Laurens County Sports Hall announces Class of 2019

The Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2019 Class Tuesday night, featuring a group of five new inductees – William Hill, Bill Hogan, Lonnie Pulley, Phil Rogers and Clovis Simmons.

Hill was a three-sport athlete at Presbyterian, and was named to the All-Decade TEam. He was a starter in the 1959 Tangerine Bowl and holds the record for most interceptions in a season (11).

Hogan was the play-by-play announcer for Laurens High, PC and Furman, and hosted a statewide high school football scoreboard show, the first of its kind. Hogan formerly worked at WLBG AM and FM.

Pulley led Laurens to the state football championship in 1983, and was named Shrine Bowl MVP, made the All-State team, was the SC Back of the Year, and was picked for the Adidas All-American Team. Pulley played at Winston Salem State from 1984-97, and helped his team win the CIAA title in 1987.

Rogers played for Frank Howard at Clemson from 1964-68, and was a starting wide receiver for three years. Rogers, who attended Clinton High, played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. He was inducted posthumously into the Clemson University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.

Simmons is in her 28th year as the head tennis coach at Clinton, and has won 33 conference Coach of the Year awards. The Red Devils have appeared in 13 state finals during her time, and won the boys’ title in 2000. She has also been the SCHSL Boys’ and Girls’ Singles Tournament Director for 24 years.

Tickets for the banquet go on sale March 25 at the Clinton and Laurens Ys. Individual tickets are $25 each and include a meal catered by Lee’s BBQ.

The induction ceremony will be held April 25 at The Ridge at Laurens, starting at 6:30 p.m.