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Jim Crawford is one of the greatest homegrown Wyoming athletes in history. The Greybull, Wyo. native emerged as one of the nation’s best running backs in his senior season. Crawford earned All-American honors in 1956 and was the NCAA rushing yardage leader with 1,104 yards and was selected the Skyline Conference Back of the Year. Crawford rushed for 103 yards on 18 carries and was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1956 Sun Bowl, in which Wyoming beat Texas Tech, 21-14. For his career, Crawford rushed for 1,775 yards. He later spent several seasons in the National Football League with the Boston Patriots. Inducted September 15, 1995 Honors and Awards
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Blog Archives
John Corbett
John Corbett is considered by many the founding father of Wyoming athletics. Corbett, an All-American football player at Harvard, established the University of Wyoming physical education curriculum and served as Wyoming’s head football and basketball coach. During his outstanding career at UW, Corbett is credited with building Wyoming’s first athletics facilities, Half Acre Gym, and the football field, which bared his name until War Memorial Stadium was constructed in 1950. Corbett was instrumental in high school physical education and started the state high school basketball tournament, which was hosted by the university. UW’s physical education complex, including the intercollegiate swimming pool, was named in his honor.
Inducted September 15, 1995
Jack B. Aggers
Jack Aggers, a 1950 graduate of the University of Wyoming and native of Thermopolis, served his alma mater for 26 years as the head athletic trainer. Aggers spent eight successful years as a high school basketball coach in Cody and Worland, posting a record of 106-93, before returning to UW in 1958. During his tenure, Aggers worked for seven different head football coaches through four different decades. During his career, Aggers served as a guest trainer for the Canadian Football League, the host trainer for the 1965 NCAA Wrestling Championships, and the trainer for the 1979 U.S. Olympic Basketball Development team that toured Europe. In 1983, Aggers was Inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame. Aggers retired from the University of Wyoming in 1984. Aggers was given the prestigious White Hat Award by the Cowboy Joe Club.
Inducted September 15, 1995
Honors and Awards
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Milward L. Simpson
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Milward Simpson was one of the greatest homegrown athletes in Wyoming history. As a three-sport star at Wyoming, Simpson was regarded as one of the best athletes in the Rocky Mountains prior to World War II. He has the distinction of being the only athlete in UW history to captain the football, basketball, and baseball teams. He was a Kodak All-America Football Player in 1920 as a halfback. He was Wyoming’s leading scorer on the 1918 basketball team, averaging 11.6 points per game. Simpson was also a star on the baseball diamond, where he had offers to play Major League Baseball but declined opting for the prestigious Harvard Law School. Simpson became one of the University’s most distinguished alumni, serving as President of the UW Trustees, Governor of Wyoming from 1954-58, and United States Senator for Wyoming, 1962-67. Simpson’s devotion to the youth of Wyoming was a lifelong passion. The award for the outstanding high school athlete in the state bears his name. Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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Mark S. Miller
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Mark Miller is the first swimming inductee into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame. The Laramie native earned All-American honors six times during his career, including three as a senior. Miller guided the Cowboys to an 18th place team finish at the NCAA championships as a senior with three top 5 finishes. He placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke, third in the 100-yard breaststroke, and fifth in the 200-yard medley. Miller was selected the Western Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1988, during which he won seven WAC championships. He still holds three WAC records, more than any swimmer in conference history, (100-breaststroke, 54:43; 200-breaststroke, 1:57.72; 200-Individual Medley, 1:47.38) and four Wyoming school records. He was an Academic All-WAC selection and the 1988 Admiral Land Award winner as UW’s top student-athlete. Miller was selected as the UW Athlete of the decade for the 1980’s.Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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James F. Kiick
