Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9408100023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Johnson and Solomon are joined by volleyball's Ginny Lessmann Stonick, a star in the early 1980s; the late Milton Andes, a wrestling champion in the early 1920s; the late Dr.Richard Bullock, Tech's team physician from 1971-87; and golfer Neff McClary, who stood out for the Hokies in the 1960s.
The inductees will be honored at a Hall of Fame dinner on the Tech campus Oct.21, the night before the Hokies' football game against Pittsburgh at Lane Stadium. The four living inductees, and family members of all inductees, will be introduced to fans at halftime of the football game.
Athletes become eligible for induction 10 years after they have left school. Johnson and Lessmann were elected in their first year of eligibility, Solomon in his second.
Lessmann is the second woman in the 68-member Tech Hall, joining track's Lucy Hawk Banks, who was elected last year.
Johnson had 429 tackles in a four-year career as a linebacker, leading the Hokies in 1982 and '83. He followed that with a successful NFL career. A two-time Pro Bowl selection with Cleveland, he signed with the Detroit Lions as a free agent after last season.
Solomon, of Annapolis, Md., led Tech to its only Metro Conference men's basketball championship as a freshman in 1978-79, averaging 17.8 points. He became the first four-time All-Metro player, was chosen to the Metro's all-decade team for the 1980s and scored 2,136 points, third on the all-time list.
Solomon has played pro basketball in Italy since 1982.
Stonick, a four-year starter at setter, helped lead Tech to a 119-70 record while earning a 3.88 grade-point average. She earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and received her master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Stonick is an assistant professor of engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Andes, of Martinsville, was a three-time Southern Conference wrestling champion in the 125-pound division in the late 1920s and led the Hokies to three consecutive state championships. After leaving Tech, he hitchhiked from Baltimore to a national AAU wrestling tournament in Chicago and won the 125-pound championship. Andes died in 1959.
Bullock, one of the most respected and trusted members of Tech's athletic community, worked at the school's infirmary and in the athletic department. A native of Toledo, Ohio, he was in private practice in McArthur, Ohio, for 23 years before taking the job at Tech. Bullock died in December.
McClary, of Annandale, won the Southern Conference's individual golf title in 1965 and helped Tech win the team title. His Hokies teams won the Virginia State Intercollegiate championship in '65, '66 and '67. The '67 team tied for sixth place at the NCAA Championships; the '65 team was 11th.
McClary resides in Fairfax and operates McClary Tile, Inc., in Alexandria.
by CNB