Western Kentucky University - 1992 Athletics HOF Inductees




[ Lawrence Brame ] [ Jim Burt ] [ Clarence Caple ] [ Brenda Chapman ] [ Nick Denes ] [ Harry "Pap" Glenn ] [ Ted Hornback ] [ Virgil Livers] [ Tom Marshall ] [ Tony Staynings]

Lawrence Brame Football 1967-70


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Lawrence Brame ranks as one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of both Western Kentucky University and the Ohio Valley Conference. He was named an Associated Press All-American as a senior defensive end in 1970 after earning OVC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors for the second straight year. Brame was an All-OVC pick four straight years - the last three as a first-team selection. He is just one of four WKU footballers to earn OVC Player-of-the-Year laurels; and he is the only Topper to earn that honor more than once.
The four Hilltopper teams he lettered on went 7-1-1 in 1967, 7-2-1 in 1968, 6-3-1 in 1969 and 8-1-1 in 1970. That's an overall mark of 28 wins, only seven losses and four ties - a sparkling 76.9 winning percentage. As a senior, he helped lead his team to the OVC championship after three straight near-misses (the Toppers were runner-up in the league in '67, '68 and '69). In those 39 games in four seasons, the Topper defense yielded an average of just 9.8 points per game. Now, more than 20 years later, Brame still ranks fourth among all Western gridders in career main tackles with 225 to his credit. And, his 1970 team ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense (7.6 points per game) and eighth in total defense (162.8 yards per game).

In 1988, on the occasion of the OVC's 40th anniversary celebration, Brame was selected as a member of that league's all-Time Football Team.

He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League. However, he opted to play with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League and spent the next five seasons (1971-75) there. He returned to the States in 1975 and started the season with the Portland Storm of the World Football League before concluding his professional career with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1975-77).


Jim Burt Football / Baseball 1961-64 / 1961-62
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A two-time Hilltopper All-American and an All-Ohio Valley Conference football player, Jim Burt lettered on four Western gridiron teams that recorded an overall record of 27 wins against just nine losses and a pair of ties - a very impressive 73.7 winning percentage. In the early 1960's, Burt played "both ways" on the gridiron, starting at a running back slot on offense and as a defensive back on the other side of the line. During his career on the Hill, he led the Toppers in a variety of stat categories, including total offense (1963), rushing (1961 and 1963), receiving (1962 and 1964) and scoring (1964).

He helped lead the 1963 Hilltoppers to one of the most successful seasons ever in Western football history, rolling to a 10-0-1 mark, an undefeated 7-0-0 record in OVC play and the championship of the prestigious Tangerine Bowl (27-0 over the Otto Graham-coached Coast Guard Academy), now known as the Citrus Bowl. That '63 Topper eleven finished the year ranked fifth in the nation in rushing defense, giving up an average of just 48.5 yards a game on the ground through the end of regular season play.

Burt was an All-America pick at halfback on the Associated Press and Williamson Mid-Bracket Teams as a junior in 1963. Then, as a senior, he was again named to the AP team while also earning a berth on a very select team - The Tom Harmon All-America Defensive Team. Burt was the only college division player named to that elite squad.

He was honored as a member of the All-Time OVC Football Team on the occasion of that league's 40th anniversary celebration in 1988. After the conclusion of his college career, Burt was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (10th round) and the New York Jets of the American Football League (15th round). However, he turned down a lucrative offer from the Rams and opted to attend medical school.


Clarence Caple Football 1935-37

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Clarence Caple was one of the dominant linemen in the college football game in the state of Kentucky in the mid 1930s. He was twice named All-State (1936 and 1937) and he was a three-time selection on the All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Team. Primarily a center on offense, he captained the Hilltoppers as a senior in 1937.

The three Western varsity teams he played on, all coached by Carl "Swede" Anderson, went 7-3-0, 6-3-0 and 7-1-1 - an overall mark of 20 victories against only seven setbacks and a tie, an impressive 73.2 winning percentage. Those three teams outscored the opposition by a composite count of 464-132, giving up an average of just 4.7 points a game in 28 outings that included a phenomenal total of 15 shutouts!

He captained his 7-1-1 team as a senior in 1937 that posted shutouts in all seven wins, giving up points against only Western Michigan (a 13-7 loss) and Murray State (a 7-7 tie) - that's a total of just 20 points surrendered in nine games, a mere 2.2 points a game. Only one team in Western gridiron history gave up fewer points in a season of nine games or more!

Following his graduation, he played professional football with the Louisville Tanks of the American Football League.


Brenda Chapman (Strickler) Basketball / Tennis
1975-78 / 1974-75
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The first dominant athlete in women's basketball after the sport was revived on the Hill in the early 1970's. Chapman's name remains an impressive part of the Lady Topper record books now, some 14 years, numerous All-Americans and three NCAA Final Four visits later.

