ON THE ROAD WITH THE STATE HALL OF FAME

 Saturday, for the first time in more than 50 years, the state sports hall of fame’s induction ceremony was held outside of Hampton Roads. It was, in one sense, an act of desperation of sorts by executive director WILL DRISCOLL who was hired five years ago at a time when the country was more upside down than right side up … and the hall’s future suspect at best. More on that in a moment.

But first … you should understand Driscoll is a piece of work 

 … with energy to spare ... who apparently never met an  

obstacle he couldn’t overcome … big and small … like? Well, 

he attended Temple University planning to be the next great 

sportscaster and, following graduation, found himself in Alaska 

working for the CBS affiliate in Fairbanks doing everything … 

news, weather and sports. “I sent out about 80 resume tapes,” 

Driscoll said, “and they were the only one that offered me a 

job.”

Undaunted, he made the 4,500-mile trip from Tidewater, Va., 

north to Alaska, made the best of an unusual situation … spent 

little more than a year making $19,800 … and came home 

armed with a bunch of funny stories. 

Ask Driscoll about playing golf there, for example, and he will 

leave you laughing about the time a moose was standing on the 

green – in no hurry to leave … The native of Norfolk (born and 

raised) finally solved the problem, nailing it on the rump with 

his approach shot. Trouble was, MISTER MOOSE spun his 

wheels trying to get away and tore up the turf badly. “My ball 

was left 10 feet from the hole ... and I three-putted,” Driscoll 

said.

Then there was the ball-stealing fox that would dart from cover 

along the fairway, grab the unsuspecting golfer’s t-shot and take 

it to an undisclosed location … Oh, the stories Driscoll can tell. 

(We’ll get into them in more detail some time … when we have 

a year or two to put it all together. The Life and Times of 

William “Will, the Thrill” Driscoll is a book waiting to 

happen.)

From Fairbanks, he returned to the lower 48 and got a TV job 

in Johnstown, Pa., where “we covered high school football like 

our lives depended on it … and I finally became the weekend 

sports anchor … right before the station shut down.”

In other words, by now nothing should surprise Driscoll … 

which, if nothing else, made him a perfect choice to run the 

state Hall. After little more than two years in Johnstown, he 

was a free agent in 2008, armed with “a good severance” … 

and trademark confidence that serves him well.

“I still had ideas of grandeur … getting back into TV. I’m a 

sports guy. I like telling stories [Really?] … and the recession 

hit … and the first thing local stations cut was their sports 

department.” In 2015 he decided to go back to school (sort of), 

getting a masters degree in organizational sports leadership on-

line from Northeastern U., … “and I began reading about 

problems the state hall of fame was having.” He signed on as 

marketing director in June of 2017. Fewer than two years later, 

Driscoll was in charge.

Having gone from a nondescript out-of-the-way facility to a 

modern, first-class, it-can’t-get-much-better-than-this, stand-

alone 32,000-square foot museum in Portsmouth … suddenly, 

with little warning, major funding dried up when the pandemic 

led to panic, justified or otherwise. The city of Portsmouth, 

which had guaranteed $500,000 a year plus other perks to 

convince the hall to help revitalize a dying downtown, 

apparently didn’t have the money to live up to its bargain and 

pulled the plug. Then the General Assembly did likewise … 

which meant another $350,000 was going bye-bye. When you 

have an annual budget of $1.2 million … no wonder EDDIE 

WEBB decided to retire after 24 years on the job. 

They had to sell the museum at a cut-rate price then paid off the 

balance of their mortgage with remaining funds. Just like that 

Driscoll found himself with a bunch of exhibits, plaques and 

memorabilia … honoring more than 300 of the state’s athletic 

best … with no where to put them. He had to be asking himself 

… Why me, Lord … why me? 

“I wasn’t left with much of a war chest,” Driscoll said. 

It should be noted here that Driscoll is, by any definition, an A-

personality … surrounded by A-personalities … wife KATIE 

COLLETT DRISCOLL, morning anchor for WAVY-TV, 

NBC-10, and son William V, 10, better known as Liam “who 

can walk into a room full of strangers and, before long, knows 

everyone … and they know him,” his mother says.

In other words, we shouldn’t be surprised that Driscoll IV 

didn’t take long to get the Hall, on the verge of going under, up 

and running again. First, he found a home for many of his 

orphaned displays in Virginia Beach. Then he found a way to 

get the state government in Richmond back on board.

Next in Driscoll’s comeback evolution was a plan to take the 

Hall on the road … what he describes as “a long-term strategy 

to increase visibility, outreach and engagement across the 

Commonwealth.”

