HQMC (MR), QUANTICO, VA - The Commandant of the Marine Corps will host the 2009, United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clubs at Quantico, August 14, 2009 at 11 a.m.

General James T. Conway will induct former Marines Ernie Cheatham, Andy Philip, Morris Fisher, and Jo Jo White at a luncheon ceremony that will celebrate their achievements.

Cheatham, a retired Marine Lieutenant General, was a college and professional football player and key contributor to the U.S. Olympic Committee and Marine Corps MWR program.  Philip, a former Marine first lieutenant, was a three-time collegiate basketball All-American and member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame; Fisher, a retired Marine sergeant major, was a five-time Olympic Rifle Gold Medalist and member of the U.S. International Shooters Hall of Fame; White, a former Marine private, a member of the 1968 Olympic Gold Medal Basketball Team and seven-time NBA All-Star.

The United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame honors former Marines who have excelled both on and off the athletic playing field. Established in 2001, Hall of Fame inductees will be enshrined in the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps at the Heritage Center near Quantico Virginia.

Twenty-nine former Marines have been selected for the Hall of Fame since it was founded in 2001.  Past inductees include baseball legend Ted Williams, Olympic great Robert B. Mathias, International Boxing Hall of Fame member Ken Norton, and golf legend Lee Trevino. 

Also to be honored at the induction ceremony will be numerous Marine champion athletes to include the 2008 Marine Corps Male and Female athletes of the year.
For more information about the Marine Corps Sports Hall or the Marine Corps Athlete’s of the Year, please contact Steven Dinote, HQMC Semper Fit, 703-784- 9542, or email: steven.dinote@usmc.mil.