HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC – Former Winthrop baseball coach Horace Turbeville was inducted posthumously along with three former student-athletes and one former administrator into the 2007 Big South Conference Hall of Fame class Thursday night, May 31, during a ceremony as part of the League’s annual Spring Meetings and Hall of Fame & Awards Dinner at The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island. The induction increases the membership to 30 former student-athletes, coaches and administrators in the five-year history of the Hall of Fame.
In addition to Coach Turbeville, the new class consists of Radford’s Dr. Donald Dedmon (administration), Liberty's Ryan Werner (track & field) and Coastal Carolina's Robert Dowdell (basketball) and Sherry Johnson (softball). The 2007 Hall of Fame class was first announced on March 22.
Coach Turbeville, who passed away this past January, had previously been inducted into the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame and the Newberry College Hall of Fame. His biography is as follows:
Horace Turbeville, Winthrop, Baseball Coach (1978-91)
Turbeville was Winthrop’s first baseball coach from 1978-91, posting a career record of 373-157-1 (.703 winning percentage) at the helm of the Eagles. He guided the team to the NAIA College World Series, finishing national runner-up, as well as capturing the Big South’s first-ever baseball Conference Tournament championship in 1985. Turbeville was the 1991 Big South Coach of the Year and posted a 152-101 ( .601) record in seven seasons when baseball began as a sponsored Big South sport in 1985. He was 571-285-1 (.667) during his 32-year baseball coaching career, and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000. He was also inducted into the York County (S.C.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, as well as the Newberry College Hall of Fame in 1995. Turbeville was named the South Carolina College Baseball Coach of the Year in 1972 and was a finalist for the 1980 NAIA National Baseball Coach of the Year. In addition, he was inducted into the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. Turbeville passed away this past January.
