By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
The Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association (PVILCA) honored and inducted six Galveston County athletes into the PVILCA Hall of Fame. The athletes represent not only athletic accomplishment, but academic, community and career accomplishments in both their lives as students and as adults.
Four athletes from the Central High School (Bearcats) of Galveston and two from Lincoln High School (Eagles) of La Marque, Texas, were selected for induction, which was held on Saturday, July 11, 2026, with hundreds of guests gathered to witness the ceremony at the Houston Marriott South on the Gulf Freeway.
The Bearcat recipients were Johnny “Cosmo” Crockett, William Chatman III, Douglas King Aliniece, and George “Pete” Henley. The inducted Bearcats also received the Bernard Crockett Award from the Central High School Alumni. The Eagle induction recipients are Robert Cole “R.C.” Williams, and Thearthur McKenzie.
At Prairie View College, Crockett was 3rd baseman on the 4-AAAA District Baseball Championship Team of 1960 under Coaches Ray T. Sheppard and Ray Dillion. He retired from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation in California.
Chatman in 1967, was All-District basketball player under Coach Robert Campbell. He was one of three African Americans recruited by Floyd Wagstaff to integrate Tyler Junior College and they won the TEC Juco Conference in 1967 & 1968.
Coach Bill Menefee, of Baylor University, recruited Chatman as one of the first to integrate Baylor Basketball. Chatman was unanimously selected All-Southwest Conference in 1969 & 1970. He averaged 23.3 points and 14.2 rebounds and had the #4 best shooting percentage in the nation. Chatman was drafted by the NBA & ABA but was one of the first to play in Europe.
“The offers from the NBA and ABA were not as lucrative as what Europe offered him,” said David O’neal, board member of PVILCA.
Aliniece was a track team member under Coach Kermit Courville in 1966. Under Head Coach Ed Mitchell and position coaches Edgar Collins & Leon Bedford, he was an All-District offensive/defensive lineman on the 1965 4-AAAA Championship team where he received the Fighting Heart Award.
As a Marine during the Vietnam conflict, Aliniece was injured, and while in rehab at Camp Lejeune, it seemed he would never walk again. A visit from his mother and grandmother with their praying hearts and hands inspired him to begin the painful path of recovering use of his legs.
“It was my grandmother’s faith that day that caused me to get up out of the wheelchair and take two steps,” said Aliniece. “And I remembered what was instilled in me in high school, never give up.”
With a lot of work and faith, Aliniece did walk and has had a career as an ordained minister in Galveston, Brazoria, and Harris Counties.
Henley played football in 1967 under Head Coach Ed Mitchell and position Coach Robert Campbell. Henley was a member of the 1965 District 4-AAAA Championship Team, which was Central’s last football championship team under PVIL governance.
Henley is awarded the PVILCA Meritorious Award as he has served over 16 years as an award-winning CEO and Board Chair of the non-profit Old Central Cultural Center (OCCC). The OCCC is housed in the remnants of the original Galveston Central High School established in 1885 as the first 12th grade public high school for African Americans in Texas.
Henley, former Galveston Postmaster, has been instrumental in the proliferation of knowledge of and experiences of Juneteenth and PVIL. He is the former president of the Gulf Coast Basketball Officials Association, and founder of the Galveston County Summer Basketball League which is the forerunner and precursor of County AAU Basketball Programs.
Henley’s involvement in Galveston’s Juneteenth Banquet, Pageant, Gala, and reenactment of the reading of the General Order has earned Henley “Hometown Hero” status as well as county, state, and national acclaim. Henley’s efforts have shed more light on the OCCC and its involvement in PVIL, as the history of freedom, academics, and athletics continues to be told by PVILCA.
The schools were forced into the University Interscholastic League (UIL) in the 1967 football season, when two districts were combined.
The UIL is the governing body for all extracurricular school activities prior to 1968 and had been applied only to White schools.
“The district was so large that it was divided into a north zone and a south zone,” said O’Neal.
McKenzie, under Head Coach Aubry Ford and offensive position Coaches Willie Edwards and Leon Carr, was a First Team All-District running back in the 12-AAA district.
McKenzie served in the Air Force for 6 years and then returned to Galveston County. He started a T-ball league for youth ages 5-8 and coached basketball for Texas City parks and recreation. He serves as a deacon at Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church.
“What I learned from my years in high school sports was both leadership and being a teammate. If everyone is working together, we can be successful,” said McKenzie. As an athlete, he played football and basketball and ran track.
R.C. Williams was an All-District running back on the 1958 Eagles Team under Head Coach T.J. Jackson Jr. and Roland Brown. Williams earned a scholarship to Texas Southern University. He was employed by Monsanto Chemical Company until he began his own business, which started with janitorial services and led to catering. He also worked at Carnes Funeral Home.
Williams was the first African American elected to the Hitchcock City Commission and served as Hitchcock Mayor Pro Tem. His community work included serving on numerous nonprofit boards. He passed away on January 20, 2026.
During segregation, prior to 1968, the PVIL was the governing body for extra-curricular activities for all African American Schools.
“These honorees have displayed the intangibles of their teachings of discipline, work ethics and team concepts,” said O’neal.