She remains the only Lady Topper ever to score 40 points in a single game and she scored 30-or-more points more times (five) than any woman in Western basketball history. She still ranks seventh among WKU's all-time career leading scorers with 1,436 points and her 20.6 scoring average as a senior (1977-78) is still the highest ever recorded a Lady Topper. The 619 points she scored as a senior still ranks her second among all Lady Toppers.

As a junior, she helped lead Lady Topper basketball to its first-ever 20-victory season (22-9) and then her senior team duplicated that mark. Overall, her last three teams were 63-25, a sharp 71.6 winning percentage. In 1977, she was a key figure in the WKU women's drive to the school's first berth in post-season play (the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women - AIAW- regional).

She was named All-Conference three times (All-Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conferenece as a sophomore and junior and All-Ohio Valley Conference as a senior) and she was an honorable-mention All-American selection by the National Scouting Association her final year. She served as her team's co-captain both her junior and senior seasons while she was earning squad MVP honors.

Chapman began her athletic career on the Hill with the women's tennis team during the '73-'74 and '74 - '75 seasons., playing at number one singles both years.

Following her graduation (as an honor student), she spent two seasons as a professional athlete in the Women's Basketball League. She led that league in scoring as a rookie with her 27.8 average for the Minnesota Fillies, earning All-Pro honors and a berth on the WBL All-Star Team. She completed her pro career with the Milwaukee franchise in the '79 - '80 season.


Nick Denes Football / Baseball Coach 1957-67 / 1958 - 62
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One of the most beloved figures in Hilltopper football history, Coach Nick Denes' eleven Western gridiron teams won 57 games (at that time a career record for a Topper football coach) and went 57-397 overall - a 58.7 winning percentage.

He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach-of-the-Year after guiding his 1963 charges to a 10-0-1 mark, the league title and the championship of the Tangerine Bowl (27-0 over the Otto Graham-coached Coast Guard Academy), laying claim to the college division national championship along the way. That squad outscored its '63 opposition by an average of a whopping 20.9 points a game - still the fourth most impressive scoring margin in WKU gridiron history. His final team on the Hill was also one of his best, going 7-1-1.

Five of his football athletes earned All-America honors and three of his gridders were named to the OVC's All-Time Football Team in 1988.

Seven of his eleven teams posted winning records and an eighth finished at an even .500. And, four of his defensive units completed the year giving up fewer than 10 points a game. His 1960 team ranked sixth in the nation in pass defense (40.6 yards per game) and his '63 outfit was fifth in the country in rushing defense (48.5 yards per game). In his final season, his team boasted the nation's leading rusher and touchdown producer in Dickie Moore (1,444 yards; 19 touchdowns) while ranking third in the land in team rushing (262.2 yards a game).

His five Hilltopper baseball teams won 48 games, lost 40 and recorded a tie (54.5 percent). The WKU baseball facility is named in honor of Coach Denes.

He died at the age of 69 in 1975.


Harry "Pap" Glenn
Baseball / Basketball / Football 1924-26 / 1923-26 / 1923-25
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"Pap" Glenn is one of the great names in the early days of college athletics on the Hill. The McLean County native earned nine letters in three years at Western after transferring from the University of Kentucky. He has been referred to as the first great "triple threat" athlete ever at Western, lettering in football (he was an outstanding ball carier and punter), basketball (guard) and baseball (third baseman).

Perhaps the most impressive example of the kind of athlete he was came in Coach Diddle's own words, "If my greatest players were on one team, Pap would be the captain!"

As a senior basketballer, he led Western to a10-4 mark that included impressive wins over Louisville (twice) and Vanderbilt (33-32 on a mid-court shot at the buzzer). Three of the four Hilltopper losses that winter came by a total of just eight points. He was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) tournament that season after leading Western to a 40-32 win over Louisville in first round action, scoring half of his team's points (he also helped beat Louisville on another notable occasion, hitting from center court at the horn to provide the winning points). That was the first of 18 straight appearances in that event for Western.

In football, he recorded bests of 80 yards (rushing) and 90 yards (punting).

Glenn was named All-South and All-State in basketball as a senior. And, he captained the 1925 football team as well as the '24-25 basketball team.

Glenn went on to become an outstanding high school basketball and football coach in the Louisville area. He died in 1983 at age 80.


Coach Ted Hornback Assistant Basketball / Head Tennis 1938-64 / 1939-42, '46, '48-76
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Ted Hornback remains one of the great names in the history of Western Kentucky athletics, both as a coach and an athlete. He was a standout basketball and tennis player on the Hill in the 1920s and then went on to success in the high school coaching ranks before returning to Western to assist Coach E.A. Diddle with basketball and head up the tennis program in 1938.

The 26 Hilltopper basketball teams he worked with won 515 games while losing only 208 (a 71.2 winning percentage) while posting 23 winning seasons. Those teams recorded thirteen 20-victory campaigns, including a school record best 28-2 in 1948. They took 21 conference championships - 10 in the Ohio Valley Conference and six in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), along with five Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) crowns - and made nine post-season appearances - eight in the NIT and one in the NCAA. The Hilltoppers were runner-up in the 1942 NIT and finished in the top four in that prestigious event three times (1942, 48, 54).

