Tonight’s the night, folks. Houston is about to get even more legendary with its ninth class stepping into the Sports Hall of Fame at Le Tesserae. This new class is absolutely stacked, pushing the Hall of Fame count to a cool 30 with J.J. Watt from the Texans, Billy Wagner from the Astros, and the Dynamo’s Brian Ching all joining the ranks. Man, what a group!
The OG Class That Set the Bar and Astros Legends
You gotta go back to that very first class in 2018 to really appreciate how high the bar was set. Nolan Ryan, Earl Campbell, and Hakeem Olajuwon all went in together. Talk about an all-time lineup! Since then, those bronze plaques just keep multiplying on the Walk of Fame at GreenStreet in downtown Houston, celebrating so many of the city’s all-time greatest athletes.
And speaking of greats, the Astros are obviously well-represented. Jeff Bagwell, inducted in 2021 alongside his longtime teammate Craig Biggio, is a straight-up legend. He’s one of only three players in the Baseball Hall of Fame rocking an Astros cap. The guy holds Astros franchise records with a mind-boggling 449 career home runs and 1,529 runs batted in. He was the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year, a unanimous 1994 NL MVP, a four-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and even snagged a Gold Glove. What a career, right?
Then there’s Lance Berkman, who went in during 2024. Before he was crushing it for the Astros, he was helping the Rice Owls hit their first College World Series in ’97. He played 12 seasons with the Astros, a huge part of that 2005 World Series team. The five-time All-Star still owns the best career on-base percentage in Astros history at .410 and is second only to Bagwell with 326 homers. That’s serious power!
And you can’t talk Bagwell without Biggio, also inducted in 2021. It just makes sense they went in together. Biggio was the first player in the Baseball Hall of Fame to put an Astros cap on his plaque, which is huge. He still leads the Astros in games played with 2,850, hits with 3,060, and doubles with 668. He’s also second in RBIs with 1,175 and third in home runs with 291. What an absolute iron man and hitter!
Beyond the Diamond: Golfing Greats and Gridiron Icons
It’s not all baseball, though. Jackie Burke Jr., inducted in 2019, was a golf titan. This guy, who sadly passed in 2024 at 100 years old, won both the Masters and the PGA Championship in 1956. Plus, he stacked up 14 other PGA Tour victories over his 14-year pro career. He’s in the World Golf Hall of Fame and even co-founded Houston’s Champions Golf Club, bringing the Ryder Cup there in ’67. That’s a legacy!
And let’s not forget Earl Campbell, part of that epic 2018 inaugural class for the Oilers. You see his Walk of Fame square and you just know you’re looking at pure football royalty. What a start to the Hall of Fame!
With this new class going in tonight, the Houston Sports Hall of Fame is just getting stronger. Who knows which legends will get their plaques next, but one thing’s for sure: Houston knows how to celebrate its heroes.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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