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8 join Northeast's sports hall of fame

By JON WILSON
Published January 21, 2007

Tony Brown set a Pinellas County career scoring record in basketball.

Ken Betz became the city's head golf pro.

Valerie Jenkins Brimm earned a Ph.D. and is an administrator for the Pinellas County School District.

They and five others constitute the sixth class to be inducted into Northeast High School's athletic hall of fame.

The ceremony is 5:30 p.m. Friday in the school cafeteria. Bill Dudley, an alumnus and a longtime Northeast coach and teacher, is the event coordinator. The public is invited.

The 53-year-old high school, where former School Board member Lee Benjamin spent several years as a coach, has a tradition of producing outstanding athletes.

Here is a look at Friday's inductees:

DANIEL J. CRUM: He was among the school's first coaches, arriving one year after Northeast opened and coaching swimming and football for 27 years, Dudley said.

HERBERT H. DIXON: Northeast's first African-American coach, coaching basketball and football for about a dozen years, Dudley said. He became an assistant principal at the school.

KEN BETZ: Played golf four years, twice leading the Vikings to district titles. He played soccer only one year (1981), but won all-state honors and a scholarship to St. Leo. He earned his PGA card in 1988.

STEVE BOND: He ran track and cross country from 1959 to 1962, winning the state mile championship his junior year and the 880 title as senior, setting a state 880 record in the process.

TONY BROWN: He played 1980 to 1984, setting a career scoring record of 2,198 points, a mark that held up until 1992. Brown remained ranked in the county's all-time top five scorers as of last year.

VALERIE JENKINS BRIMM: She ran track from 1976 to 1980, earning all-county honors at 100 meters and finishing third in the state at 200 meters. She also played basketball and earned all-academic honors.

DAN TOPPING: From 1963 to 1966, Topping earned eight varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball, winning a batch of all-city and all-conference honors on the way.

JIM VALENTY: Played football, basketball and baseball in the mid 1960s, earning all-city, all-county and all-conference honors. He was drafted in 1970 by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians.

[Last modified January 20, 2007, 22:50:35]