Hall of Fame

2007 Howard Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Class

Brief Biographical Information

James Baynes 

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, James "JB" Baynes was taught the fundamentals of baseball through intense family competition with three older brothers and one big sister.  The countless battles to keep up with his siblings molded "JB" into a resilient, talented athlete.  He earned a spot on the varsity team in his freshman year at Grimsley High School where he competed on the school's only state championship team.  He closed out his senior year with a .415 batting average and ten home runs.  His skill attracted many Division I coaches.  He decided to attend Alcorn State in Mississippi.  However, he changed his mind and decided to accept a baseball scholarship from Howard University and play under the tutelage of former Major Leaguer, Chuck Hinton.

"JB" immediately joined the starting lineup as a freshman.  Batting third or fourth, he rotated between shortstop and first base.  A prolific hitter, he maintained an average of over .300 for three consecutive years.  He served as team captain for two years, named to the All-MEAC team for four straight years and MEAC Player of the Year in 1986. He still holds the University's record for homeruns. It never mattered how well he played during the season, he always saved his best efforts for MEAC Tournament which were held in his hometown.  His freshman year, he hit .333; his sophomore year, he scored .313 and his third year he batted .692 (nine for thirteen).  He and Coach Hinton looked forward to "JB" being drafted into the pros.  However, a severe knee injury in a game against Virginia Tech ended those hopes.  Baynes completed his education at Howard with a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation.

Upon his return to Greensboro, "JB" continued his devotion to baseball through coaching.  He founded the Greensboro Bison Traveling Baseball Team and currently serves as head coach of the varsity team at Dudley High School.  He has also had a hand in coaching the Lincoln Grove Broncos, the Vandalia Broncos, the Vandalia Pony and the Greensboro Aggies Traveling Baseball Team.  He has coached his teams to eight championships using the motto, "teamwork makes the dream work."  He is a board member of the Colt Baseball League Association and President of the Vandalia Sports Association.  He holds several positions of leadership in his church and sings in the Male Chorus.  He met his wife, Angela at a softball game.  They have two sons, James and Jameel.       

Richard C. Gee, Jr.

As a young child, Richard Gee with chattering teeth and wrinkled skin had to be pulled from the water on the Jersey shore.  He loved the water although he could not swim.  Once his mother taught him how, he began setting and breaking records in the city of Newark. Rick developed into an outstanding freestyle swimmer in that city's Central High School.  When he entered Howard in 1952, there were no athletic scholarships.  That did not stop him from joining the swim team. And, he won every conference 50-yard or 100-yard freestyle race in four years! He was team captain for three years. In those days, Howard competed in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), and Rick never entered a meet without leaving with at least one medal.  In his last CIAA Championship Meet, he was the only swimmer to win three swimming titles: the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke.  At that time, he received the "White Blazer", the highest award the University gave for athletic achievement.

In 1956, Rick dreamed the impossible.  Having followed all of the college meets across the country, he felt he could compete against the nation's best. However, Howard Coach "Skipper" Johnson had bigger ideas and made the arrangements for Rick to attend the Olympic Trials in Detroit.  However, a fraternity intramural track meet brought these plans to an unfortunate halt.  While high jumping, Rick slipped and broke his left elbow.  Rick post-graduate life of working on Capitol Hill and working on a master's at American University was interrupted by the draft. He entered the U.S. Army, joined the Ft. Dix swim team and kept winning freestyle competitions. After his honorable discharge, the responsibilities of family and career took over.

Gee, the Howard University accounting major who never became an accountant spent close to thirty-five years working for the private and public sectors in financial management, banking and small business administration.  He earned his Master's from the Graduate School of Credit and Finance of Williams College in 1977.  He swam recreationally and developed a two-pack a day smoking habit. Throughout his adult life, he pursued another great love - JAZZ. Rick became known for hosting jam sessions at his house which led him to incorporate his own business: Rick Gee's Jazz Jamm, Inc. to promote jazz concerts.    

Reading the description of the swimmer on a Wheaties cereal box one morning planted the idea of competing on the master's swimming circuit. At age fifty, Rick threw away his cigarettes and joined the New Jersey Masters Swim Team.  Although one of the youngest swimmers, he was placed in the slowest group, but not for long.  From 1986 through 1988, he was rated in the U.S. Masters' Top 10 in his age group for the 50-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle.

Upon retirement, Rick moved to Florida where he joined the St. Petersburg Mavericks U.S. Masters swim team and once again incorporated Rick Gee's Jazz Jamm.  At age 72, his swimming specialty has changed from 50 and 100 yard sprints to 500 and 800 yard long distance races, but, he like the jazz rhythms he loves keeps on stroking. 

