[October 5, 2007]

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Four student-athletes from the golden era and four from the modern era will be inducted into the 2007 Southern Arkansas University Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. SAU’s fifth Sports Hall of Fame class will be honored at halftime of the Mulerider football game against Valdosta State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Wilkins Stadium.

Athletes to be recognized from the golden era are Travis Farrar (baseball and football), Louis Sanford (football, track & field, and basketball), Jackie Seale (track & field), and Doyle Wallace (football and baseball), and from the modern era, Bob Block (baseball), Larry Lundeen (baseball), Mark Mason (football), and Rachel (Young) Moore (basketball and track & field).

Travis Farrar (Golden Era)

Travis Farrar was a two-sport student-athlete at then Southern State College from 1952-55, playing at quarterback in football and as a pitcher on the Mulerider baseball team.

It was on the mound in baseball that Farrar was exceptional. Numerous major league scouts flocked to SAU baseball games for Farrar’s fastball, which approached 100 miles an hour. Eventually, a football shoulder injury forced Farrar to give up plans for a professional career. He pitched SAU to a tri-championship in 1953 and to an outright title in ‘54. Farrar was an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) selection in 1953 and 1954, throwing two no-hitters in ‘53. In football, he was a backup to All-AIC quarterback Louis Sanford, before starting in 1954.

Farrar left SAU for a football coaching role at Springhill, La., in 1955. He was an assistant for the Lumberjacks before being named head coach in 1963. In his 30th season as head of the Lumberjack program, Farrar suffered a fatal heart attack in a game against Minden.

Farrar ranked as one of Louisiana’s all-time winning coaches with a high school record of 231-98-13. He was the national Region 5 (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas) Coach of the Year in 1991, and was District Coach of the Year 17 times. Farrar led Springhill to the Louisiana state championship in 1985, to the finals twice more, and to the state playoffs for 18 years. His ‘Jacks won 18 district championships. In 1987 he received the Select Circle Coaching Award, and in 1985 was presented the city of Springhill’s Ambassador Award.

Farrar was inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the same year that Benny Baucum Stadium in Springhill was renamed Baucum-Farrar Lumberjack Stadium. Since his untimely death, the city of Springhill has named a street in his honor.

A native of Magnolia, Travis married the former Lib Nipper. The Farrar’s have three daughters, Karen Coon, Joan Milton, and Kathy Jackson, and eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Louis Sanford (Golden Era)

Louis Sanford quarterbacked Southern Arkansas from 1951-53 and led the Muleriders to AIC football championships in ‘51 and ‘52 with perfect league records of 7-0 and 5-0. Overall, Coach Elmer Smith’s Muleriders were 9-1 and 10-1, respectively, those two years.

Sanford was not even associated with the SAU program before football practice opened in the fall of 1951. He graduated from El Dorado High School in 1947, and was recruited by LSU as a running back. From there, he entered military service where he played football before walking on and earning a scholarship at SAU.

Sanford was the starting quarterback in his first game, and every game after, in his three-year career at SAU. He also punted and returned kicks. It is estimated Sanford passed for at least 25 touchdowns in his Mulerider career, spectacular for conservative offenses of the era. He was an All-AIC selection and a three-sport letterman in football, basketball, and track and field, where he was a key member of SAU’s sprint relay teams.

After a career as a high school coach and teacher, he is now retired in Bald Knob with wife, Bobbie. He has three daughters, Rhonda Roberts, Stacy Harrell, and Sandy Sanford, and a son, former Mulerider football player Skip Sanford, Jr., and 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Jackie Seale (Golden Era)

Jackie Seale was recruited out of Pittsburg, Texas, by Southern Arkansas track and field coach Rip Powell as a sprinter. He was at Southern Arkansas from 1966-69. Seale shared the AIC 100-yard dash record with teammate George Eriquezzo in 1967, after Eriquezzo had established the record a year earlier. Seale also set an AIC and school record in the 220-yard dash with a time of 21.4 in 1967.

Seale was also a member of four relay teams that set SAU school records, the 440-yard relay (40.8) in 1966, and the 880-yard relay (1:26.8), mile relay (3:14.4), and the mile medley relay (3:26.4) in 1967. He was a member of the 440-yard relay team that placed third and the mile relay that was fourth, in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national meet in 1966.

