Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 15, 1990 TAG: 9007150186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Five others are newly elected members:
Bob Ayersman, a hot-shooting basketball player in 1957-61 who made the All-Southern Conference team two years in a row;
Bill Buchanan, who played tennis, coached tennis and golf, and served as academic counselor and public-address announcer;
The late Karl Esleeck, football star of the 1920s who went on to win four state championships as a high school coach;
Jerry Gaines, a record-setting trackman who lifted Tech to prominence in the sport in the late 1960s and 1970;
Ken Whitley, dynamic football star and heavyweight championship wrestler of the mid-1960s.
The seven will be inducted at a Hall of Fame dinner on the Tech campus Friday, Oct. 5, on the eve of the Hokies' football game against West Virginia in Lane Stadium. The six living inductees and family members of all the inductees will be honored at halftime of the game.
The new inductees will bring to 45 the total number enshrined. The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1982 and is in the Bowman Club Room of the Jamerson Athletic Center. Hall of Fame plaques engraved with portraits of all the members are displayed there.
Grossmann, a native of Petersburg, was voted Southern Conference swimmer of the year in 1956, 1957 and 1958. He won three events and tallied 12 1/2 points in 1957 as Tech won the SC title in an upset. He came in first in the 100- and 200-yard breast stroke, and the 200 individual medley.
As a senior in 1958, Grossmann was chosen unanimously by coaches as the outstanding swimmer in the championship meet after winning the same three events. In the medley event, he knocked a second off his conference record with a time of 2 minutes, 22.8 seconds.
Grossmann was an outstanding student. As a senior, he was awarded the Monteith Award by the Richmond alumni chapter for excellence in both academics and athletics and military leadership.
Grossmann has a doctorate in aeronautical engineering and has residences in New York City and Alexandria.
Burrows, from Roanoke's Patrick Henry High, was the school's first scholarship tennis player. He had a career record of 46-10 and served as player-coach in his senior season.
He was 17-1 in singles in 1968 and teamed with Jay Collins for a 17-0 doubles mark. Burrows was 14-6 in 1969 and 15-3 in 1970.
In 1970, when Burrows was player-coach, the Hokies capped a 14-5 season with wins over Old Dominion, VMI and William and Mary. Burrows also won the Monteith Award.
He lives in Roanoke and is engineer project manager for Vecellio and Groggin Company in Beckley, W.Va. He still plays tennis regularly and has won numerous honors on the court since graduating from Tech.
One of the best pure shooters in Tech basketball history, Ayersman ranks sixth in career points (1,782) and fourth in career scoring average (20.5) for the Hokies. He also is sixth in field goals made (660) and third in free throws made (462).
A native of Boomer, W.Va., the 6-foot-4 forward averaged 26.5 points during his sophomore year in 1958-59, sixth-best in the country. He made the All-Southern Conference first team that season and in 1959-60, and was a second-teamer as a freshman in 1957-58.
He holds the school record for highest scoring average as a freshman (20.7) and as a sophomore (26.5).
Tech was 62-26 in Ayersman's four years.
Ayersman works for the Recreation Department of the City of Salem. He is a part-time assistant basketball coach at Salem High and an assistant football coach at Andrew Lewis Middle School.
Esleeck was an outstanding tailback and wingback on Tech football teams of 1924-26, and also excelled on defense.
The Hokies were 14-8-6 during Esleeck's years. He had a reputation as a fierce competitor and often made big plays in key situations.
After graduating, Esleeck stayed on as a boxing coach and assistant football coach, then became a successful high school coach.
He was the only coach in Virginia High School League history to coach a state-championship team at three different schools - Hampton High in 1936, John Marshall in Richmond in 1940 and 1941, and Woodrow Wilson in Portsmouth in 1947.
Esleeck, who is in the Virginia State Hall of Fame, died in 1952 and is survived by his wife, Ray Esleeck of Portsmouth, and three children.
Buchanan, a native of Saltville, was a two-year letterman on the Tech tennis team and graduated in 1935.
Buchanan worked for a short time in farming and with the Soil Conservation Service. He returned to Tech in 1940 and served the school in many capacities for the rest of his career. He was a mathematics professor for more than 30 years.
He was head coach of the Tech tennis team for 17 years and coached the Hokies' golfers for three. He was a longtime academic and guidance counselor for Tech athletes.
"Mr. Buck," as he is called, also handled public-address commentary at football and basketball games for 35 years.
Buchanan retired in 1976 and still lives in Blacksburg.
Gaines, a native of Chesapeake, was Tech's first black scholarship athlete. He set Tech records in five different track events and one - 24 feet, 10 inches in the long jump in 1971 - stands today. It is the oldest standing record in the Tech book.
Gaines' other records that since have been broken: 14.1 seconds in the 120-yard high hurdles, and, as a member of three relay teams, the 440 (41.3); shuttle hurdle (59.2) and 880 (1:26.4).
In 1970 as a junior, he jumped 24-8 1/2 in the Dogwood Relays, a mark that was second only to Olympic champion Ralph Boston that year. In the same meet, Gaines competed in the 100, 220, 440 relay, triple jump and 120 high hurdles.
As a senior, Gaines played safety on the football team.
Gaines lives in Portsmouth and teaches Spanish at Western Branch High School.
Whitley, a native of Norfolk, played fullback, linebacker and center for the Hokies' football team. He made the All-Southern Conference team as a linebacker in 1964.
He helped lead the 1966 Tech team to the Liberty Bowl. His pass interception late in the game sealed a 23-21 victory over Florida State. In 1964, as a center, he was voted Southern Conference lineman of the week for his play in a 20-11 upset of 10th-ranked Florida State.
As a heavyweight wrestler, Whitley posted a three-year record of 26-6. He qualified for the NCAA championships in 1967 but was unable to attend the meet.
Whitley resides in Norfolk and coaches football, wrestling and soccer at Norview High School.
Enshrined earlier in the Tech Hall of Fame: Carroll Dale, Chris Smith, Greene "Red" Laird, George Preas, Bob Schweickert, Hubert McEver, Johnny Oates, Allan Bristow, Leo Burke, Tim Collins, Madison "Buzz" Nutter, Don Strock, John Wetzel, Harry Bushkar, Howie Wright, Dickie Beard, Glen Combs, Sonny Utz, Tom Beasley, Wilson Bell, Brandon Glover, Mike Widger, George Foussekis, Stuart Johnson, Leland Mclear and the following men who are deceased, C.P. "Sally" Miles, Mel Henry, Frank Moseley, Frank Loria, Hunter Carpenter, Frank Peake, William "Monk" Younger, George Parrish, Henry "Puss" Redd, Hank Crisp, Ed Motley, Paul "Buddy" Dear and Herb Thomas.
by CNB