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Thirteen members, including Williams, Ed Abee, Burton Barger, Joe Brown, Dave Bumgarner, Bill Cline, Doug Cline, Sammy Decker, Judy Keever, Connie Mull, Jerry Murray Sr., Wayne Owens and Joe Temple Sr., will be inducted with a meal and ceremony at Valdese’s Old Rock School at 6 p.m. on May 19.

Tickets will be sold by members of the Rotary Club of Valdese.

Williams compiled a 65-39-2 overall record with the Cavaliers, coaching them for 10 years from the school's opening in 1974 until 1983. He came to Icard following a one-year stint at then-Lenoir-Rhyne College, when he guided the Bears to a 5-5-1 record in 1973. Williams graduated from Valdese High School in 1953. He was inducted into the East Burke High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 with its inaugural class.

The class has a distinct gridiron flavor.

Other inductees most notable for their football accomplishments include Barger, Bumgarner, Bill Cline, Doug Cline, Decker, and Temple.

Barger formerly coached the sport at Valdese High School.

Bumgarner played at Valdese in the 1960s and went on to play collegiately at East Carolina.

Bill Cline played at Valdese, was chosen for the 1960 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, played collegiately at East Carolina, played professionally in the Canadian Football League, and was inducted into the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Doug Cline played at Valdese, was selected to the 1955 Shrine Bowl, starred collegiately at Clemson and played professionally for the Houston Oilers. He is a 1994 member of the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame.

Decker earned All-Burke County honors playing for Valdese in the 1960s.

Temple was a 1953 Shrine Bowl selection after playing at Valdese High.

The two women who earned Hall of Fame nods are Keever and Mull.

Keever was the East Burke High girls basketball coach from 1976-96, reaching the regional finals in 1978. She was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2010.

Mull was a student-athlete at Valdese in the 1960s, winning homecoming queen at the school in 1964.

The rest of the inductees, like Williams, are most known for their coaching exploits, including Abee, Brown, Murray and Owens.

Abee was a basketball coach at Valdese High School in the 1960s.

Brown played the sport at Valdese in the 1960s before going on to a standout college career at North Carolina. He was inducted into the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Murray coached multiple sports at Valdese and East Burke. He was inducted into the EBHS Hall of Fame in 2003.

Owens was the sports and youth director at the Valdese Community Center for nearly 20 years, as well as a successful youth coach in multiple sports. The basketball court at the center recently was named in his memory. He is a 2023 member of the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame.

According to information from the Valdese Sports Hall of Fame, the 13 members were chosen from nominations submitted to the executive and selection committees in accordance with the hall’s guidelines.

The hall says that inductees or their family members will receive a plaque identical to the plaque that will hang in the lower level of the Valdese Community Center. The plaques will be on display for Valdese Parks and Recreation Department patrons and community youth to regularly see the achievements of the members of the Valdese Sports Hall of Fame.

Additionally, each inductee will be featured on the Valdese Sports Hall of Fame’s Facebook page leading up to the induction ceremony in May.

For more information on the Valdese Sports Hall of Fame, its guidelines or its nomination process, visit the organization website at . Inquiries can be made through the Valdese Sports Hall of Fame Facebook page.