GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Florida football player and Gator Great James Jones, along with past UF golfer Fred Ridley, were inducted into the 2022 Florida Sports Hall of Fame last Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The two were part of a 2-member class that represents careers spanning from 1979 to current and across seven different sports – baseball, bowling, fishing, football, golf and speed skating in addition to sports broadcasting. Celebrating its 61st year, The Florida Sports Hall of Fame was started by the Florida Sports Writers and Sportscasters Association to recognize and honor Florida’s greatest sports figures and events and leverage this collective celebrity to promote fitness awareness, education and sports activities among the state’s youth and adults.
Jones played fullback for Florida from 1979-1982. During his sophomore season in 1980, Jones was a member of the Gators team that poste the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football, from 0-10-1 to 8-4 and a Tangerine Bowl appearance. Jones was a team captain and first team All-SEC in his junior and senior years, while leading the team in rushing from 19080-1982. He was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1998, and finished his Gator career with 2,026 rushing yards, 593 receiving yards, and 48 passing yards.
A notable name in the golf community, Ridley was a member of the Florida men’s golf team and was an alternate during the Gators 1973 National Championship. In 1975, Ridley won the U.S. Amateur, the preeminent amateur golf tournament in the United States. By the end of the year, he was ranked the No. 2 amateur in the country by Golf Digest. Ridley won the Monroe Invitational and competed in the 1976 British Open, and is the last U.S. Amateur champion to have never turned professional. In 2004, Ridley was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA), and has been the chairman of Augusta National since 2017.
“This class represents some of the most impressive accomplishments attainable: a Super Bowl MVP, a Stanley Cup Champion, an Olympic gold-medal coach, a World Series champion who is also a five-time All-Star, and a Guinness World Record holder,” Florida Sports Hall of Fame Chairman and President Rick Hatcher said.
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame 2022 Class
Rick Ankiel – Baseball
Leiza Fitsgeral – Angler
Luis Gonzalez – Baseball
Renee Hildebrand – Speed Skating…
Jones played fullback for Florida from 1979-1982. During his sophomore season in 1980, Jones was a member of the Gators team that poste the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football, from 0-10-1 to 8-4 and a Tangerine Bowl appearance. Jones was a team captain and first team All-SEC in his junior and senior years, while leading the team in rushing from 19080-1982. He was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1998, and finished his Gator career with 2,026 rushing yards, 593 receiving yards, and 48 passing yards.
A notable name in the golf community, Ridley was a member of the Florida men’s golf team and was an alternate during the Gators 1973 National Championship. In 1975, Ridley won the U.S. Amateur, the preeminent amateur golf tournament in the United States. By the end of the year, he was ranked the No. 2 amateur in the country by Golf Digest. Ridley won the Monroe Invitational and competed in the 1976 British Open, and is the last U.S. Amateur champion to have never turned professional. In 2004, Ridley was elected president of the United States Golf Association (USGA), and has been the chairman of Augusta National since 2017.
“This class represents some of the most impressive accomplishments attainable: a Super Bowl MVP, a Stanley Cup Champion, an Olympic gold-medal coach, a World Series champion who is also a five-time All-Star, and a Guinness World Record holder,” Florida Sports Hall of Fame Chairman and President Rick Hatcher said.
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame 2022 Class
Rick Ankiel – Baseball
Leiza Fitsgeral – Angler
Luis Gonzalez – Baseball
Renee Hildebrand – Speed Skating…
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