Smiles, hugs and handshakes were abundant Friday night as the Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame enshrined eight area former athletes and one contributor in its Class of 2026 at the Trotter Center in downtown Columbus.
The event was LCSHOF’s second-ever induction ceremony.
Samye Johnson, Oliver Miller, Aubrey Nichols, Derek Sherrod and Robert Smith all made appearances to celebrate their enshrinement. Billy Ray Adams, Thomas Edison Lott Jr., James “T” Thomas and Henry G. Matuszak Founder’s Award recipient Dan Douglas Moulds were honored posthumously, and members of their families were also there to accept in their honor. James Thomas, son of inductee Thomas – who was a speedster on the football field at R.E. Hunt and went on to have a lengthy and successful career in the Canadian Football League as a player before coaching at Ole Miss – said it was an honor to see his father be honored and enshrined.
“I think it’s wonderful,” he said. “He would be very, very excited about this. He was from Columbus, he’s a son of Columbus and the Golden Triangle area. We as a family were very excited to get the news and I knew he would have loved it and be proud of it.”
A dinner of pork loin and chicken was served with banana pudding as dessert ahead of the ceremony, which LCSHOF president Glenn Lautzenhiser kicked off and handed to master of ceremonies Marcus Hunter of WCBI. Hunter read a brief biography of each inductee and then welcomed them to stage to accept their induction award and take a flurry of photographs to seal the moment in time forever.
Smith, a former football player and coach at Stephen D. Lee High and long-time mayor of Columbus said it was an amazing moment to hear his name called.
“What’s the old saying, ‘Give a person their flowers while they still live?’ So this is one way of the community and the Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame executive committee giving me my flowers while I live,” said Smith, who went on to play football at Mississippi Valley State University. “As far as being selected in the sports hall of fame, I’m just humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be selected as one of the nine recipients. It’s just something that you never expect. What’s the old saying from the coaches? ‘Hard work pays off.’”
Smith joins some familiar company in the hall of fame. He is now enshrined with Leslie Frazier, a Columbus native and current Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach, whom he coached early on.
“That’s unbelievable,” he said. “Also what’s amazing is, besides following Coach Fraisier, Coach Billy Brewer was my high school coach and Coach Brewer was inducted last year with the first class. So Coach Brewer and Coach Frasier were in the first inaugural class and so I’m blessed to follow them in the second inaugural class.”
The occasion even touched the heart of Sherrod, a Caledonia football product who went on to play at Mississippi State before being a first-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2011.
“It is a special occasion,” Sherrod said. “I definitely feel honored especially with so much rich history and tradition here when it comes to sports in Lowndes County. There are so many different schools throughout different areas and towns here. Just to be considered a possibility to join, let alone selected, is a tremendous honor. I grew up here and to be here and recognized by my home county, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
After all of the former athletes and coaches were inducted, Matuszak was given the microphone to enshrine Moulds, the first recipient of the Henry G. Matuszak Founder’s Award other than its namesake, which celebrates a contributor to local sports. Moulds was a long-time radio broadcaster of Stephen D. Lee football games for 13 years and was the first person to call MUW basketball games. He also brought games of Ole Miss football and basketball, University of Arkansas at Little Rock basketball, Arkansas basketball and East Mississippi Community College basketball to the airwaves for many years. Matuszak said he had hoped Moulds would be able to accept the honor in person, but he died on Feb. 12.
“When I talked to his wife, she told me that when they got here in 1963 this became their home. Columbus was home. There were a few times he left, he went to Arkansas, but he made sure he came back to Columbus, Mississippi,” the former Dispatch sports editor and LCSHOF co-founder said. … “So he made Columbus his home and we’re proud of all that he did behind the scenes or behind the microphone.”
The preparations for next year’s class are already underway and the Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame is raffling off two signed footballs to raise money for next year’s banquet. One football is signed by inductee Frasier and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and the other football is just signed by Macdonald. Those interested in participating in the raffle can find more information at https://lowndescountysportshalloffame.com.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