Tri-captain of the 1969 Muleriders, Seale had best times of 9.5 in the 100-yard dash, 21.4 in the 220, and 47.5 in the 440-yard dash. He was an NAIA All-America and All-AIC selection in 1966 and 1967. Seale missed most of the 1968 season, including the AIC meet, with a broken wrist. He returned for the national meet to earn All-America honors.

Seale is employed in his hometown of Pittsburg at Pittsburg Independent School District. He, and his wife, Sherry, are parents of two children, daughter, Brandi Wilkerson, and son, Jody.

Doyle Wallace (Golden Era)

A freshman at Magnolia A&M Junior College in 1948, Doyle Wallace earned a scholarship from Coach Elmer Smith during pre-season practice and lettered on an AIC co-championship team. By his sophomore year he was a two-way starter who played 60 minutes, and was All-AIC as a junior, scoring seven touchdowns as a receiver and another on a pass interception. Wallace was especially known for his savage hits on opponents while blocking.

After military duty in the Korean War, Wallace returned to Southern Arkansas in 1954 as a senior for Coach Auburn Smith. He also played baseball for Coach Sam Bailey in 1955 and ‘56, hitting .361 and .326, respectively, as the starting right fielder.

If SAU had a boxing team, Wallace surely would have been team captain. He was highly-respected for his boxing skills at both SAU and in the military. Wallace went on to coach high school football, and in 1970 served as defensive backfield coach and head baseball coach at Arkansas Tech. From 1978-90, he served as volunteer golf coach at Henderson State. In 12 seasons, Henderson State won nine consecutive NAIA District 17 championships and eight consecutive AIC championships, earning Wallace induction in the Henderson State Hall of Honor.

After serving as mayor, Wallace is now semi-retired in his native Bald Knob. He and his wife, Betty, have three daughters, Terri, Kim, and Lisa, and son, Mike, and four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Bob Block (Modern Era)

Bob Block was a First Team NAIA All-America, First Team NAIA Area V, First Team All-NAIA District 17, and First Team All-AIC selection as an outfielder at Southern Arkansas in 1987. Unquestionably the greatest baseball team in Mulerider history, the 1987 team was the runaway conference champion with a 25-1 league record, breezed to the NAIA District 17 title, and finished 2-2 in the region tournament, before advancing to the NAIA College World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, where they finished third nationally, ending with the best record in school history at 46-7.

In the NAIA District 17 tournament game against Arkansas Tech, Block blasted a school record three home runs over the centerfield fence, a distance of 395 feet, with all three shots going more than 400 feet. In his fourth plate appearance of the day, he hammered another shot that hit the top of the centerfield fence, missing a fourth homer by inches, for a double.

Block drove in a school record nine runs in the Arkansas Tech game. He also set a total base school record for a season in 1987 with 150 and set a school record for hits in a season with 86. He hit .453 with a slugging percentage of .789, with 13 home runs, and 17 doubles.

In his senior season in 1988, Block hit .386 with eight home runs and a .620 slugging percentage, helping lead the team to a 43-13 record. He was Honorable Mention NAIA All-America, and repeated First Team NAIA All-District 17, and First Team All-AIC honors. A 6-3, 190-pound right fielder who had a cannon for an arm, Block was drafted after his senior season by the Baltimore Orioles in the 39th round.

Block finished his two-year stay at SAU with a .420 career batting average, 21 home runs, 32 doubles, 126 RBI, and a .610 slugging percentage. He still holds the SAU record for total bases in a game (14), and shares school records of total bases in a season (150) and home runs in a game (3).

A native of Ground Mound, Iowa, Block now resides in Frisco, Texas, where he is employed with eVerge Group, a computer company in the Dallas area. He and his wife, Melony, have two daughters, Chelsea Rohde, and Lynsea Block.

Larry Lundeen (Modern Era)

Larry Lundeen arrived at Southern Arkansas in the fall of 1985 after stints at Illinois State, Blackhawk (Ill.) Community College, and Illinois Central Community College. In 1986, the Muleriders finished with a 36-12 record and won the AIC championship. Lundeen, a southpaw from Washington, Ill., suffered an elbow injury during his junior year that season, but still posted an 8-2 record, walked only 31 in 81 2/3 innings, struck out a team-high 54, and was an AIC All-Star.

