women’s basketball. After leading Robinson High School to its first-ever basketball state championship in 1970, Eppers took her talents to Baylor University in 1973, where she became the first women’s scholarship athlete in school history. Throughout her collegiate career, Eppers accumulated 3,861 points and went on to become Baylor’s first-ever All-American in women’s basketball.

Patterson, known for her signature dismount, became the first American woman to ever win the all-around gold medal in a non-boycotted Olympic Games. She also became the second U.S. gymnast to win all-around gold at the Games, the first since Mary Lou Retton in 1984, and ended her career in 2006 with a total of 27 medals. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Mike Renfro spent his entire football career in the state of Texas. He played at Arlington Heights High School, TCU and for the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys. Renfro was an All-SWC wide receiver three times and a second-team All-American for the Horned Frogs. He finished his collegiate career with the third-most receiving yards in SWC history with 2,739 and left TCU with the most receiving touchdowns, yards, and receptions in program history. Renfro played 10 years in the NFL and was named the Dallas Cowboys’ most valuable player in 1985. He was also known for famously catching a touchdown pass for Houston against the Pittsburgh Steelers that would have held up, had replays been allowed, but was ruled to be out of bounds in the 1979 AFC Championship game. He retired with 323 career receptions for 4,708 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The class was selected by ballot through a statewide selection committee, which includes the American-Statesman’s Cedric Golden and Kirk Bohls and the voice of the Texas Longhorns, Craig Way.

The 61st annual Induction Banquet will be held in the BASE at the Extraco Event Center in Waco next March 12. For more information, purchase tickets or sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.tshof.org/induction-banquet or call Krista Martin at 254-756-1633. COVID-19 guidelines will be followed as dictated by the state and the city of Waco.