Dallas ISD to Induct Seven into its Athletic Hall of Fame Class in 2022
Dr. Michael Hinojosa will be inducted into the fifth class of the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame along with six other impressive individuals who have made significant contributions to the district’s athletics programs. This year’s Hall of Fame nominees also include an Olympic swimming gold medalist, the winningest football coach at South Oak Cliff High School, the first female athletic coordinator in district history, a two-time consensus All-Southwest Conference quarterback, the winningest Black football coach in UIL history, and the winner of the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
In addition to Hinojosa, the individuals selected for enshrinement into the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022 are Jerry Heidenreich, Norman Jett, Elsie Moreno, Kevin Murray, Reginald Samples, and Spud Webb.
To be selected for the Hall of Fame, individuals must exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and moral character. Inductees were selected for their striking accomplishments and undisputed impact while advancing school athletics. Their successes, however, are not limited to within Dallas ISD borders; they have reached recognition on local, state, national, and in some cases, international levels.
Meet the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022:
Jerry Heidenreich (1960-2002) was a 1968 graduate of Hillcrest High School. He excelled in the swimming pool and was a two-time state champion and high school All-American. Heidenreich attended SMU and was named an All-American all four years. He won 18 individual Southwest Conference titles before winning an NCAA championship in the 200-yard freestyle in 1972. Heidenreich qualified for the U.S. Olympic team at the Munich games, and took home two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. He broke five Olympic records and four world records in Munich. Heidenreich was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1992.
Michael Hinojosa, who is closing out his 13-year tenure as the superintendent of schools for Dallas ISD, enters the district’s Athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions as a student-athlete, coach, and administrator. Hinojosa played baseball and basketball at Sunset High School before graduating in 1975. He began his career as a teacher and a coach at W.H. Adamson High School, where he coached a variety of sports, including basketball. During his two terms as superintendent, Hinojosa guided Dallas ISD from 2005-2011 and again from 2015-2022. Under his leadership, the district experienced significant academic improvement and has been recognized for its innovative policies and programs. He led the historic passage of the largest bond in Texas history, which continues to bring significant improvements to district facilities.
Norman Jett (1933-2003) is a historical, iconic figure in the history of South Oak Cliff High School. He began his teaching and coaching career at the school in 1962. He became the Golden Bears head football coach and athletic coordinator in 1970, a time when the community demographics began to shift because of integration. Jett set in motion the makings of a historic football powerhouse and took his first team to the state semifinals, finishing 13-1. During his 12-year tenure as head coach, Jett led the Golden Bears to three district titles and had a reputation of being tough, talented, and dominating. More than 200 of his student-athletes played in college and 23 played at the professional level. He finished his career as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 103 wins, 29 losses and five ties.
Elsie Moreno, a 1969 Kimball High School graduate, holds a legacy of spearheading the rise of girls’ athletics programs in Dallas ISD. Moreno was a physical education teacher at Lincoln High School and became the school’s first girls’ basketball and volleyball coach in 1973. She later coached girls’ track & field, guiding the Tigers to a district championship in 1975. In 1977, she moved to Bryan Adams High School, where she coached soccer and volleyball. Her volleyball teams won three district titles and her soccer teams won district championships from 1983-1995 with three teams reaching the regional finals. Moreno became the first female campus athletic coordinator at Bryan Adams in 1992 and was an assistant athletic director for Dallas ISD from 1997-2004.
Kevin Murray is a 1982 graduate of North Dallas High School, where he played as the quarterback and center fielder for the Bulldogs. As a senior in 1981, he was named the DFW Metroplex Offensive Player of the Year in football and was selected in the 11th round of the 1982 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. As a freshman at Texas A&M University, Murray was named the Southwest Conference Newcomer of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors. A two-time All-SWC quarterback, Murray was a two-time second-team All-American. He guided Texas A&M to consecutive top-10 finishes after back-to-back appearances in the Cotton Bowl. The Football News named him the offensive MVP of the 1986 Cotton Bowl, when the Aggies defeated Auburn. In 1986, his final season, he broke several Texas A&M passing records and became the SWC’s all-time touchdown leader. Murray was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and joined the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2012.
Reginald Samples, a 1973 graduate of South Oak Cliff High School, is the winningest Black football coach in Texas UIL history. Samples got his start in Dallas ISD as a teacher and assistant coach at James Madison High School in 1983. He landed his first head coaching position at Lincoln High School in 1990, inheriting a team that was just 1-19 the two seasons before he arrived. Samples took the Tigers all the way to the state championship game in 2004. His Lincoln teams went 122-48-1. Samples left to become the head coach at Skyline High School prior to the 2005 season. Samples guided the Raiders, which had a playoff drought of more than a decade, to district championships in nine of his 10 seasons and led them to the state semifinals in 2011 and 2014. He was 110-22-0 at Skyline but left in 2015 to coach at Duncanville High School, where he is currently employed. During the past seven seasons, Samples guided the Panthers to the playoffs six times, reaching the state championship game three times. Samples enters the 2022 season with 311 career victories.
Spud Webb, who graduated from Wilmer-Hutchins High School in 1981, stands only 5-feet-6, but overcame his doubters who said he would never play basketball. Yet, in 1985, after playing college basketball at Midland College and North Carolina State University, Webb was selected in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. After being released by the Pistons, Webb was invited to a tryout with the Atlanta Hawks and beat out several seasoned guards to make the opening roster. He is probably best known for his surprising win at the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest at Reunion Arena in his hometown. Webb also played for the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Orlando Magic. During his 14-year NBA career, Webb scored 8,072 career points (9.9 ppg.), grabbed 1,742 rebounds (2.1 rpg.), and dished 4,342 assists (5.3 apg.). He is currently the president of basketball operations for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League.
Dallas ISD Athletics Hall of Fame
Previous Classes:
2021 Class
2020 Class
2019 Class
2018 Class
