SPRINGDALE — Editor's Note: Northwest Arkansas Newspapers is profiling each of the 2010 Springdale Hall of Fame inductees. The hall of fame banquet will be Aug. 14 in the Springdale High cafeteria.
Mike Gibbons admitted his initial reaction to being included in the 2010 Springdale School District Hall of Fame class was one of shock.
"It was kind of mixed emotions, but at first it was like, 'Why me?'" Gibbons said. "I was tickled when I heard that my brother was going in with me, but I have to say my first emotion was, 'Why me?'"
PROFILE
MIKE GIBBONS
Graduation Year: 1974
Sport/Contribution: Football
Notable: Set the school record for interceptions in a game with three against Springfield Kickapoo. Gibbons transferred to Jonesboro in his junior year and then returned to Springdale for his senior season. Played the 'monster' position on defense and his joins his brother Kenny, in the 2010 Springdale Hall of Fame class.
Gibbons played football in the Springdale School District from the seventh through 12th grades, with one year spent away from Springdale after his father was transferred to Jonesboro prior to his junior season in football. But Gibbons return to Springdale High in his senior season and was an anchor of the Bulldogs' defense, playing what coaches called the 'monster' position.
"It was more like an outside linebacker," Gibbons said. "It was really an interesting position, and you were always in on the action."
Gibbons set the school record for interceptions in a game, notching three picks against Springfield Kickapoo in the 1973 season, and he went on to play one year of college football at Arkansas Tech. While his football days are well behind him, the father of three -- who now serves as director of marketing for Seminole Energy Services in Tulsa -- still cherishes his days as a Red Bulldog.
"I have great memories of Springdale," Gibbons said. "My mother still lives there and I have a sister there. There's just great people there, and I would love to end up back in that area some day."
Gibbons is one of 11 new inductees in the 2010 Hall of Fame class, including his brother, Kenny, who played quarterback at Springdale.
"I have great respect for coach Jarrell Williams and Charlie Smith and a lot of other guys from Springdale," Mike Gibbons said. "Our senior class was a little different. We just liked to have fun. We weren't that good but a lot of good guys came out of that class."
Tickets to this year's Hall of Fame banquet are $10 per person and are being sold at the Springdale Athletic office at 509 East Emma Ave. For more information, call 750-1680 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].