That’s a long-winded (what else is new?) update ;;; which 

brings us (finally) to the 2024 induction at the Henrico Sports 

and Events Center, the less than a year old $50 million facility 

built on the site of the former Virginia Center Commons mall 

and part of a $2.2 billion plan that (hopefully) will include a 

17,000-seat arena. Say hopefully because ground-breaking has 

been delayed because of rising costs and need for more money 

to meet them.

This was designed as a one-year-only stop here … and the 2025 

ceremony already has been scheduled for Hampton … but you 

can expect a return to the HSEC in the near future. From all 

appearances, the 51^st induction day, that began with a morning 

meet-and-greet and ended that evening … with the formal 

presentation of such notables as former U.Va., athletic director

 CRAIG LITTLEPAGE, ex-United States Women’s National 

Soccer Team coach JILL ELLIS and CHRIS LONG, son of 

Howie, 2007 All-American and ACC defensive player of the 

year at U.Va., and three-times Super Bowl winner during 11 

NFL seasons … was a success … all things considered … with 

275 on hand for breakfast and another 500-plus at night. 

Driscoll was pleased. “It exceeded my expectations,” he said, 

“… for a first time event.” … A check for $50,000 from the 

good people of Henrico, Va., didn’t hurt.

Some observations and other assorted stuff from a fun day by 

one interested observer:

As he approached the dais for his presentation, Littlepage 

whispered: “Don’t fall asleep.” Like there was any chance of 

that during a stirring, heartfelt talk that centered around his late 

mother … and why he left the business after bringing her from 

Pennsylvania to make sure she had some quality of life until the 

end came.

Driscoll made a promise he knew he couldn’t keep. The 

speeches would be kept short … between six and eight minutes 

which is what he asked of his 10 inductees … and only

 MONICA WRIGHT ROGERS listened. The University of 

Virginia’s all-time leading scorer in basketball – men as well as 

women – kept her remarks to little more than five minutes … 

which was (cliché alert) close but no cigar to the state hall’s all-

time record – never to be broken – for brevity (2 minutes, 43 

seconds) set in 2003. Don’t ask.

At least nobody came close to some of the really long-winded 

talks of years past. I remember one – in 2010 -- lasting about an 

hour. He might still be yapping for all I know. 

Actually, this time everyone had something important or, at the 

very least, entertaining to say. Right up there with Littlepage for 

memorable was RICK JEFFREY, Douglas Freeman High 

School alumnus who received the 2024 Distinguished Virginian 

Award for his work with Special Olympics. After 36 years of 

dedicated service, Jeffrey probably should have permanent 

possession of the honor.

Listening to Jeffrey, who kept insisting “THIS IS NOT ABOUT 

ME!,” I was reminded of what clearly was the highlight of the 

day for yours truly … In 1997, during college soccer’s final 

four held at University of Richmond (now City) Stadium, there 

was a young lad born with Down Syndrome … whose natural 

enthusiasm was so infectious … WILL DANIEL was adopted 

by the UCLA team and coach SIGI SCHMID as a good-luck 

charm … and after the Bruins beat Virginia 2-0 for the 

championship, there was 16 year old Will being hoisted on the 

players’ shoulders. One of them, sophomore SHEA TRAVIS, 

gave Daniel his championship watch. It was an easy, heart-

warming story to write … And there Saturday morning were 

Will and his mother PAT DANIEL to remind us of the good 

times and say thank you. He is 42 now, having overcome early 

heart trouble and looking extremely fit. If only the late Schmid 

could see him now … THANK YOU, Will. 

Former Randolph-Macon basketball star PAUL GARTLAN

 spoke on behalf of the late HAL NUNNALLY, R-MC coach 

for 24 years … and 424 victories. The question always was: 

What kept the Hall so long to honor Nunnally, who died in 

2004? Gartlan and other former R-MC players refused to give 

up in what at times appeared to be a long shot induction … for 

reasons never understood or explained … and that was an 

unmistakeable sigh of relief from everyone when word came 

Nunnally was in … at last

Finally … among those on hand Saturday night to support Ellis, 

a William & Mary alumnus and four-year starter (32 goals) for 

the women’s soccer team, was former W&M men’s soccer 

coach AL ALBERT … who, like many of us, keeps asking: 

“Why isn’t Bruce Arena in the state sports hall of fame? He’s 

the best American soccer coach of all time … college, MLS 

and national team.” … Believe it or not, he hasn’t been 

nominated, Al … but that will be corrected this year before the 

Sept. 1 deadline. Promise.

Until next time ...