The W-L Athletics Hall of Fame honors the great history of the athletic program at the school. Former student-athletes, coaches, and contributors are nominated and inducted on a bi-annual basis. If you have some one you think is worthy of nomination, the nomination form can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/WLHallofFame
Morris Levin
Morris Levin was a history teacher and coach at Washington-Lee for 33 years. He was the varsity basketball coach for 17 years, starting in the 1956-1957 season. During the 1960’s, Levin led his team to win three Virginia State Championships (1962, 1963, and 1966). His teams had a 42-game winning streak during his tenure as coach. Levin credits the program’s success ot the leadership of the teams’ captains.
John Randolph (Class of 1960)
John Randolph was a member of the track team at Washington-Lee from 1957-1960. He attended the College of William and Mary and graduated in 1964. Randolph coached track at the University of Florida, the US Military Academy, and William and Mary. He became the athletic director at the College of William and Mary in 1985. He served in this position until his death in 1995. Randolph served as a Marine Corps Captain in the Vietnam Conflict.
Vincent Kirchner (Class of 1941)
Vincent Kirchner was a three-sport athlete at Washington-Lee, playing baseball from 1938 through 1940, football in 1939 and 1940, and basketball for one year in 1940. Kirchner was one of the founders of the Better Sports Club of Arlington. When he was honored by the Kiwanis Club of Arlington in 2006, Kirchner was referred to as “one of the greatest athletes that Washington-Lee High School ever produced.” Kirchner served in World War II after graduation.
J. Elwood Clements (Class of 1932)
Elwood Clements played football at Washington-Lee and Catholic University. He played on the Catholic University team that went o the Orange Bowl in 1936. He returned to W-L from 1937-1942 to teach history and coach the football team. Clements also played semi-professional football with the Washington Presidents and coached Tucker ACs. Clements was a lifelong Arlington resident and was twive elected to be Sheriff, first from 1948-1952 and again from 1964-1980.
Ed Hummer (Class of 1963)
Ed Hummer played varsity basketball from 1960 through 1963, leading Washington-Lee to consevutive 1A state titles in 1962 and 1963. Hummer played a pivotal role in the championship victory in 1963 and in the Generals 24-0 season. He was awarded All-Tournament recognition and earned the Virginia Sportswriters and Sportscasters Associations’ Top Scholastic Player Sward that season. Hummer went on to play basketball at Princeton University, where he was part of the 1964-1965 team that went ot he NCAA Final Four and twice earned All-League Honorable Mention. After graduating, he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the sixth round of the NBA draft, but chose to attend Georgetown University for law school, instead of pursuing a career in the NBA.
John Youngblood
John Youngblodd was a teacher, coach, and athletic director at Washington-Lee for 27 years. He coached softball, football, wrestling, and track. He led the football team to three Northern Region championships and his 1960 football team won the state championship. Youngblood became the athletic director in 1964 and was named Virginia Athletic Director of the Year for 1975-1976. He was also the first president of the Virginia Stat Athletic Directors Association. He was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Â
Del Norwood
Del Norwood was a teacher and coach at Washington-Lee for 32 years. He coached JV baseball in 1956-1957 and started the rifle program in 1957. Most notably, he coached the varsity baseball team from 1959-1989. Additionally, he started the varsity soccer program in 1966, coached JV basketball from 1972-1973, varsity girls basketball from 1974-1989, and cross country from 1988-1989.
Eric Sievers (Class of 1976)
Eric Sievers played football and basketball at Washington-Lee from 1973-1975. He was MVP of the track team in 1976 and played baseball in 1974. He went on to play football for the University of Maryland, where he was named Offensive Lineman of the Year, in both his junior and senior seasons. Sievers was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 1981 NFL draft. He was named to the 1981 NFL All-Rookie team. Sievers played as a tight end for ten years in the NFL, with the Chargers, the Los Angeles Rams, and the New England Patriots. He was New England’s leading receiver in the 1989 season. Sievers was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 1997. Â
Kamal Ali Salaam-El (Reggie Harrison) (Class of 1969)
Kamal Ali Salaam-El was a running back on the football team at Washington-Lee from 1966-1968. Ali Salaam-El scored six touchdowns in the final “Old Oaken Bucket” game against George Washington, which was held his senior year. He was also an athlete on the indoor and outdoor track teams from 1967-1969, and broke the Virginia state shotput record his senior year. He continued his football career at the University of Cincinnati, where he rushed for 25 touchdowns in his career. Ali Salaam-El was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth round of the 1974 draft and later picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers. While playing with the Steelers he was in Super Bowl X in 1976, where he set the record for most safeties in a game.Â
John Hummer (Class of 1966)
John Hummer played varsity basketball from 1964 through 1966, and in 1966 he was voted the best player in the state of Virginia, a High School All-American, and All-Metropolitan for the DC area. The 1966 W-L team won the state basketball championship held at UVA. In that tournament, he was the unanimous All-Tournament selection and high scorer. Hummer went on to play basketball at Princeton University, where in the 1969-1970 season, he was an All-Ivy League participant. