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Aaron Curry, Brent Barker among newest members of Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame

Courtesy of the Fayetteville Sports Club
·4 min read

The Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame has announced its most recent class of inductees.

Five local athletes will be honored with a banquet later this year. A time and date for the ceremony, along with ticket information, will be announced at a later date.

Here's a look at all of the Class of 2024 inductees.

WHO'S IN THE HALL? Who’s in the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame?

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Brent Barker

Barker was the women’s basketball coach at South View High School from 1994-2021, the longest tenure of any women’s coach in school history.

He compiled a record of 557-166, making the NCHSAA playoffs 27 times. His 2006-07 team went 32-0 and won the NCHSAA 4-A championship.

Barker’s state title Tigers were led by Amber Calvin and Samantha Ramirez. Calvin led the unbeaten Tigers in scoring with 18.4 points per game while Ramirez averaged 17.1.

Nine other times under Barker the Tigers made either the Sweet 16, quarterfinals or final four in the state.

South View's Head Coach Brent Barker hugs palyer Samantha Ramirez after beating Greensboro's Grimsley High School to win the 4-A NCHSAA Championship game at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2007. South View beat Grimsley 69-64.
South View's Head Coach Brent Barker hugs palyer Samantha Ramirez after beating Greensboro's Grimsley High School to win the 4-A NCHSAA Championship game at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2007. South View beat Grimsley 69-64.

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Aaron Curry

Curry is one of the most honored football players in the history of E.E. Smith High School.

While at Smith, he earned all-conference and all-region honors, playing in the annual Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas at the end of his prep career.

He was All-American at Wake Forest and won the prestigious Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker.

Seattle Seahawk and E.E. Smith alumni Aaron Curry holds up his high school football jersey during his jersey retirement ceremony at E.E. Smith High School in 2010.
Seattle Seahawk and E.E. Smith alumni Aaron Curry holds up his high school football jersey during his jersey retirement ceremony at E.E. Smith High School in 2010.

He was the fourth player taken overall in the 2009 NFL draft. He spent four seasons in the NFL with Seattle, Oakland and the New York Giants.

After leaving pro football he coached with the Charlotte 49ers at the college level, then the Seattle Seahawks. He is currently the inside linebackers coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

FAYETTEVILLE'S FINEST: Who are the top 30 male athletes from Fayetteville of the 21st century?

Marques Murrell

Murrell was a standout defender for Jack Britt, recording 21 sacks in his final two seasons for the Buccaneers. He was named All-Region.

He went on to play at Appalachian State, helping lead the Mountaineers to a pair of NCAA Divison I-AA national titles in 2005 and 2006.

Jack Britt's Marques Murrell
Jack Britt's Marques Murrell

He forced a fumble returned by E.E. Smith’s Jason Hunter for the winning score in a 21-16 victory over Northern Iowa.

Murrell signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He also played for the New England Patriots and in the Canadian Football League with Montreal.

Tammy Brown Tew

Tew was one of the top basketball players in a long list of stars at Terry Sanford High School. She finished her 1984-87 career with 2,644 points. Her best scoring average for a season was 18.1.

She went on to more stardom at Campbell University. Thirty years after graduating in 1991, she remained the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,893 points. She was named the school’s outstanding female as a junior and senior.

Tammy Brown Tew, a Terry Sanford alum, was named to the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. She remains the program's all-time leading scorer.
Tammy Brown Tew, a Terry Sanford alum, was named to the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. She remains the program's all-time leading scorer.

The Big South Conference honored her as its women’s basketball player of the year in 1990 and 1991. She was twice named All-American by the American Women’s Sports Federation.

She was also a three-time All-Big South choice. In 1989 Tew led the Camels to the Big South Championship. She set a conference all-time scoring record in her senior year and hit double figures in the final 65 games of her career.

Ray Williams

Williams was an electrifying high school football player at Reid Ross High School under the coaching of fellow Hall of Famer John Daskal.

In 1981, Williams led the Cougars to the state’s first NCHSAA Division II football title with a 21-7 win over High Point Central.

A football and baseball star coming out of Reid Ross, Williams enrolled at Clemson where he was a star in both sports for the Tigers. He turned down an offer to play at the University of North Carolina because the Tar Heels wouldn’t allow him to play football and baseball.

After a redshirt season, Williams became a starter in both football and baseball for the Tigers. In football, he became one of only six Tigers with at least 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards in kickoff returns.

Reid Ross alum Ray Williams was a two-sport start at Clemson, plyaing baseball and football adn inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Reid Ross alum Ray Williams was a two-sport start at Clemson, plyaing baseball and football adn inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

In baseball, Williams is one of only two Clemson players with at least 30 home runs and 70 stolen bases. He had brief stints in Major League Baseball and the NFL, playing for the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Browns.

He was the first Black starter in Clemson baseball history.

Williams died from complications of diabetes last July after receiving a liver transplant in 2016. Four years before his death he created a foundation encouraging people to donate organs. The web address is www.registerme.org/campaign/raywilliams.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Aaron Curry