As a senior in 1987, Lundeen helped lead the Muleriders to their best record in school history (46-7), with SAU finishing third in the NAIA World Series. Lundeen won 14 games that season, a school record that still stands today, and closed his final SAU season at 14-2. His 12 consecutive wins during that season were one short of tying the national collegiate record of 13 straight wins. He was named First Team NAIA All-America, First Team NAIA Area V, First Team All-NAIA District 17, and First Team All-AIC with the Muleriders, who again won the conference title with a 25-1 record.

Lundeen ended his two-year SAU career with a 22-4 record, striking out 126. A teammate with Bob Block, they remain the only two first team All-America selections in the history of the storied SAU baseball program, playing under the guidance of legendary coach Steve Goodheart.

A 6-3, 190-pounder, Lundeen played in the National Baseball Congress World Series in the summer of 1987, winning both the Most Valuable Player and Pitcher awards, the same honor won by the likes of Roger Clemens. In 1988, he signed a free agent contract with the Boise (Idaho) Hawks of the Class A Northwest League, the first player signed by the independent Hawks. He also pitched for the Red Oak (Iowa) Red Sox.

Lundeen was honored with the Distinguished Young Alumni Award at SAU in 1997. He went on to a career as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service from 1996-2002, serving on the Vice-President’s protective detail in his final year. Lundeen was with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., from 2002-07, serving as Director of Corporate Services-Global Security his final two years. He currently serves as Assistant Federal Security Director for the Department of Homeland Security-Transportation Security Administration at Northwest Regional airport.

Larry and his wife, the former Jennifer Holyfield of Camden, reside in Bentonville, and have a daughter, Caroline.

Mark Mason (Modern Era)

Mark Mason, a 6-1, 190-pound tailback out of McGehee, played football at Southern Arkansas from 1985-88. He was NAIA Honorable Mention All-America in 1987 and a First Team NAIA All-America selection in his senior season of 1988.

Mason was a three-time NAIA All-District 17 and All-AIC pick from 1986-88. He still holds the SAU record for career rushing yards with 3,034. Mason is second in career rushing attempts as a Mulerider with 580, stands fourth on the all-time season rushing list with 1,151 yards (1987), is fifth in career rushing touchdowns with 21, fourth in touchdowns in a season with 13 (1986), and is tied for third in rushing touchdowns in a game with four.

As a senior, Mason rushed for 914 yards on 170 carries. That year, he broke a 16-year old school record with 1,417 all-purpose yards and finished with a career record of 3,745 all-purpose yards. In 1986 as a sophomore, he rushed for 969 yards on 199 carries, a 4.9 average, with 13 touchdowns.

Mason is now employed at Wells Fargo in Dallas. He and his wife, Irene, have three children, a daughter, Courtney, and sons, Daylon and Dexter.

Rachel (Young) Moore (Modern Era)

Rachel (Young) Moore played basketball and ran track at Southern Arkansas from 1992-96. She came to SAU from Nevada County High School, and played for coaches Judy Bourne and Sam Biley at SAU.

Moore is the all-time career scoring leader in Lady Mulerider history with 1,920 points. She played in 96 games over her four-year career, averaging 20.0 points a game. Moore twice led the 500-Point Club with 563 points, a 24.5 average, her junior season, and 529 points, a 21.2 average, her senior year in 1995-96. She was also a member of the 400-Point Club as a sophomore with 435 points, a 17.4 average. Moore is third in the 300-Point Club with 393 points her freshman season, a 17.1 average. She was the season scoring leader all four years at SAU.

Moore was NAIA Honorable Mention All-America in her final season of 1995-96, and was First Team All-Gulf South Conference (GSC) and NAIA All-Southwest Region during that first season of Southern Arkansas’ move to NCAA Division II and the GSC. She was All-AIC in 1993-94 and 1994-95, the final two years of the AIC.

Moore still holds the school records for points scored in a game (47), season scoring average (24.4), career two-point field goals (792), and career rebounds (1,019).

In track, Moore ran for Lady Mulerider teams that captured consecutive AIC championships in 1993, ‘94, and ‘95, the final year of the conference. She won consecutive high-point honors at the conference championship meets in 1993 and 1994. Moore was a member of the 1600-meter relay team that placed fourth in the NAIA national meet.

In the 1995 AIC meet, Moore was first in the long jump, second in the shot put, first in the 100-meter hurdles, second in the 100-meter dash, first in the 400-meter hurdles, ran a leg on the winning 1600-meter relay team, and scored an individual 22.25 points.

Moore is currently a paraprofessional teacher in the Prescott Public School system. She has two children, a son, Kenyan, and a daughter, Aja.