Sports shorts: Week of 9/29/22

Museum of the Gulf Coast

The Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur welcomed four new members into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 24, including three into Sports and one into Notable People.

Jason Tyner, a West Brook graduate, is a former Texas A&M and Major League Baseball player. While at Texas A&M, he broke the school’s single season stolen base record with 41 and recorded 107 hits. He went on to set multiple school records then was drafted by the New York Mets in 1998. Tyner debuted in the big leagues June 5, 2000 and retired in 2009.

He is currently the baseball coach at Kelly High School and also oversees the Juliet Tyner Memorial Scholarship, which is named after his late mother, as well as helps operate the Southeast Texas Baseball Academy.

Jeff Granger was a star quarterback and pitcher for Orangefield High School. He pitched for Texas A&M, where in two seasons he finished with a 16-6 record along with 251 strikeouts in 220 innings. He broke the school record as well as Southwest Conference record with 150 strikeouts in one season.

The All-American was drafted fifth overall in 1993 by the Kansas City Royals.

Former PN-G defensive back Mike Simpson graduated in 1965 and was widely considered the fastest players in the NFL. While at PN-G, he played for the legendary coach Bum Phillips. He also was a member of the PN-G sprint relay team, who won state in the 200 meters and set a national record. He went on to play college football at the University of Houston and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 13th round.

After retiring from the NFL, Simpson was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but still remains very active.

The late Walter Umphrey received a posthumous induction into the Notable People Hall of Fame for his philanthropic work.

Al Rabb

Former West Brook and Kelly High School head football coach Al Rabb has died at the age of 69. Rabb, who coached for more than 40 years, graduated from Beaumont French High School and then Lamar University, where he played quarterback for three seasons for coach Vernon Glass.

Rabb had coaching stops at Vidor, Warren, Forest Park, West Brook and Kelly. He retired in 2016.

A gathering of Coach Rabb’s family and friends will be from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, at St. Anne Catholic Church in Beaumont.

Golf

The 81st Beaumont City Golf Tournament is scheduled for Oct. 22-23 at Henry Homberg Golf Course (5940 Babe Zaharias Drive).

“We picked the middle of October since we typically have good weather and the chance of storms are over,” said Andy Hebert, director of golf at Henry Homberg Golf Course. “We’ve already had lots of interest in this year’s event.”

The entry fee is $60 for 36-hole medal play, flighted by handicap. Players must have an established handicap for flighting purposes.

The city champion must be a permanent resident of Beaumont, but anyone can enter the competition.

Austin Williams was last year’s winner and is expected to defend his championship. Williams has captured the trophy 10 times.

For more information, interested participants can call Andy Hebert at (409) 842-3220. 

Lamar Cardinals

The women’s soccer team is off to their best start in program history after a 4-0 win over Nicholls State on Sept. 25. The Cards are 7-0-1 and will next host Incarnate Word on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.

The football team (0-4) will look for their first win of the season when they host Houston Christian University (1-2) for homecoming at 3 p.m.