Take one very talented multi-sport athlete, add one women's basketball player who also played in the band and was a cheerleader and top it off with one man who helped shaped the future of high school athletics in Forrest City and you have one-third of the 2002 Forrest City Athletic Hall of Fame class representing Lincoln High School.
Eugene Rooks, Maxine Kennedy Douglass and Wallace L. Purifoy Jr., will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Friday during a luncheon and special ceremonies at the Forrest City High School cafeteria. The evening begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and still available.
Douglass is the only surviving member of the trio. Rooks passed away last year and Purifoy died in 1972.
Rooks, Douglass and Purifoy will join previous Lincoln High inductees Manuel and Cecil Twillie, Robert Harris, DeJustice Coleman, Clarence Jones Jr., John Henry Watson, Florine Tousant Bingham and Rodney Echols.
Douglass is a 1956 Lincoln graduate, the same class as Coleman and Harris and sandwiched in between the Twillie brothers.
She made her mark on the basketball court as a Lady Tiger and with the school's marching band as the snare drum player.
In her spare time, she found time to be a cheerleader as well.
"It's what we did," Douglass said recently. "It was fun and really being involved in school activities was all that we had going for us most of the time. At that time, in the early 1950s, there wasn't a lot to do, except go to school and work in the fields when you got home."
Which might have been the impetus for Douglass, as well as others, to take up a particular sport or extracurricular activity.
"We got involved in after school activities so we wouldn't have to go home and work in the field," Douglass said. "Playing sports and practicing was fun, the other was hard work."
Douglass took up basketball when Purifoy asked her and her friends to try the sport.
"He took us and showed us the basic fundamentals of the game," Douglass said. "We didn't have a gym, so we practiced outside on a make-shift court."
Douglass played for the Lady Tigers from her freshman year until graduation. She lettered three years as a forward in the sport which was, at that time, played half court style.
She averaged 20 points a game and said her highest scoring effort was 43 points in a game against Blytheville.
As a senior, she was named to the All-State team and was the Lady Tigers team captain.
She also found time, along with some of her closest friends, to start a girls' two-hand touch football team at Lincoln.
"We never really got it going though," Douglass said. "We couldn't find any other two-hand touch girls' teams to play."
After graduation, Douglass left Forrest City for Saginaw, Michigan where she attended college and continues to reside operating her own business.
She said she "couldn't believe it" when she got the call that she had been elected to the Hall of Fame.
"My first reaction, was 'what for?'" Douglass said. "I always considered myself to be a good athlete but I didn't know if anyone else knew it or remembered that I was."
Douglass won't be able to attend Friday's induction ceremonies, but her younger brother Ray Black will accept the honor in her behalf.
*Eugene Rooks graduated from Lincoln in 1957, one year after Douglas.
He was a multi-sport athlete, earning a basketball scholarship to Shorter College in Little Rock.
He then transferred to Jackson State University on a football scholarship and graduated in 1963. He later returned to complete his work on his master's degree.
His first coaching job was at McCrory in 1963 and took the team from last place to first place in the conference, playing two seasons without the benefit of having their own basketball gym.
In 1965, Rooks served as an assistant football coach under M.O. Livingston at Lincoln and later became head football coach. Under Rooks' guidance, the Tiger football team put together several undefeated seasons and added a state championship.
In early 1972, Rooks moved to Forrest City High School as an assistant football coach with Bill Schimit and two years later, in 1974, he became the head coach of the Forrest City track team.
With such talented runners as Michael Gray and Pat Mitchell, the Mustangs rose to the state's No. 1 ranking and in 1976, set the record in the 440-relay, a mark that still stands and tallied three state track titles for the Mustangs.
After leaving Forrest City, Rooks became head football coach at Havenview Junior High in Memphis and once again coached the team to several undefeated seasons and city-wide championships.
Rooks completed his coaching career in Memphis before his death last year. His wife of 37 years, Bettye Stidum Rooks, will accept the Hall of Fame honor Friday night posthumously.
*Wallace Leon Purifoy Jr. graduated from Forrest City High School in 1913 and went on to become a legendary coach, shaping the future of the Lincoln High School football and basketball teams, especially through the 1950s.
Purifoy was born in Forrest City and was well known by folks from all walks of life.
After graduating from high school, Purifoy attended Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Chicago School of Law.
He became a practicing lawyer in Arkansas in 1938 and his reputation as a man of the Bar was untarnished during his time on the bench.
