SPRINGDALE -- Before Michael and Patrick Fine, there was Rick Fine.
Michael is a receiver at Arkansas Tech, and Patrick is a linebacker at Springdale Har-Ber. Their father, Rick, played football, basketball and ran track at Springdale High, where he graduated in 1979.
2014 Springdale High Hall Of Fame Class
Inductee^Graduation Year
Jerry Delozier^1953
Jerry Brewer^1958
Ron Baker^1963
Rick Fine^1979
Afton Scott^1984
Craig McKee^1991
Aaron Adams^1992
Paige Farrell-Rollins^2004
Meagan Pless^2004
Bill Carter^meritorious service
Rick is also a member of the 2014 class that will be inducted into the Springdale High Hall of Fame in early August.
"The last time I opened a letter from Springdale High it was my report card, and that was never a good day," Fine said. "There's so much tradition at Springdale, and my first reaction to being inducted was 'Why me?' I'm very honored, obviously."
Fine was a senior quarterback in 1978 when the Bulldogs finished 8-2. Springdale was picked to finish low after going 4-5-1 in 1977. But the Bulldogs whipped Fort Smith Northside 42-7 and Joplin, Mo., 42-0 to start the season when Fine was a combined 6 for 6 passing with five touchdown passes. Springdale finished second in the league behind Rogers, which went 10-0 during the regular season. Jonesboro beat both Springdale and Rogers in the state playoffs before losing to Jacksonville in the championship game.
"Our biggest guy on the offensive line weighed 185 pounds, so we were really small," said Fine, who missed three games after being injured against Fort Smith Southside. "Our backfield was as big as our offensive line. But we surprised some people after being picked last in the league by the sports editor at Springdale at the time. We definitely overachieved."
Former Springdale teammate Zane Drake said Fine was an exceptional athlete who, besides starting at quarterback, was a top scorer in basketball and a pole vaulter on the track and field team.
"No. 1: Rick was a good leader," said Drake, who played college football at Texas Christian University. "He was calm in the huddle, and he had a presence about him. You knew he was going to get the job done."
Fine, 53, works in Bentonville where he is an investment advisory representative for Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. He and his wife spend weekends in the fall watching their sons play football. Michael played in 11 games as a freshman at Arkansas Tech and caught 18 passes for 197 yards. Patrick started eight games as a junior for Har-Ber and finished with 49 tackles and one interception.
"I tried to teach my boys that great players don't win championships, great teams do," said Fine, a former coach and longtime supporter of youth sports leagues in Springdale. "It's all about the team. Do your job and, if somebody messes up, pick them up. Don't get onto them."
Fine said he learned much about football and forming relationships from Jarrell Williams, his former coach at Springdale. Williams retired in 2000 as one of the winningest coaches in Arkansas High School history.
"Jarrell never yelled or screamed, but you knew when you messed up," Fine said. "If you didn't come to work and give it your all, you suffered the repercussions. He's a great guy, and I loved playing for him."
Sports on 07/01/2014