Alabama Sports Hall of Fame calls Rivers, Askins

Dec. 3—Long-time observers of area sports can remember when Philip Rivers and Keith Askins were stars in high school with bright futures ahead of them.

Now that the two are past their playing days, it's time for them to reap the honors. One of those honors came Thursday when the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame announced the two will be part of the Class of 2022. The induction ceremony will be May 7 in Birmingham.

The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame includes some of the all-time greats in sports like Hank Aaron, Jesse Owens, Bear Bryant, Willie Mays, Shug Jordan, Bart Starr and Joe Louis.

Rivers and Askins add to the list of area athletes in the State Hall of Fame that includes Owens, Rip Sewell, H.L. "Shorty" Ogle, Don Whitmire, Lloyd Nix, Hal Self, Vickie Orr, Antonio Langham and Jorge Posada.

"It's pretty awesome when you get the call that you've been elected," Rivers said. "I have always taken a lot of pride in being a Bama boy. Even though I've been away for 17 years, Alabama is always home.

"I grew up knowing about the Hall of Fame, but it's not anything that you think seriously about. It's really a humbling feeling."

Rivers was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2003 at North Carolina State. He was the fourth pick in the NFL draft in 2004 and starred in the league for 17 seasons. Rivers retired after the 2020 season and is now the head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High in Fairhope.

"It's quite an honor and I have a lot of people to thank for believing in me," Askins said. "I hope my story shows other people that anything is possible if you work hard and stay out of trouble."

Askins played basketball at Alabama and was a first-team SEC Tournament selection in 1989. He played on three SEC Tournament champions and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen twice. Askins signed with the Miami Heat as a free agent in 1990 and played nine seasons. After 14 years on the Heat coaching staff, Askins became the team's director of college and pro scouting.

Joining Rivers and Askins in the Hall of Fame will be former major league baseball players Doyle Alexander, Rusty Greer and Jake Peavy, former NFL players William Andrews and Justin Tuck, and Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy.

Rivers and Askins had contrasting athletic careers growing up. Rivers had stardom written all over him from an early age. Askins was a late bloomer in high school who took advantage of an opportunity that came his way and turned it into a long career in basketball that's still going strong.

Growing up around high school football with his dad as a head coach gave Rivers a great start on his career. He was a fixture on the sidelines at a young age as a ball boy for the Decatur Red Raiders.

"He was a great ball boy, and you never had to worry about anything," said Decatur head coach Jere Adcock, who was an assistant for Steve Rivers. "Whenever the ball was near the goal line, Philip was always quick to relay information to the coaches."

Steve Rivers left Decatur to become head coach at Athens in 1996. Philip was a first-team All-State quarterback for the Golden Eagles in his senior season of 1999. One of the streets near the Athens Stadium is named in honor of Rivers.

"After Philip and Steve left for Athens, I remember the first practice the freshman team that Philip would have played on had," Adcock said. "They just seemed lost.

"Bob Godsey (then a Decatur assistant) said they lost their guiding light because Philip's gone. He was their leader and he's not here."

According to former Athens basketball coach Jerry Todd, Askins barely made his middle school team and didn't play much that season.

"He was a little string bean," Todd said. "Then he grew from 5-11 to 6-6 between his freshman and sophomore seasons and we got to see who he really was."

Askins got little attention from colleges until he led the Golden Eagles to the state tournament in Tuscaloosa in 1986. Athens beat Jackson-Olin, 81-60, and lost to Eufaula in the semifinals, 60-55.

"Glynn Tubb was an attorney in Athens who had gone to Alabama," Askins said. "He had contacted Coach (Wimp) Sanderson about me. Coach liked what he saw of me at state."

Athens advanced to state thanks to a buzzer beater shot by Askins' teammate Tim Malone that beat Gadsden, 53-52, in the sub-state round.

"Keith has always said that if it wasn't for Tim Malone he would not have had a basketball career after high school," Todd said.

Askins can name a long line of people who have helped him through the years at all levels, but he said it all goes back to his mother Margie Bell and his grandparents Margie and Frank James Bell.

"My family in Athens taught me how to work hard and stay out of trouble," Askins said.

Todd got the honor of coaching both Askins and Rivers in basketball at Athens.

"Philip could have been a star in any sport he chose," Todd said. "I remember one game where he hit 12 3s (in a junior varsity game where he scored 50). That seems crazy, but it didn't surprise me. Nothing Philip ever did surprised me."

— david.elwell@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @DD_DavidElwell.