John Rohde
The Oklahoman

The 2010 class joining the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame will feature a passer, a slugger, a pitcher, an outfielder and a tackler.

Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett on Thursday revealed this year’s inductees during a noon luncheon at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Museum. The class includes two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith.

Also leading the way is quarterback Troy Aikman, who led the Fighting Hens of Henryetta High School, began his collegiate career at Oklahoma, transferred to UCLA and later directed the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships in the 1990s.

This will complete a hall-of-fame trifecta for Aikman, who previously was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2006) and the College Football Hall of Fame (2008).

The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame selection committee has eyed Aikman for several years, but wanted him to be able to attend when inducted.

Joining Aikman will be Oklahoma State slugger Pete Incaviglia, who in 1999 was named college baseball’s player of the century. Most agree Incaviglia’s 48 home runs, 143 RBIs and 1.140 slugging percentage achieved in 1985 will never be surpassed.

Left-handed pitcher Smith, a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State and a National Softball Hall of Fame member, will become the first softball player inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

Major-league outfielder Don Demeter of Capitol Hill High School originally signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played 11 seasons with five different teams. He hit 20-plus home runs for four straight seasons and received MVP votes in 1962 and 1963 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rick Bryan was one of the greatest defensive tackles in OU history, earning All-American status in 1982 and 1983 before becoming the ninth overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft and having a nine-year career with the Atlanta Falcons. Bryan is honored posthumously. He died of a heart attack on July 25, 2009, in his Coweta home at age 47.

This year’s induction banquet will be Aug. 3 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

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