Dec. 6, 2001
WACO, Texas - Three former standouts in their respective sports have been inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame and a fourth will be enshrined at a later date.
The 2001 inductees include Maggie Davis-Stinnett, a Lady Bear basketball great, Raymond Strickland, a basketball and track star of the 1930s, and James Francis, who was an All-America linebacker for Baylor before launching a successful career in the National Football League.
The induction ceremony was held on Nov. 16 in the Baylor "B" Association Room at Floyd Casey Stadium. Michael Williams, who played basketball for Baylor and a number of teams in the National Basketball Association, is among those chosen for Hall-of-Fame status, but could not attend the induction event. He will be honored at halftime of an upcoming home basketball game.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1960 by the Baylor Chamber of Commerce to recognize and honor those individuals whose participation enriched and strengthened the Baylor athletic program. Photographs of all inductees are on permanent display in the "B" Association quarters.
Maggie Davis-Stinnett
Maggie Davis was one of Texas' greatest high school basketball players. At Waco's Richfield High, she played on teams that went undefeated in 1984 and 1985, winning Class 5A championships each year.
After choosing to attend Baylor, Maggie's first year started off on a sour note. She injured her ankle and had to miss the remainder of the season. Granted an additional year of eligibility, she led the Bears in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots in 1987 - totaling 46 points in one game, a school record since broken. Maggie had a great sophomore year by leading the conference in scoring with 634 points. She was second in rebounding and third in blocked shots. She made two All-Tournament teams (the Whitman Classic and the Northern Lights Invitational) and was All-SWC.
As a junior, Maggie rated high in the conference in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots. She was All-Tournament at the San Diego Classic and the Orlando Holiday Classic. Maggie opted not to play in 1990 when she started her family. But in 1991 Maggie came back strong in scoring and rebounds. She was All-Conference for the third time.
Maggie was the leader in scoring and rebounding for Baylor in each of the years she played. She is second in the SWC all-time scoring with her 2,027 points. Her Baylor records are first in field goals in a game, field goal attempts and blocks in a game. She scored 30 or more points nine times. And when legendary sports editor Dave Campbell selected Baylor's 20 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century, Maggie was on that list.
Maggie and her husband Earl Stinnett live with their family in Waco where she is a McLennan County juvenile probation officer.
James Francis
James Francis came to Baylor in the fall of 1986 as a heralded defensive end from LaMarque, Texas, where he had been all-district and an All-Greater Houston selection. He was a Texas Football Magazine Top 30 player and listed as one of the Top 100 recruits in the nation. Following his older brother Ron, who was already an outstanding Baylor player, James was moved to weakside linebacker for his freshman season. The team went 8-3 and was 6-2 in the Southwest Conference. Rewarded with a Bluebonnet Bowl bid, Baylor responded with a 21-9 victory over Colorado.
Also in his freshman year, Francis played on the Baylor basketball team. He had been a two-year all-state performer at LaMarque, averaging 16.7 points and 14.7 rebounds during his senior year. But because of the football team's success, James did not report until after the spring semester had begun. He played in the last 17 games of the season, working himself up to be the Sixth Man, the very first substitute to go into games.
The team was 18-12 overall and 10-6 in the SWC. In the conference tournament, the Bears won their way to the finals before losing, but were invited to play in the National Invitational Tournament where they lost in the first round by one point. James was the first Baylor athlete in 32 years to letter in both football and basketball.
In 1987 Francis continued as the weakside linebacker and his play began to get a lot of attention from sportswriters and scouts. With more than 100 tackles, Francis helped the Bears win six games but the team failed to receive a bowl invitation. Thus, James started basketball a month earlier than the previous year. Once again James proved himself valuable as the Sixth Man and the team went 23-11 and 11-5 in SWC. In the conference tournament the Bears again lost in the finals, but did receive a NCAA tournament invitation. Playing in the regional tournament in South Bend, Indiana, the Bears were defeated by Memphis State.
In his junior season, Francis again had an outstanding year on a Baylor team that again won six games, but was denied a bowl game. As a senior, Francis gave up basketball to concentrate on his football. He was moved to the strong side and was being touted as one of the best linebackers in the country. That year Baylor won only five games and was not eligible for a bowl game. But as the season ended, James began to reap great praise for his play. He was a first team All-American, an All-SWC linebacker and was selected by the Houston Post as the SWC's Most Valuable Defensive Player.
On campus he won the Mike Singletary Award that is presented to the senior football player who has contributed the most to the team and brought honor and recognition to the Baylor through his actions on and off the field. James was also rewarded by playing in the 1989 Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine game.
James was a first-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals and played nine seasons for them and one for the Washington Redskins.
Francis still ranks high in all Baylor tackling statistics and was chosen among Baylor's Top Athletes of the 20th Century in Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine (Campbell also chose Francis as a linebacker on his 1980-89 SWC All-Decade, one of the Top 50 Football Players of the Century, one of the Top 100 Baylor Athletes in all sports and one of his Linebackers on his All-Half Century (1945-95) SWC team.
Today Francis lives in the Houston area.
Raymond Strickland
Coming from Gustine, Texas, Raymond Strickland enrolled at Baylor desiring to participate in athletics while pursuing a bachelor's degree in English and History. He played on the freshman basketball and track teams.
As a sophomore, he began to make a name for himself in both his favorite sports. The 1930 basketball team had a winning record overall but was not strong in the Southwest Conference. In track, Raymond participated in a number of events and was able to tie for first place in the high jump.
In his junior year, two Raymonds - Strickland and Alford - teamed to help bring the basketball team a winning conference record and in track Strickland again won the high jump.
In 1932, Baylor had never won a basketball championship and had only won football titles in 1915, 1923 and 1925 and a baseball championship in 1924. So it had been seven years since any kind of a championship, but the Bears, with their 10-2 record, were the outright champions. How did the "Old Baylors" celebrate such an occasion? From the 1932 Baylor Roundup:
"Memories of a wild celebration that followed the reception of the news that TCU had lost to SMU that spelled a championship for Baylor are still vivid. Bonfires blazed before an amphitheater of students. Yells resounded with staccato clearness through the chilly night. Men clashed with firemen who sought to extinguish the fire. A brief address by President W.S. Allen climaxed with the announcement of a school holiday in celebration of the occasion provoked a burst of applause that awakened South Waco, The fact that women were "released" from their dormitories at 11:00 P.M. is a testimonial of the feeling with which Baylor accepted the cage title."
Raymond Strickland was selected on the All-SWC team for the second straight year. He was also named as the best all-round basketball player in the conference. He was the second high scorer in the conference and his defensive talents could not be matched. Not only was he captain of the basketball team, but the track team as well.
Also from the Baylor 1932 Roundup:
"In track, Baylor's fortunes lay in Raymond Strickland. This lanky gentleman, who so shined in basketball even, outdid himself in track. He ran both hurdle events in times that worried conference leaders. He sprinted nobly in the 440-yard relay. He could high jump as well as anyone in the Southwest. He pole vaulted with the conference's best. Baylor nearly always took points in both shot put and discus when Strickland worked in the ring. Fans remember how, after he had strained and pushed, helping to get a piano up three flights of stairs, he went out and scored 22 points against TCU - over a third of Baylor's total."
In his senior year, Raymond also lettered as an outfielder for the baseball team. Under his photo in his senior-year Roundup it was noted that Strickland was a member of two of Baylor's social and service organizations - the Baylor Chamber of Commerce and the Nose Brotherhood. Strickland passed away in 1973 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