Dr. Thomas A. Hart

Thomas Hart's involvement in athletics began in his childhood.  Growing up in Williamstown, Massachusetts, he competed in sports throughout his school years.  He became Williamstown High School's first five-letter athlete as a member of the football, baseball, basketball, tennis and track teams.   He maintained his athletic involvement throughout undergraduate school - first, at Hampton Institute and then at New York University from which he graduated.  During World War II, Dr. Hart spent four years in the U.S. Army Air Corps where he supervised the physical fitness, sports and special services regimen of African-American soldiers.  It was during this time that he earned his Masters of Education from the University of Illinois. 

With his experience in the Army and his love of sports, he decided to pursue a career as a college coach or athletics director.  Talledega College offered him the first opportunity to do so.  He worked atTalledega for two years as the head track and field coach, head basketball coach AND the director of athletics.  In 1948, he accepted a position at Howard University as a professor in Howard University's Department of Health and Physical Education.  In those days, there were no full-time coaches.  Physical education professors and instructors taught classes and coached male students. Dr. Hart served as head coach of the basketball and track and field teams in 1950's and 1960's. During this period, he initiated a co-ed Bachelor of Science degree program in recreation and leisure time activities.  He established the wrestling and golf programs at the University as well.  Under his leadership, Howard University's athletic teams competed in the CIAA Conference. The wrestling team under his tutelage won 1952 CIAA Conference Championship. 

Dr. Hart played a major role in the integration of collegiate competition by arranging competitions with Gallaudet College and at Quantico Marine Base.  Extensive newspaper coverage was given to these historic match ups.

In 1948, Dr. Hart founded Camp Hart, a summer camp for boys and girls on his family's 200 acre farmland in Williamstown, Massachusetts.  The camp flourished until 1963.

The U.S. Department of State selected Dr. Hart to develop health, physical education and sports management programs for Ghana, West Africa. He was also selected to develop a Ghanaian track and field team for 1960 Olympics in Rome. He took a three year leave from Howard, and upon his return he resumed his teaching and coaching responsibilities. 

Dr. Hart left the University in 1964 to work for Westinghouse Electric Corporation where he was promoted to a vice president and president of several divisions, and as a lobbyist.

Dr. Hart is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian church, remains active in the community, has served in leadership roles in many organizations, was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Eastern Board of Officials, was awarded the Humanitarian Award by the African American Golfers Association, and in 2007, he was inducted into the Pigskin Club of Washington, Inc. Hall of Fame.         

Breshawn Nicole Harris

Raised in Phoenix, Arizona by her grandmother, Breshawn Harris filled her free time with a wide range of activities.  She was a Girl Scout and a cheerleader.  She performed community service and was active in church. But, nothing quite captured her attention and heart like sports! She and her friends pretended that fences and bushes were hurdles, so they could challenge each other.

As a student at Central High School, Breshawn excelled in volleyball, basketball and track.  She soon focused her attention on volleyball and played on the varsity squad for three straight years.  She also played with the Phoenix Junior Olympic Volleyball Club for four years traveling throughout the Southwest participating in club tournaments.  While playing volleyball, Breshawn worked part-time, performed community service, remained active in church and did well in school.  She even traveled to Israel as a student ambassador. However, it was the game of volleyball that provided the ticket to a college education.  She was offered a scholarship to Howard University to play the game she loved.  And play, she did!

There was not a year that Breshawn Harris did not earn an All-MEAC title or lead the team one category another.  Her first year, the Lady Bison won the MEAC Championship; she was named to the All-Tournament Team and was tops in service aces with 81.  The next year, she again led in service aces with 94 and 386 digs. Her junior year, the team again won the MEAC Championship.  She was three-time Player of the Week, led the team in assists with 612 and was named All-MEAC, to the Tournament first team and Tournament MVP.   In her final season at Howard, Breshawn again led the team in service aces with 62, digs with 343 and assists with 798.  The team won the MEAC Championship for the second year in a row was invited to the NCAA play-in game.  In addition to being Tournament MVP, All-MEAC and All-Tournament again, Breshawn was a Coca Cola USA Player of the Week.  The team was first in the nation in team blocks. 

Attending Howard was a "dream come true" for Breshawn, and she took advantage of the many opportunities the campus offered.  Enrolled in the School of Communications, she majored in Radio, TV and Film.  She worked as a producer for Bay TV of San Francisco for The Million Man March.  She was a Campus Pal and became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  Breshawn made the Dean's List and was a broadcast training intern for Summer Olympics in Atlanta.  However, her most special memory of her time on campus is graduation when her childhood fantasy of becoming an alumna of Howard actually came to be.       