Hornback's cage teams produced athletes that earned All-American recognition 17 times and All-Conference honors a total of 58 times.

In addition, his 34 Hilltopper tennis teams won 374 matches while losing only 76 times, a whopping 83.1 success ratio. Those teams won the OVC championship 18 times in 28 attempts on the strength of 54 individual championships and 18 doubles crowns.

Hornback retired from his basketball duties when Diddle retired in 1964. However, he remained active in Hilltopper sports as director of athletics until 1971. And, of course, he continued to coach men's tennis at Western until his retirement in 1976.


Virgil Livers
Football / Track & Field 1971-74 / 1972-74
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One of the great success stories in the history of Hilltopper athletics, Virgil Livers came to the Hill from his native Nelson County as a walk-on in football, developed into an All-American athlete and then went on to an eight-year career in professional football, six of those as a mainstay in the defensive backfield of the NFL's Chicago Bears.
Livers wa named to the All-Time Ohio Valley Conference Football Team in 1988 and now, almost 18 years after he concluded his career on the Hill, he still holds four school records as a punt return specialist - returns in a season (50), net yards in a game (145) and in a season (545), and touchdowns in a season (3).
He was a key factor in the defensive backfield on four Hilltopper teams that posted an overall record of 34-9-0 (79.1 percent), including OVC championships in 1971 and 1973 (WKU was second in the league in both '72 and '74) and runner-up honors in the first ever NCAA national championship playoffs in 1973. The '71 Toppers ranked first in the nation in pass defense (57.7 yards per game) and fifth in total defense (162.8 yards a game). The '73 WKU eleven was third in scoring defense (6.2 points per game). And, the '74 outfit was second in the land in rushing defense (57.4 yards a game), fourth in total defense (159.2 yards an outing) and ninth in scoring defense (9.5 points a game).
Livers remains one of only two defensive players in the Western record books to lead the team in all-purpose running. His 720 all-purpose yards (545 on punt returns, 123 on interception returns and 52 on kickoff returns led the 1974 Hilltoppers in that category.
He was also a standout as a sprinter on the Topper track team. And, he was a basketball cheerleader while on the Hill.


Tom Marshall Basketball 1950-54
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Tom Marshall ranks as one of the most dominant basketball athletes in Western Kentucky cage history. He is one of only three Hilltoppers ever to earn consensus All-American honors (second-team, 1954).

A two-time All-American and Ohio Valley Conference selection, he is a member of the All-Time All-OVC Team that was selected in 1988.

The four Western teams he played on won 99 out of 123 games, an 80.5 winning percentage. Those teams took OVC titles in 1952 and 1954. And, three of his teams (1952, '53, and '54) earned berths in the NIT, finishing as high as fourth in 1954.
He led the Hilltoppers in scoring both his junior (18.5 points per game) and senior years (25.9 ppg). He was Coach Diddle's top rebounder both those years as well, hauling in 12.8 boards an outing as a junior and 14.9 his final season. As a junior, that Western team averaged outscoring the opposition by 15.1 points a game. The next year, the '53-54 Toppers upped that average margin of victory to 15.9 points!

When Marshall completed his career on the Hill in 1954, he was the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,909 points (still, almost 40 years later, he ranks third on WKU's all-time scoring leaders list). He still holds six school records - rebounds in a game (29), field goals attempted in a season (692), field goals attempted in a four-year career (1,647), free throws made in a game (18), free throws made in a season (265) and free throws attempted in a season (359). And, he ranks among Western's all-time top 10 in nine different categories. Following his career on the Hill, Marshall spent six years in professional basketball and, during the '58-59 and '59-60 seasons, he was one of the youngest head coaches in the pro ranks, directing the Cincinnati Royals.


Tony Staynings
Cross Country / Track & Field 1973-76 / 1974 -77
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A 10-time Hilltopper NCAA All-American (four straight years in cross-country and three times each in indoor and outdoor track), Tony Staynings ranks second only to Nick Rose (already a member of the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame) as the most honored track and cross-country athlete in Western history.

He was the first-ever Ohio Valley Conference Track Athlete-of-the-Year in 1977. He earned eight OVC running titles from 1975 through 1977. And, he captured All-OVC honors a total of 11 times.

And, he was the first athlete in Western history to compete in the Olympic Games while still an enrolled student on the Hill (he remains one of only two such Topper athletes). Staynings took part in both the 1976 Games in Montreal and the 1980 Games in Moscow, representing his native Great Britain in the steeple-chase competition. He won the British national championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase a total of five times.

Staynings competed in every NCAA national championship meet (in cross-country, and indoor and outdoor track) during his tenure as a student-athlete on the Hill. Three times he just missed national championships, finishing as the runner-up in the indoor three-mile and indoor two-mile a total of three times.

He still holds the fifth fastest indoor three-mile time on record. And, he was ranked among the top five in the world in both the two-mile and three-mile runs for four straight years.