Current Members of the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame
Class of 2008
Josh Davis
Class of 2008
Josh Davis
Josh Davis is a fifth generation San Antonian and the most accomplished swimmer in city history as he set city, state and American records on his way to winning five medals in the Olympic Games. Coached by Al Marks at Winston Churchill High School, Davis was the state champion in the 200-yard freestyle in 1988 and 1989 and helped the Chargers win four straight state team titles. He was a member of the 1989 4×100-yard freestyle relay team that set a national public high school record that stood for over 20 years.
Davis continued to excel at the University of Texas where he won 23 All-American awards under Coach Eddie Reese. He helped the Longhorns win the 1991 NCAA team championship, won the 1993 NCAA 200-yard freestyle title and was a member of the 1994 NCAA champion and American record setting 400-yard freestyle relay. At the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, he was the only male athlete to win three gold medals when the USA won the relay events of the 800-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle and the 400-meter medley. Davis was the oldest man on the 2000 USA Olympic Swim Team when he swam on the silver medal-winning 800- and 400-meter relay teams in Sydney. He broke the American 200-meter freestyle record three times at the Games.
He has been inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor and a North East School District swim center is named Josh Davis Natatorium.
Class of 2008
Clyde Glosson
Class of 2008
Clyde Glosson
Clyde Glosson was a record-setting nationally-ranked sprinter and one of San Antonio’s premier track athletes. The track speed and football skills he developed at Phillis Wheatley High School would eventually lead him into the National Football League.
At age 15 he set a national Junior Olympic record of 9.6 in the 100-yard dash. In 1964 he helped the Wheatley 440-yard relay team set a national high school record of 41.5 seconds and that relay also was the PVIL state champion. Individually he set a national record of 20.6 seconds in the 220-yard dash. From 1963 through 1965 he won three state titles in the 220-yd dash and two titles in the 100. The Lions won the 1965 state track and field championship. Glosson then ran at Trinity University where he won the NCAA Division II 100 and 200-meter dash titles. In 1968 he was the fifth ranked 100-meter sprinter in the world and was an alternate for the 1968 US Olympic Team. His career bests were: 100m—10.1, 100yd—9.2, 200yd—20.6 and 200m—20.1, which was a national collegiate record.
In 1970 he was drafted by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. He played for the Buffalo Bills from 1970 through 1972 finished his professional football career with the Detroit Wheels in the World Football League in 1974. He has been inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Hall of Fame and Border Olympics Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Class of 2008
Jerry Comalander
Class of 2008
Jerry Comalander
Jerry Comalander served San Antonio’s Northeast Independent School District as a state champion football coach and an award-winning Athletic Director.
His coaching career began in Devine in 1961 where he was an assistant in football and head coach in basketball. He coached for six years at Uvalde High School where, as an assistant, the 1972 football team was undefeated in winning the state championship. Comalander came to Winston Churchill High School in 1973 as an assistant football coach and became the head coach in 1975, a position he held for 13 seasons. The Chargers were 9-1 his first season and followed with a perfect 15-0 State Championship season in 1976. The Texas Sportswriter’s Association then selected him Coach of the Year.
His 13 seasons produced a 125-28-3 record, eight playoff appearances, four District Championships, three state semi-finalists and a state title. He is a Hall of Honor inductee for the Texas High School Coaches Association and has served as a Director and President of the Association. In 1988 he became the Executive Director of Athletics for the NEISD, helping produce numerous state championships for district high schools. He has been a Director and the President of the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association and received a Distinguished Service Award from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. The NEISD football stadium is named Jerry Comalander Stadium in his honor.
Class of 2008
Cliff Johnson
Class of 2008
Cliff Johnson
Cliff Johnson played 20 seasons of professional baseball to include 15 in the major leagues where he won two World Series Championships.
At Phillis Wheatley High School he was an all-around athlete, playing football, basketball, baseball and track, and he helped the Lions’ track and field team win the PVIL state championship in 1965. Upon his graduation from Wheatley in 1966 he was drafted by the National League Houston Astros. He spent five seasons in the minor leagues before making his major league debut in 1972. Johnson played with the Astros from 1972 through half of the 1977 season before joining the New York Yankees for two straight championships. From 1979 through 1986 he played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers.
Johnson still holds the major league record for pinch-hit home runs with 20 including a Houston Astros team record of five during the 1973 season. While playing for the Yankees he hit three home runs in a game, including two in one inning. His career batting average was .258, hitting 196 home runs and producing 699 runs batted in. His World Series championships in 1977 and 1978 were especially gratifying as the Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two both times.
Class of 2008
Lyle Blackwood
Class of 2008
Lyle Blackwood
Lyle Blackwood’s professional football career featured two Conference Championships and two Super Bowl games in his 14 seasons in the National Football League. He played four seasons of football at Winston Churchill High School, but his success as a defensive back began at Blinn Junior College during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Blackwood transferred to Texas Christian University, where he played two seasons and was named Team Captain while winning All-Southwest Conference honors in 1971 and 1972. He was named an Honorable Mention All-American selection, named as a Kern Tipps nominee and was selected to play in the 1973 North-South Shrine All-Star Game.
In 1973 he was drafted by the NFL’s Denver Broncos and traded to the Cincinnati Bengals that pre-season. His 14 seasons included three with the Bengals, one with the Seattle Seahawks, four with the Baltimore Colts and six with the Miami Dolphins. He played 176 games, made 35 career interceptions and returned two for touchdowns. He led the NFL with 10 interceptions during his 1977-78 season in Baltimore and was selected to the All-NFL Team as a safety.
Blackwood’s seasons with Miami were highlighted by American Conference Championships in 1983 and 1985 and his play in Super Bowls XVII and XIX alongside his brother Glenn as part of the Bruise Brothers and Killer B’s defense, which was the top-ranked NFL defense in 1983. He has been inducted into the Winston Churchill Hall of honor, National Junior College Hall of Fame, the TCU Hall of Fame and was presented with the TCU Frog of Fame Award.