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Jim Kiick was the first player ever to earn first team All-Western Athletic conference honors three times. Kiick was Wyoming’s leading rusher for three consecutive seasons, 1965, `66, `67, and lead the Cowboys to consecutive WAC titles and bowl appearances in 1967 and `68. The Cowboys posted an impressive 26-6 record during his three seasons as starting tailback, including a perfect 13-0 home record. As a sophomore, Kiick rushed for 534 yards. During his junior season, his 597 rushing yards led the cowboys to a 10-1 overall record, a WAC championship, and berth in the Sun Bowl. Kiick rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns earning Sun Bowl Most Valuable Player honors as Wyoming defeated Florida State, 28-20. As a senior, Kiick was selected a co-captain on one of the greatest Cowboy teams of all-time. Wyoming won 10 games fro the second consecutive season and was ranked fifth in the nation as kiick again led Wyoming in rushing, 583 yards, and was selected first team All-WAC. The Cowboys won their second straight WAC title and became the only WAC team in history to be invited to a New Year’s day bowl game, the 1968 Sugar Bowl. Following graduation, Kiick went to the National Football League, where he starred along-side Larry Csonka in the Miami Dolphins backfield creating one of the greatest running back tandems in NFL history. While with the Dolphins, Kiick and Csonka led Miami to three Super Bowls, two World Championships and a 17-0 record in 1972, the only perfect season in NFL history. Kiick and Csonka were known as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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Michele D. Hoppes
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Michele hoppes was one of the most dominating players in Wyoming women’s basketball history. As a four-year letterwinner, Hoppes’skills allowed her to become the greatest scorer and rebounder in Cowgirl history. She was a three-time first team All-High Country Athletic Conference selection and led Wyoming in both scoring and rebounding for four consecutive seasons. She was the all-time rebounding leader in High Country Athletic Conference history and still ranks as the all-time Cowgirl leader with 1,104 rebounds. Hoppes averaged double figures in both scoring and rebounding for her career, 16.7 points and 10.0 rebounds. She received special mention All-American, All-Far West Region, and American Women’s Sports Federation honors. For her career , she scored 1,842 points and made .452 percent of her field goal attempts. She averaged 21.0 points per game during her senior season, then a UW record and her 10.6 rebounds per game average of 1985 is still a record. Hoppes ranks in the top three in cowgirl career records for points, rebounds, field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, free throw attempts, and blocked shots. Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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Glenn R. “Bud” Daniel
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Bud Daniel, one of the best coaches in college baseball history, spent 20 seasons as the head coach of the University of Wyoming baseball team. During his tenure, he guided Wyoming to its only College World Series appearance in 1956. He coached Wyoming to four Mountain States Conference Championships (1954, `55, `56, `61) and one WAC division title in 1966. He coached 15 first team All-WAC selections. One of Daniel’s most famous pupils was former Wyoming All-WAC performer Art Howe, the current manager of the Oakland A’s. He also is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Daniel owns the Wyoming record for career coaching victories with 295. Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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Charles W. “Tub” Bradley
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Charles Bradley, one of the most exciting and flamboyant athletes in University of Wyoming history, ranked as one of the best players in Western Athletic Conference history at the end of his career. Bradley guided the cowboys to the 1981 WAC title, a 24-6 record, and into the NCAA tournament, a first for Wyoming in over 15 years. A three-time first team All-WAC selection and an Academic All-American, Bradley finished his career as the second leading scorer in Cowboy history with 1,744 points and ranked second in assists with 215,. Bradley was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics and played several seasons of professional basketball. He won the 1981 Admiral Land Award as UW’s top student-athlete. He returned to his alma mater in 1986 as an assistant coach and helped Wyoming win a WAC championship and advance to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA tournament in 1987. To this day, Bradley ranks as one of the greatest players in WAC basketball history. Inducted October 18, 1996 Honors and Awards
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Lawrence V. Birleffi
Listen to audio interviews with Larry Birleffi by the Wyoming State Archives.
Larry Birleffi, a 1942 graduate of the University of Wyoming and native of Hartville, became the “Voice of the Cowboys” in 1947 and continued broadcasting Cowboy games for nearly 40 years. Birleffi’s journalism career began in 1937 when he was writing for UW’s campus newspaper, The Branding Iron. He began as a newspaper journalist and columnist, something he continues to this day at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne. He began his broadcasting career in 1947 at station KFBC in Cheyenne. He later owned that station and the rights to the Wyoming football and basketball broadcasts. He broadcasts every Wyoming football and basketball game form 1947 through 1986. The War Memorial Stadium Working Press Area was named in his honor in 1992.
Inducted October 18, 1996
Honors and Awards
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