Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that Rutgers will be inducting six new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame.

They will be officially inducted on September 27, and the day after will be introduced at the Scarlet Knights home game against Washington.

The Class of 2024 is:

John “Pomp” Chandler, Lightweight Football.  Chandler led Rutgers to three undefeated seasons with an overall record of 15-0-1.  Rutgers was considered the National Championship in two of those years.

Hallie Cohen, Field Hockey, Softball and Women’s Basketball.  Cohen was a three-sport star who took Rutgers to the AIAW World Series.

Marla Grant, Field Hockey, and Women’s Lacrosse.  Grant was the first women’s lacrosse player in Rutgers history to be named an All-American.

Devin McCourty, Football.  McCourty helped take Rutgers to four bowl championships (2006 Texas, 2008 International, 2008 Papa Johns.com and St. Petersburg) and was a First Team All-Big East Selection as a Senior.  He was drafted by the New England Patriots and helped them win three Super Bowls.

Jason McCourty, Football.  Devin’s brother, Jason, played on three college bowl winning teams for the Scarlet Knights, and would also join the Patriots.  He won a Super Bowl there.

Ralph Tedeschi, Fencing.  Tedeschi helped Rutgers co-win the 1949 National Championship in Foil.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  Eventually, we are going to look at the major colleges for how to they honor their former athletes.  As such it is huge news that Houston Astros have announced their Rutgers University has announced their latest Hall of Fame Class.

The Class of 2020 consists of five former student-athletes.

Eric LeGrand (Football):  LeGrand’s football career at Rutgers began in 2008, but ended tragically in 2010.  A collision during a game against Army led to a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis from the neck down.  Rather than be depressed, LeGrand exemplified tremendous courage and works a motivational speaker and fundraiser.  Le LeGrand’s number 52 is the only jersey retired in the program’s history.

Essence Carson (Women’s Basketball):  Carson was a star on the 2007 NCAA Championship Team and she would score 1,262 Points with 707 Rebounds.  A three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Carson would later win a WNBA Championship with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016, and she currently plays for the Washington Mystics.

Alexis Gunzelman (Women’s Gymnastics):  Gunzelman was a walk-on who participated in 51 meets and is the only female gymnast to have qualified to compete in the Nationals in the all-around.

Jonelle Filigno-Hopkins (Women’s Soccer):  From Canada, Filigno-Hopkins scored 33 Goals with 16 of them being game-winners for Rutgers, while taking them four NCAA Tournaments. Internationally, she represented Canada in two Olympics and two World Cups.

James Ford (Men’s Lacrosse):  Playing for the Scarlet Knights from 1976 to 1980, Ford was the first African-American Captain in program history.  He scored 70 Goals and is the all-time school leader in Assists (131).

Due to the pandemic, there is no current timetable as to when and where the induction ceremony will take place.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame

Rutgers University has announced their latest Hall of Fame Class.

The Class will be officially inducted on October 18 at their annual hall dinner and will be honored the following day during the Scarlet Knights’ home game against Minnesota.

Todd Frazier, Baseball 2005-07:

Nicknamed “The Toddfather”, Frazier was a First Team All-American in 2007 and was the Big East Player of the Year.  He would leave Rutgers as the all-time leader in Home Runs (42) and Runs Scored (210). Frazier would later become a two-time All-Star in the Majors.  

Fred Gruninger, Athletic Director 1973-98:

Gruninger oversaw a substantial growth in the Rutgers sports programs over his tenure, especially on the women’s side.

Greg Rinaldi, Men’s Lacrosse 1987-90:

Rinaldi scored 144 Goals for Rutgers, which was a school record at the time. He would be a three-time All-American and was named to the First Team in 1990. He would take the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament in 1990.

1919-20 Men’s Basketball Team:

This induction celebrates the 100^thanniversary of the first Rutgers team to play in the postseason. They would defeat Georgia, Utah and the Young Men’s Organization of Detroit before falling to NYU in the Finals of the National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball Tournament.

1981 Men’s Track & Field Two Mile Relay Team:

Comprised of Brian Grimes, Stan Belin, Walter Kirkland and James Westman. The quartet would win the National Indoor Championship.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame.

Punters typically don't have much of a chance to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, Deron Cherry's focus on being a Safety paid off and he became one of the best at his position, benefiting the Kansas City Chiefs. Using his athletic abilities, Cherry became a top defensive star in the NFL and was consistently one of the league's best players. Even though he never led the league in interceptions, Cherry was an exceptional open-field tackler and rarely lost in one-on-one situations. As a result, Cherry was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 1980s.

Cherry's impressive skills allowed him to record 35 interceptions and he ranked in the top six in that category five times, including a second-place finish in 1986. It is surprising that he was never named as a Finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.