Feb. 25, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball program held its first Hall of Fame banquet Friday night at the Sheraton in downtown Birmingham.

The first inductees into the Hall of Fame were Gerald Tuck and Wendell Magee. Tuck played at Samford (then-known as Howard College) from 1955-59. Tuck played both football and baseball at Samford, and he played professionally before going into coaching. Tuck is currently in his 16th year as an assistant on the Samford coaching staff. In all, he has 43 years of coaching experience.

Magee played at Samford from 1993-94. He batted .376 in 1993 and .382 in 1994, and he was chosen second-team All-TAAC in 1993 and first-team in 1994. Magee has played with the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians organizations. In 1996, Magee was the Minor League Player of the Year for the Phillies organization.

The Samford baseball team will begin a three-game series with UNC Asheville with a double-header on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The teams will also play a single game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.