Banquet Highlights

 

The PVILCA's 2015 Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor banquet saw yet another increase in attendance as over 1,000 combined honorees and guests witnessed the induction and recognition ceremonies at the Westin Galleria in Houston on July 18. Leading the class of inductees were Beaumont Hebert's Jerry Levias, the first black scholarship football player in the Southwest Conference, and Warren Wells, an all-time great wide receiver for Texas Southern and the Oakland Raiders.

 Other notable inductees included, quarterbacks Karl Douglas (Houston Worthing) and Leo Taylor (Jack Yates), tight end Rhome Nixon (Yates), and basketball center Dwight Davis (Worthing). A meritorious award was presented to Capt. Paul J. Matthews of the National Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Houston.

 

The PVILCA's annual banquet has grown with each year setting a new record for attendance and that trend continued for this summer's event.
  "We're delighted that the banquet's popularity has grown along with our organization's membership," said Robert Brown, PVILCA board chairman. "Our motto is "Remembering the Past With Pride," and the banquet typifies that. It's a day for reunion, camaraderie, 
remembrance, appreciation, and recognition. Through the years, there have been so many incredible people – coaches, athletes, administrators, and others – who made the PVIL experience something special, and for many of them this is the only public recognition of their participation and service.
 

"The existence of the PVIL and its all-black schools is a time we won't see again, so this is a wonderful opportunity for families and friends to come out and share in the recognition with their own sense of pride. And we have another outstanding class of 
inductees this year."
 

LeVias topped the list. He starred as a quarterback at Hebert, but in 1966 when he suited up at Southern Methodist University he was a wide receiver for head coach Hayden Fry. LeVias was the first black scholarship athlete in the Southwest Conference and the second black football player in the Southwest Conference. John 
Westbrook, a running back, was a walk-on at Baylor and played in a game for the Bears one week before LeVias' debut.
 

LeVias was an All-American (athletic and academic) as a senior and twice led the league in receiving and left SMU with numerous school and conference career records. With the Houston Oilers, he was selected to the 1969 American Football League All-Star Team. He is a member of both the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
 

Wells was an exciting receiver with speed and sure hands at Hebert, Texas Southern University and with the Oakland Raiders. He was a 12th round pick by the Detroit Lions in 1964, played one season there, but was called to the Army for two years. After discharge, he signed with the Raiders and played four seasons becoming the prime deep target for quarterback Daryle Lamonica, who became known as the "Mad Bomber." In Wells' best season, 1969, he caught 47 passes for 1,260 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the American Football League in receiving. He was twice named to the Pro Bowl (1968, 1970).
 

Prairie View's great defensive back Ken Houston, an NFL Hall of Famer, has said of Wells: "Warren was the original 'Dr. Doom.' He was cold-blooded."
  

Click here for a complete list of inductees.