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BLUE RAIDER HALL OF FAME
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    • Steve Peterson

    Inducted: 2010
    Sports: Baseball

    Steve Peterson began his tenure as head coach at MTSU in 1988, succeeding another Hall of Famer John Stanford. In February of 2001, Peterson gained his 403rd win, breaking the MTSU record set by Stanford. In 2009, his team also captured the single-season win record with 44 victories.

    Peterson has coached MTSU to three conference crowns and a pair of tournament titles in Sun Belt play. His OVC success includes eight championships, seven tournament titles and nine NCAA appearances.

    Nearly 100 of his former players are either in coaching or have been drafted by the pros.

    Peterson has coached nine All-Americans, developed Players of the Year and Pitchers of the Year in both the OVC and Sun Belt and has coached 48 First Team All-conference performers.

    He was named the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association's Collegiate Coach of the Year both in 1992 and 2000, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2007.

    Class of 2012

    Mike Caldwell
    Football

    Diane Cummings Turnham
    Athletic Administration

    Harry Gupton
    Basketball, Baseball

    Tawanya Mucker Wilson
    Basketball

    Jayhawk Owens
    Baseball

    History of the Hall of Fame

    In the early spring of 1975, a pair of long-time supporters of Middle Tennessee State University's athletic program decided that the University should honor its greatest athletes. Homer Pittard, alumni director, and Gene Sloan, public relations director, came up with the idea and asked sports information director Jim Freeman to join them in setting up an athletic hall of fame.

    After getting approval for the Hall of Fame from President M. G. Scarlett, the trio began laying the groundwork to select the first inductees. Others, including Bob Womack and Joe Nunley, were also involved.

    "We decided not to have categories but to put all candidates in one group," said Freeman. "We also decided against inducting a large group to start with and felt that three per year was the ideal number. That way, everyone got a good share of the spotlight."

    The nominating and voting for the first several years was done by members of the old "T" Club, now reorganized and called the Varsity Club. Nominations were solicited, and the the list of candidates was mailed to the voters. They selected Horace Jones, Charles "Bubber" Murphy and Teddy Morris as the initial inductees in 1976.

    The Blue Raider Hall of Fame was originally housed in the old Blue Raider Room under the west side of the football stadium. It had to be torn down when then stadium was expanded in 1998. After several years without a home, the Hall of Fame moved into the new Rose and Emmett Kennon Sports Hall of Fame building in 2004.