He married Tolise Ganberry in 1927, and the couple made their home in Forrest City, where he devoted much of his time helping the local youth in their athletic activities, making certain they had financial aid to purchase the necessary equipment.
In 1952, Purifoy turned his attention to the Lincoln Tiger football and basketball teams, which reaped the benefits of his knowledge and generosity.
He died in December, 1972.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City seventh-grade Mustangs overcame a couple of early turnovers to take a come-from-behind 16-6 win over Marion Tuesday night at Sam Smith Stadium.
The Mustangs lost two fumbles in the first half which led to a 6-0 Marion advantage at the half.
Chris Tripp brought Forrest City back to life late in the third quarter when he broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run with 1:31 left to play. The two-point conversion put the seventh-graders in front 8-6.
Forrest City quarterback Tyrice Bradley gave the seventh-grade Mustangs some breathing room when he scored with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter and added the two-point play.
He sealed the victory when he intercepted a Marion pass with 1:40 to play in the game at the Mustangs' three-yard line.
Forrest City is 1-1 for the year and will play next on Tuesday, Sept. 24, when they host West Memphis West.
In the eighth-grade game, the White Junior Mustangs lost to Marion 20-8.
Marion led 12-0 at the half after scoring twice in the first half and added a touchdown in fourth quarter.
Forrest City scored early in the final quarter.
The White varsity Mustangs will host Jonesboro McArthur Thursday night at Sam Smith beginning at 7 p.m.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Lady Mustang volleyball team continued to show improvement Tuesday in their second match of the year but still suffered a straight-set loss to Blytheville, losing 15-4, 15-4.
"The girls played hard and are getting better," said Forrest City Coach Amber Main.
Alicia Kennedy and Tyeshia McDaniel each had aces for the Lady Mustangs, 0-2 for the year.
In the JV match, the Lady Mustangs got seven points off serve from Jessica Perkins and four points off serve from Chiklisha McDaniel to win the first game of the three-game match 15-9 over Blytheville but fell in the final two games, 15-6, 15-3.
Forrest City returned volleyball to the sports venue this year after discontinuing the sport following the 1998 season.
The Lady Mustangs will play all of their volleyball matches on the road this season.
*Jena Gracey had eight kills, six digs and four blocks as Wynne remained undefeated in the AAAA-East conference with a 15-0, 15-5, 15-3 volleyball victory over Batesville Tuesday.
Jessica Stepp added five digs and eight assists for the Lady Yellowjackets (8-2, 4-0) and Nicole Johnson contributed with six kills and a block.
*Lee Davis pounded nine kills and Sarah Scott handed out nine assists as Bay handed Marianna a 15-10, 15-10 loss Tuesday in high school volleyball.
Lindsey Stewart added four kills for Bay (2-1 conference) while Amber Martin served three aces.
Bay also won the junior high match 15-1, 15-4.
* LOCAL SPORTS
MEN'S FALL SOFTBALL
Thursday, September 19
Gym 2000 vs Morgan, 6 p.m. F3
Barnes Timber vs Wynne Sports World, 7 p.m.
Young Guns vs Miller Insurance, 8 p.m.
Marion Performance vs M&T Paving, 9 p.m.
CO-ED LEAGUE SOFTBALL
Tuesday's Scores
Butler Building 13, Wynne Cinema 12
T. Rodgers Construction 13, Boar's Head 12
SEVENTH-GRADE FOOTBALL
Tuesday's Scores
Forrest City 16, Marion 6
EIGHTH-GRADE FOOTBALL
Marion 20, Forrest City White 8
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Monday's Score
Forrest City 29, Brinkley 6
JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL
Thursday, September 19
Hughes at Cross County, 7 p.m.
Jonesboro McArthur at FCity White, 7 p.m.
Palestine-Wheatley at Rector, 7 p.m.
Forrest City Blue at Jboro Annie Camp, 7 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, September 19
Forrest City at Marianna
FLAG FOOTBALL
Monday, September 23
Vikings vs Tigers, 6 p.m. F8
Bears vs Lions, 7 p.m. F8
Razorbacks vs Indians, 8 p.m. F8
YOUTH SOCCER
Tuesday, September 24
Tigers vs Rockets, 9-under, 6 p.m. F4&1
Grizzlies vs Iguanas, 10-13, 6 p.m. F2
Bullets vs Sting, 9-under, 7:15 p.m. F4&1
Flames vs Thrashers, 10-13, 7:15 p.m. F2