LRSD Athletic Foundation: One Rock Hall of Fame Luncheon

The One Rock Legends Hall of Fame has named five individuals to the Class of 2022 Honorees. “These Honorees
have demonstrated excellence in athletics and as influential leaders and role
models,” said Dr. Fitz Hill of the LRSD Athletic Foundation.
The induction ceremony luncheon will be held May 9, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. at
the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock. TIckets may be purchased at
the organization’s website, lrsdaf.com beginning April 24th. For those
interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dr. Fitz Hill at
501-658-1938 or Fitzhill2013@gmail.com.
The 2022 Honorees include:

Eddie Bradford, a 1951 Little Rock Central Tiger graduate was a member of
the Razorback football team which was referred to as the 25 Little Pigs who
against stacked odds won the 1954 Southwest Conference Football
Championship. In 1955, Eddie earned All-Southwest Conference honors for
his gridiron performance with the Razorbacks. During his prep career at
Central, Eddie was coached by Wilson Matthews and teams won
back-to-back State Football Titles in 1949-50. The U.S. Army Veteran served
his country faithfully and achieved the rank of Colonel before retiring. In 1996,
he received the “The Distinguished American Award” from the National
Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Coach Alfred Flanigan, started coaching in the Little Rock School District in
1977. A 1972 graduate of Southern State College (now Southern Arkansas
University) where he was twice selected First Team All-AIC. As the Head
Coach of Dunbar he won 11 Middle School & Junior High Championships. In
1995, Coach Flanigan replaced Coach Charles Ripley as the Head Coach at
Parkview High School and his teams advanced to the State Championship
game 11 times and won seven titles. Coach Flanigan’s trophy case is full of
hardware; however, he says his greatest accomplishments were coaching his
sons: Wes, Jason, Chris, Allen and Keith who all played on Championship
teams at Parkview. Coach and his wife Joan have been married 50 years.
Lahoma Alexander Howard, has served as an educator for nearly 30 years
in the Little Rock School District. The mother of two daughters earned an
athletic scholarship to Philander Smith where she earned her degree. Coach
Howard is currently the head girls basketball coach of the Parkview Patriots
basketball team, a position she has held for two decades. Under her
leadership, the program has tallied a record of 413 wins and 158 losses. She
has played for eight state championships, winning four state titles and
bringing home the conference championship trophy 10 times. Over 40
members of her teams have earned athletic scholarships and she has
coached and developed a McDonald’s All-American basketball
player.

Dennis Nutt is currently the Head Basketball Coach at Ouachita Baptist
University. The 1981, Central High graduate received a basketball
scholarship to Texas Christian University where he earned first team All
Southwest Conference Honors in 1985. Dennis played professionally for
seven years before joining the coaching ranks. He served as the head
basketball coach for Texas State University from 2000-2006 and in 2011 was
hired by Ouachita Baptist University to take over the Tiger’s basketball
program where he is currently employed. Dennis is married to Vicki, are the
parents of twin daughters, Macy and Myca.

Houston Nutt, Sr. (Posthumously), a 1951 graduate of Fordyce High School,
Houston attended the University of Kentucky on a basketball scholarship
playing for Adolph Rupp. He transferred to Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma
State) where he played for Henry Iba. Upon graduation from Oklahoma A&M,
he began a 31 year coaching and teaching career at the Arkansas School for
the Deaf. He played for the American Association for the Deaf basketball
team which won a gold medal in international competition in Milan, Italy in
1957. After retiring in 1987, Coach Nutt continued to serve the deaf
community in many ways. He is survived by his wife, Emogene and his four
sons, who positively impacted the Little Rock School District as well as the
state of Arkansas.

Derek Russell, the two-sport athlete who assisted the Razorbacks in winning
Championships in football and track is a graduate of Central High School
where during his senior season, he quarterbacked the Tigers to a state title.
In his four years at Arkansas, he helped the Razorbacks win two Southwest
Conference Football Championships and he also ran the high hurdles for
Razorback track team helping them win five NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Track &
Field national championships. Following the 1990 collegiate football season,
Derek was drafted by the Denver Broncos where he played professionally for
four years. The speedster finished his NFL career with the Houston /
Tennessee Oilers in 1997 where he concluded a seven year NFL career.