F. Douglass Lewis, Jr.

Doug Lewis began karate lessons at his local YMCA when he was 10 years old. Though he also played basketball and soccer throughout his childhood, martial arts remained his first love. When he enrolled at Howard, he became a member of the Howard's Tae kwon do team; the number one ranked in the country at the time. Tae kwon do originated in Korea and is a method of weaponless offense and defense that uses kicking moves 75 percent of the time. From the very beginning, Doug made his mark winning the U.S. Collegiate National Championship in his weight class. He repeated this feat for three more consecutive years and was named an All-American by the National Collegiate National Championship Tae Kwon Do Coaches Association from 1981-1984. He went on to win a Silver Medal in World Collegiate Tae kwon do Championships.

In addition to being a Collegiate All-American, Doug was also a National Champion in his weight class for many years. He was a member of the US National Tae kwon do team from 1982-84 and 1987. He represented the United States in numerous international competitions winning Gold medals in the Pan Am Tae kwon do Championships in 1984 and the 10^th annual Pan American Games in 1987. Though injuries kept him from competition for two years, he was ranked sixth in the world in 1987. After many years of dedication to his sport, he earned a 3^rd degree black belt. His extensive international competition record qualifies him for a 5^th egree black belt, which will be awarded to him soon. Doug graduated from Howard University in 1985 with a degree in Psychology.

After graduation, Doug began his career in financial management as a visitor with Legg Mason Wood Walker. During his eight-year tenure, he counseled individuals, non-profit organizations and small to medium sized companies. He left that company to open his own business, FDL Financial Services, Inc. in Washington, DC. The business celebrated its eighth anniversary this past June. FDL provides comprehensive investment, retirement, college and estate planning, 401k rollover, as well as insurance services for individuals and businesses.

Doug Lewis maintains his interest in sports by cycling and participating in 10K races. He hoped to run in his first marathon this year, but a nagging Achilles injury quelled those plans until next year. He continues to workout daily but has no plans to return to Tae kwon do competition. His days of receiving kicks and punches have passed. Still, he landed more blows than he ever received.

Tony Mack

In the world of sports, a person's size is supposed to matter.  It's the first impression, the first gauge of whether an individual has what it takes to be an impact player.  At 5'5", Tony Mack has never allowed his lack of height to get in the way of attaining excellence on the wrestling mat, the football field or the baseball diamond.  In high school, he was voted All-Conference in baseball and football by the sports reporters in his hometown of Trenton, NJ.  His plans for college included attending Louisiana State University, but he visited Howard and "fell in love with the place" without knowing a thing about its athletics department.

At Howard, he continued to excel in all three sports, but it was in wrestling where he made his biggest impact.  During his freshman year, he placed second in the MEAC tournament, was voted outstanding wrestler and made the Championship Finals of the Capital Collegiate Tournament. Additionally, he won the 1986 and 1987 MEAC Championships in the 150 pound class and became the first Howard wrestler to compete in the NCAA tournament in 1987.  He earned eleven Howard varsity letters and made the Dean's List for several semesters.  He credits his parents for his focus and self-discipline, but points to a moment when he was ten years old that provided additional motivation.  He liked football and joined a team, but was cut because he was too short.  He decided then that to work as hard as he could, so that his lack of height could never be an excuse for exclusion.  He graduated from Howard in 1989 with a degree in business.  He earned a Master's degree from Farleigh Dickinson and is now working toward a Ph.D. in educational leadership at Capella University.

Tony continues his involvement in sports by volunteering with the Just Say No football clinic and (Please fill in appropriate).  He is also past president of the City Supervisors AFSCME local union, a lifetime member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders and was reelected for his fourth term as Mercer County Freeholder.  Tony currently works as a school business administrator in New Jersey.  He and his wife, Kara live in Trenton with their children Tony II, Carrington, Madison and Kennedy.      

William P. Moultrie

William P. Moultrie began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant in track and football at Stanford University. Moultrie became the first black coach to be a member of Stanford University coaching staff to win the Rose Bowl for consecutive years. In 1973, he came to Howard University as the head coach of men's track and field, an assistant football coach and instructor in the Department of Physical Education, which began a 26-year stint that produced 71 indoor and outdoor Division I NCAA Track & Field All-Americans and ten Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships. In 1982, he also became head coach of the women's track program and produced four NCAA Track & Field All-Americans in the 1600 meter relay their first outdoor season. Additionally, Moultrie served as the Director of Athletics from 1986-1990.

