DALLAS — The Dallas Independent School District announced the inductees to its fifth class of the district's athletics Hall of Fame in June, which includes the likes of a local high school football legend and the shortest person to ever win the NBA dunk contest.
The class was inducted on Friday, March 30, 2023.
Meet the Dallas ISD Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022:
- Reginald Samples
- Jerry Heidenreich
- Elsie Moreno
- Kevin Murray
- Spud Webb
- Michael Hinojosa
- Norman Jett
Reginald Samples
Samples, a 1973 graduate of South Oak Cliff High School, is the winningest Black football coach in Texas UIL history. He started his career in Dallas ISD as a a teacher and assistant coach at James Madison High School in 1983, but got his first head coaching position at Lincoln High School in 1990. Samples led Lincoln High School to the state championship game in 2004, where the Tigers ultimately lost a heartbreaking double overtime game to Kilgore.
Samples then became the head coach for Skyline High School prior to the 2005 season and led the Raiders to district championships in nine of his 10 seasons and to the state semifinals in 2011 and 2014.
Samples left Skyline High School to lead the Duncanville High School program, where he continues to coach today. In the past seven seasons leading the Panthers, Duncanville has been to the UIL playoffs six times, reaching the state title game three times.
In his coaching career, Samples has 311 wins.
Jerry Heidenreich
Heidenreich, a 1968 graduate of Hillcrest High School, was a two-time state champion and All-American swimmer. He attended SMU and was named an All-American all four years of his collegiate career. He won 18 individual Southwest Conference titles before winning an NCAA championship in the 200-yard freestyle in 1972. Heidenreich won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich for Team USA, where he broke five Olympic records and four world records. Heidenreich was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1992.
Elsie Moreno
Moreno, a 1969 Kimball High School graduate, spearheaded the rise of girls athletics programs in Dallas ISD.
In 1973, Moreno became Lincoln High School’s first girls basketball and volleyball coach. She also coached girls track & field, where she led the Tigers to a district championship in 1975.
Moreno's volleyball teams won three district titles and her soccer teams won district championships for 13 consecutive years from 1983 to 1995, with three of those teams reaching the regional finals. She was also the first female athletic coordinator at Bryan Adams and later served as assistant athletic director for the district from 1997 to 2004.
Kevin Murray
Murray, a 1982 graduate of North Dallas High School, played quarterback and center fielder for the Bulldogs. During his senior year, Murray 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.
Murray played quarterback for Texas A&M and was named the Southwest Conference (SWC) Newcomer of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors in his freshman year.
In his final season at Texas A&M, Murray broke several school passing records and became the SWC’s all-time touchdown leader. His son, Kyler Murray, plays quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. His brother, Calvin Murray, was a outfielder in Major League Baseball and famously was at bat when Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson hit a dove with a pitch during a 2001 spring game.
Spud Webb
Webb, a 1981 graduate of Wilmer-Hutchins High School, is the shortest player to ever win the NBA dunk contest.
Webb stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall, but overcame doubters who said he would never play basketball. He played college basketball at Midland College and North Carolina State University, then was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons in 1985. Webb was released by the Pistons, and the Atlanta Hawks invited him for a tryout and the Dallas native made the roster.
Webb is best known performance at the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, where he beat his own teammate and defending dunk contest champion, Dominique Wilkins.
In his NBA career, Webb also played for the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic. He is currently the president of basketball operations for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League.
Michael Hinojosa
Hinojosa, a 1975 graduate of Sunset High School, played baseball and basketball. Hinojosa enters the district’s Athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions as a student-athlete, coach and administrator.
Hinojosa began his career as a teacher and a coach at W.H. Adamson High School. He served two terms as superintendent, first from 2005 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2022.
During his superintendent tenure, he led the historic passage of the largest bond in Texas history.
Norman Jett
Jett 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 and became the Golden Bears head football coach and athletic coordinator in 1970.
During his 12-year tenure as head coach, Jett led the Golden Bears to three district titles. He finished his career as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 103 wins, 29 losses and five ties.
More on the Dallas ISD Athletics Hall of Fame
Nine inductees from the 2021 class were: LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh, Don January, Johnny Wayne Johnson, Michael Johnson, Stone Johnson, Mike Livingston, Andrea Riley and David Shepherd. The inaugural class in 2018 featured Ernie Banks, Tim Brown, Michael Carter, Chryste Gaines Courtney, Fran Harris, Freddie James, Larry Johnson, Davey O’Brien, Jerry Rhome, Dave Stallworth.
For more information, visit the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame website.
