The Arlington Sports Hall of Fame hosted its 2023 induction dinner, in partnership with the Better Sports Club of Arlington recently in the main hall at the Knights of Columbus.
The event paid tribute to all the members of the Hall of Fame as well as inducting the following six new Class of 2023 Inductees, joining the 62 athletes, coaches and contributors who have been enshrined since the organization’s founding in 1958.
Noel Deskins (Yorktown High School Class of 1979): Track and field record-holder and Athlete of the Year at Yorktown and James Madison University and a longtime multi-sport coach and administrator in Arlington County schools.
Eric Metcalf (Bishop O’Connell High School Class of 1985): Star NFL runningback and kick returner, football and track and field record-holder and Hall of Famer at both O’Connell and the University of Texas.
Tia Moore (Wakefield High School Class of 1999): A career 1,000-point basketball scorer star at Wakefield, a 1,500-point scorer and Hall of Famer at Christopher Newport and a longtime educator.
Henry Crawford Palmer (Washington-Lee High School Class of 1988): A basketball star at Washington-Lee and a member of Duke University’s 1991 NCAA championship men’s hoop team, an All-Ivy player at Dartmouth, a 2000 Olympian and played professional basketball in Europe.
Walter Palmer (Washington-Lee High School Class of 1986): A standout basketball player at Washington-Lee and Dartmouth, played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks and played professionally in Europe.
Jake Scott, posthumous: (Washington-Lee High School): Played football at Washington-Lee, was an all-Southeast Conference player at the University of Georgia, was a starting safety on the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins when he was the Super Bowl MVP and was a five-time NFL All-Pro selection.