As a coach, he recruited men and women to run for him at Howard who today still speak of the profound impact he had upon their lives. They remember him as a superb teacher of track, but also as a caring individual who demanded self-discipline and hard work. "As I reflect on my past, the greatest thing is to see your people make a contribution to society," Moultrie said. His former athletes cannot talk about their experiences without mentioning his "mottos" for living. To name a few of most often mentioned: "There's no need to celebrate. We're doing what we're supposed to do."

"You will run here or run away from here."

"We're going to line it up and give it a shot."

"Many are called, but few are chosen."

Although he remained head coach at Howard, Moultrie began a long association with the Olympics and became the first African-American to serve in many capacities. He was selected as an instructor for the 400-meter relay and the 1600 meter relay teams by the Olympic Development Committee (ODC) in 1979. In July of that same year, he served as an instructor for the sprints and the 400 meters at the Olympic Development Field Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition, he conducted classes for coaches in the 400 meters and the 1600 meters. Moultrie served as National Sprint and Relay Chair for the ODC in 1985. The following year, he was chosen as chief inspector for the Olympic Sports Festival and sprint and relay coach for the Goodwill Games. He worked the Olympic Trials in 1988 as head running referee, was assistant track coach for the U.S. Olympic team in 1992, coached sprinters, hurdlers and the relay teams at the 1995 World Games and became the first African-American to serve as Olympic track referee the following year in Atlanta.

Most recently in August 2006, Moultrie was selected to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame. "It's a tremendous honor," Moultrie said. "My reaction was, ‘Oh my God, can this be true?' I'm still on cloud nine."

William P. Moultrie earned his undergraduate degree and Master's in physical education from Texas Southern University in Houston, TX; another Master's from San Francisco State and a divinity degree from Howard University.

Keith D. Napier

Failure was never an option for Keith Napier. The son of Mrs. Henrietta Napier, the first Black public health nurse in McLennan County in Waco, Texas and the late Walter "Buffalo" Napier, the first Black professional football player from Waco, Texas. His dad played for the Dallas Texans of the old American Football League, presently the Kansas City Chiefs. Keith and his older brother, Rhondal, never felt pressured to play football but were inspired by their father's accomplishment. Although Keith was a member of the National Honor Society and Who's Who in high school, he was accomplished on the football field as well. Selected to the All-District, All-Region, and All-State football teams, he felt destined to play college football like his dad before him. Recruited by Division I schools like Oklahoma State, Texas and Nebraska, he chose to attend Howard University when head coach Doug Porter told him that he was talented enough to play immediately. His ambition at that time was to be a physician and Howard also offered the opportunity to pursue that ambition as well. From his freshman year, he earned a starting position and played well enough to be named first team All-MEAC, a feat he repeated for the next three years. The Mutual Black Network named him an All-American his junior and senior years. As an offensive guard, he had no peer in the conference.

Napier found time to become a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and represented his fraternity as a member of the Pan Hellenic Council. After leaving Howard, Keith had a short lived career in professional football which was cut short by a knee injury. He returned to Waco to raise his children and be a family man. With his wife, Stephanie De'neen (Finley) Napier, they have five children and seven grandchildren. A very "hands on" dad, Keith maintains his greatest joy was raising his children. He did find time to return to Paul Quinn College in Waco, his father's alma mater and worked as a social worker for 23 years for the Department of Health and Human Services in Alabama, Florida and Texas. Having retired due to health reasons, Keith presently is pursuing a divinity degree while serving on the ministerial staff of Trinity A.M.E. Church in Waco.

His hometown is still abuzz about his induction into the Hall of Fame, but nobody is talking about Keith Napier. What they say is, "Buffalo and Baby Girl's son is being inducted into the Howard University Hall of Fame." Surely, his late father and brother are beaming with pride, as is his mother and all who have come in touch with his life.

Yohnnie Shambourger

Yohnnie Shambourger takes an instant dislike to the concept of "I can't".  He believes with hard work, discipline and focus, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.  Growing up in the tough streets of North Philadelphia, he looked up to his older brother Oscar, Jr.  Even Oscar as his hero and the support of their loving parents, Oscar and Lena Shambourger, many sports were difficult for Yohnnie because of asthma. 

Swimming was the only sport that allowed him to really push himself without experiencing the side effects of asthma, and boy did he push.  At the age of 12 he held the YMCA state title for the 100 yard breast stroke, went on to captain his high school swim team and earned a swimming scholarship to Howard University. 

