Deacon Bill Necessary, class of 1982, far left, leads Athletic Hall of Fame inductees in the school song at the conclusion of the Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Cathedral School Athletic Hall of Fame luncheon held at Rick’s on the Square in downtown Tyler on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020.

Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School has been competing in athletics for more than six decades.

During a luncheon on Friday, the school inducted its inaugural class to the Bishop Gorman Crusaders Athletic Hall of Fame.

Inductees were contributor Billy Paul Chrietzberg, coach and contributor John Carney, coach Henry Carl “Bo” Wilson, athlete Mia Behm, athlete Darwin Crawford, athlete Josiah Mooney, athlete Andre Cummings, athlete Michelle Obach, coach Rev. Jerome R. Milton and the 1984 state championship football team coached by Eric Pottkotter.

Chrietzberg was very involved with St. Gregory and Bishop Gorman from 1961 through 1983 and was inducted posthumously.

Carney, who was inducted posthumously, spent the majority of his life coaching at Bishop Gorman. Over the course of more than 50 years he coached multiple sports for the Crusaders. He started as the middle school boys basketball coach in 1968, and would also coach the varsity boys and girls basketball teams, in addition to the varsity softball program. He was the softball coach from 1992-2009.

The softball field at Gorman and the gymnasium at St. Gregory are both named after Carney.

Wilson was the head coach of the 1995 Bishop Gorman state championship football team that went 12-2 and still holds the school record for wins. Wilson started his coaching career in Livingston and then continued at Mount Carmel Catholic High School, followed by Fonville, Jeff Davis, and Bellaire, all in the Houston ISD. He continued his head coaching and athletic director role with stops at Baird, Granbury, Stamford, Sweeny, Paris, Troup, Bullard, Arp, and finishing at Bishop Gorman. Coach Wilson also served as a scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers and an assistant coach for the Dallas Texans arena football team.

Coach Wilson was inducted posthumously.

As a student at Bishop Gorman, Behm served as the captain of the track team her junior and senior seasons. She captured the district, regional and state championship in the 1600- and 3200-meters in 2007 and 2008. She was also the district and state champion in the 1600 and state champion in the 800-meters in 2006. She was also the state champion in cross country in 2006 and 2007.

She is still the state record holder in the 3200-meters with a time of 10 minutes and 54.90 seconds. She holds the Gorman school records in the 800, 1600 and 3200.

Running for the University of Texas, Behm earned All-American honors for the Longhorns. Behm now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She was the 12th American female in the 2019 running of the 123rd Boston Marathon. She qualified and ran in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Crawford earned all-state recognition in football and track, while also playing baseball and basketball. He played multiple positions on the football team — tight end, running back and defensive end. In addition to all-state recognition, Crawford was also selected for numerous all-district and All-East Texas squads.

Crawford, who now resides in Michigan, was a four-sport letter-winner during his time at Bishop Gorman. He was a state medalist in the 400-yard dash, and was the district champion in the 100-yard dash. Crawford was a member of the very first baseball team at Bishop Gorman in 1972. He would earn all-district and all-state honors on the diamond. Crawford earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from SFA. He would spend a decade as the head baseball coach at SFA, winning more than 250 games and having his jersey number retired in the SFA Hall of Fame.

“It’s huge,” Crawford said. “Gorman is my home, and I haven’t been back in a long time. For them to call me like they did and say I was nominated, I was flattered with that. To actually get the award, it means more to me than anything.”

Mooney was a three-sport letterman at Gorman. The 1997 graduate earned multiple honors while playing football, basketball and track.

Mooney was all-district, All-East Texas and all-state on the gridiron, as a quarterback and a linebacker. He was the QB and leading tackler on the 1995 TAPPS State Championship team. Mooney was a two-time all-district selection on the basketball court and was a state qualifier in track (twice).

Following his graduation from Bishop Gorman, Mooney would play college football for the Red Storm at St. John’s University in New York. He was the team MVP in 2000, also earning NCAA Division I-AA All-America. He was honored for his work as a student, being named to the Athletic Directors’ Academic All-Star Team for Div. I-AA. He finished with 167 tackles, nine sacks and seven interceptions.

Cummings earned all-district, All-East Texas and all-state honors on the football field, and he was a key member of the 1995 state championship Crusader squad.

In basketball, he averaged more than 20 points a game, starting as sophomore and continuing throughout his career. He played in the state playoffs and was a 1,000-point scorer for the Crusaders.

Cummings was also a state champion as an individual and as a team in track and field. He captured the state long jump and high jump championships, earning valuable points for Bishop Gorman. He set a school record in both jumping events. He was also a member of the 4×200 meter relay that continues to hold the school record. Following his career as a Crusader, Cummings signed and played basketball with Tyler Junior College.

“When I first found out, it kind of surprised me,” Cummings said, “but it’s a very great honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I would like to say congratulations to all of the other Hall of Famers. This is a big thing for us.”

Obach was a four-year letter winner at Gorman and finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the school, finishing with more than 2,500 career points. She earned all-state three consecutive years, was a first-team All-East Texas selection, and was the All-East Texas “Player of the Year” her senior season.

After finishing her brilliant career for the Crusaders, Obach earned NCAA Division III All-American honors for the Patriots at The University of Texas at Tyler.

Milton led Bishop Gorman to 10 track state titles — eight girls and two boys.

“I cannot express the joy that comes into my heart to have this distinguished and prestigious honor at Bishop Gorman Catholic High School,” Milton said.

The 1984 football squad was the first state title team at Bishop Gorman. Coach Eric Pottkotter led the team to a 10-2 record and the state championship. The Crusaders were a strong offensive squad, scoring 34 points or more in six of their 12 games during the 1984 season.

The 1984 season was the third for Coach Pottkotter at Gorman, and he was named All-East Texas Coach of the Year, while also earning state Coach of the Year honors.

To win the state title, the Crusaders would eliminate Houston Lutheran North (60-7) in the semifinal game, before shutting out Halletsville Sacred Heart (22-0) in the championship contest.

Heath Webb, Ricky Gastillo, David Owston, Brad Vinson, George Tures and Damon Carney all were named to the all-state team.

Webb, Tures and Vinson were All-East Texas selections. Richard Tyer, Jason Jonas, Alex Claybon, Peter Chaump, Chuck Rogers and Collin Maloney were all-district players, as were Owston, Gastillo, Carney, Tures, Webb and Vinson.

Jon Froelich, assistant principal and head girls basketball coach of Bishop Gorman, announced the inductees during Friday’s luncheon at Rick’s on the Square.