UTC Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 1998
Charlie Buckshaw – Wrestling – 1986-89
Charlie Buckshaw was a four-time Southern Conference champion wrestler from 1986-89. He is one of just four, four-time SoCon Champions in UTC history and competed at the NCAA Tournament each year of his career.
Buckshaw won league titles at 177 pounds in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He moved up to 190 as a senior and won his fourth title in 1989 as the SoCon Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Buckshaw’s 33-3 mark as a senior is the ninth-most single-season wins at UTC and the fifth best single-season percentage (.917). His career record of 112-21 is the sixth-most wins and the eighth best overall winning percentage (.840).
Gordon Davenport – Meritorious Service
Gordon Davenport was president of the Krystal Corporation and a long-time supporter of UTC Athletics. He was the driving force behind the construction of Finley Stadium and the facility’s field is named in his honor.
The President and CEO of the Krystal Company from 1975-85, Davenport served as Chairman of the Stadium Corporation and Campaign and worked endlessly and tirelessly in the planning and actual development of the facility.
Davenport, a longtime friend of UTC athletics and particularly Mocs football, received the UTC Alumni Council Outstanding Service Award and is a member of the University's Hall of Fame. A bronze busts Davenport, along with Max Finley, adorn the main entryway to the stadium.
Leon Ford – Men’s Basketball – 1963-72
Leon Ford guided the Mocs’ men’s basketball team from 1963-72, posting a 129-123 overall record. His 10 years is the second-longest tenure in school history, trailing only Mack McCarthy’s 12. He is third all-time with 252 games coached.
Ford’s 1970-71 team posted an 18-5 overall record. That was the most wins to date at UTC. Following his coaching career, Ford remained at the University as a instructor and intramural director in the Health and Physical Education department.
Donnie Green – Men’s Golf – 1976-79
Donnie Green was the Mocs’ first Southern Conference Medalist in 1978. He shot a 221 (74-73-74) to lead the Mocs to a second place showing at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.
1978 was the first season of SoCon competition for UTC and Green was one of three Mocs (Mike Patrick, Tommy McKenna) to make the All-SoCon team.
Tony Merendino – Football – 1975-78
Tony Merendino was a standout quarterback for the Mocs football team from 1975-78. The Staten Island, N.Y. native helped UTC usher in the Southern Conference era with back-to-back league titles as a junior and senior.
A two-time Scrappy Moore Team MVP Ward win, Merendino’s 16-4-3 overall record as a starting QB is still the highest winning percentage in school history. His total wins at tied for fourth and he is one of only five in school history to win team MVP honors twice.
He posted career-highs with 134 rushing yards and 240 passing yards in a 72-14 win over Appalachian State on Oct. 7, 1978. The 374 yards of total offense in that game was the school record at the time.
Merendino was second all-time in career rushing touchdowns (24), total offense (3,944) and touchdowns responsible for (43) when he ended his career in 1978. All three of those numbers still rank in the top-10 among the Mocs’ career numbers.
Christine Picher – Women’s Tennis – 1983-85
Christine Picher was a two-time All-American for the Mocs from 1983-85. She helped UTC to a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships in 1984 and 1985.
Picher teamed with Sue McCulloch (Webb) to win the NCAA Division II Doubles Championship in 1984. She was the SoCon No. 3 singles champion in 1984 and 1985. She won No. 1 doubles at the SoCon Tournament in 1985 and No. 2 doubles in 1984.
Picher’s 25-4 singles record in 1983 is No. 3 in single season wins at UTC. She was also 25-4 in doubles in 1983, which is tied for the school record for doubles win in a season.
Jim Tucker – Football – 1955-58
Jim Tucker was a Little All-American for the Mocs from 1955-58. He was a big part of UTC’s 14-6 win at Tennessee on Nov. 15, 1958. The Mocs finished that year 5-5 overall and No. 8 in the final small college poll.
Tucker posted a then-school-record 405 receiving yards in 1957, earning honorable mention Little All-American recognition as an end. He had 24 catches for 397 yards as a senior in 1958.
Following his playing career, he was selected by the Chicago Bears with the third pick of the seventh round (75th overall) in the 1959 NFL Draft.
