Dateline: January 10, 2008

Hall of Fame to honor Clarendon's King

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon’s Kenny King will be among three big names who will headline the honorees to be installed in the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame February 10.

The event will also be special because it is the 50th annual ceremony dedicated to recognizing sports achievement by active and retired athletes and coaches with roots in the Panhandle area. The ceremonies will be held at 2 p.m. in the Ordway Auditorium at Amarillo College, and the public is invited to attend.

King, who has two Super Bowl rings, will be joined by Marsha Sharp – the winningest basketball coach in Texas Tech history, and Olympic gold medal winner Brandon Slay of Amarillo.

The Hall of Fame called King “one of those rare athletes who excelled at the high school, college, and professional levels.” He grew up in Clarendon, where he was a key member as a sophomore of the Bronchos’ 1972 state runner-up football team, then became one of the state’s top schoolboy running backs as a senior.

OU head coach Barry Switzer personally signed King in Clarendon, and King led OU in rushing as a sophomore but became more of a blocking back his last two seasons. His blocking is credited as the key to Billy Sims’ Heisman Trophy season at OU in 1978.

King was drafted by Houston in the NFL’s third round by Coach Bum Phillips but later was traded to Oakland where he played on two Super Bowl champion teams and was All-Pro.

King caught an 80-yard scoring pass from Jim Plunkett in Super Bowl XV, which was the longest scoring pass play in Super Bowl history. That mark stood for 16 years.

King finished his playing career in Hamilton in the Canadian Football League. Today he lives and works in Ft. Worth. King will be the 143rd member of the Hall of Fame.

Also to be recognized during the ceremonies next month are coaches and athletes of the year in eight sports as well as a variety of special award winners.