He graduated in 1975 with a BS degree in physical education.  While in graduate school, he volunteered as the assistant swimming coach.  The next year the head coach resigned, and Yohnnie stepped up.  The program had 5 swimmers who were in academic trouble.  Yohnnie was hired to hold the team together while the University decided whether it would continue.  He applied his "can-do" attitude to the problem and recruited students from around campus and local swim programs.  He also used his Philly connection to sign some of the raising stars from the Tiger Sharks and PDR (Philadelphia Dept. of Recreation) swim clubs on which the movie "Pride" was based.  To assure academic success, he started a team tutorial program.  His teams took off.  They won 8 championships in the 11 years he coached!  Over two thirds of the team consisted of honors students, and they qualified for the NCAA Division I championships.  They set and broke numerous school and conference records. 

After leaving the University, Yohnnie took up several challenges: triathlons (1 mile open water swim, 25 mile bike, and 10 k run), Greco-Roman wrestling and finally settled on in the sport of Bodybuilding.  In 1991, he founded Yohnnex Sports, Inc., an organization that conducts programs to educate the public on the benefits of a healthier lifestyle and encourages athletes to realize that a bigger and stronger body can be accomplished without the use of drugs.  At the age of 42, when many athletes slow down, Shambourger won the gold medal in bodybuilding at the Pan American Games in Argentina.  He then went on to captain the U.S. team in Guam at the IFBB World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships where he won another gold medal thus earning the title of "Mr. Universe."

Shambourger continues to demonstrate his expertise in fitness and nutrition.  In 2001, he developed Yohnnex Nutrition (YN) offering safe, effective, high-quality, value priced nutritional products, as a division of Yohnnex Sports, Inc.  He conducts numerous health and fitness programs for television, corporations, DC public school system and local universities.  He has contributed nutrition articles for Flex, Ironman and Muscular Development magazines.  You can often find him at his office in the Yohnnex Sports Weight Management and Personal Fitness Center located in Ft. Washington, MD. He and his wife Starla have two daughters, Semya (8 yrs old) and Yohnei (13 yrs old).    

Kialyn Walker-Thrower

Competing in sports has always played an intricate role in Kialyn Walker-Thrower's life.  In elementary school in Davenport, Iowa she ran track and played basketball, baseball and amazingly football as well.  Her first love, however, was basketball.  By age twelve, she had sprouted up to 5'10" and was taller than all of her classmates and some teachers, so the court became a safe haven for the increasingly shy and self-conscious young athlete.  She excelled and was named to the city's all-city conference teams in basketball and track for three straight years.

Kialyn entered high school confident that she would make the varsity basketball team, which she did.  The coach encouraged her to also come out for volleyball practice.  She came reluctantly explaining that she did not know how to play and had no interest in learning.  It turns out that the coach knew her better than she knew herself.  It only took one practice to tap into Kialyn's competitive nature.  By the opening game, she had earned the starting middle hitter/blocker position.  That first year she shattered every record at Central High School, and in each subsequent year she broke her previous year's records. By graduation, she had been named to all-conference and all-state teams. College was the next step, and she wanted to head to the west coast where volleyball was a dominant sport.  However, her father wanted her to attend an HBCU. 

As she was enjoying her last year in high school competing in track, basketball and volleyball and being crowned Homecoming Queen, her father fell at work and subsequently died from his injuries.  Kialyn decided honor his wish that she attend an HBCU; she accepted a volleyball scholarship from Howard University. 

She immediately became an impact player for the Lady Bison as well as one of the most feared hitters in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Kialyn was phenomenal on offense and defense.  She possessed enormous power and precision while becoming a one-woman blocking machine. Every year, she led her team in total number of kills, overall kill percentage and total number of blocks.  She was named to the MEAC All-Conference First Team in 1989, 1990 and 1991. She earned a number 11 ranking in 1991 for blocks per game with the AVCA. She remains number one at Howard in kills having recorded 1,145 while achieving another record of maintaining the highest hitting percentage for four years (.351, .338, .271 and .276).  She recorded 144 solo blocks, 375 total blocks and 125 service aces during her Howard years.  Her team was in the MEAC Conference Final for four straight years and brought home the title in 1989 and 1991.  She made the MEAC All-Tournament Team in 1989, 1990 and 1991 and selected Tournament MVP in 1991.  She graduated from Howard in 1993 with a B.A. in administration of justice.  In 2004, she earned M.A. in counseling from Louisiana Technical University.

Kialyn now lives in Shreveport, Louisiana where she continues her involvement with sports through teaching, coaching and counseling.  She and her husband, James, has five children: Kevin, Jalen, Chelsea, Joshua and Jamison.    

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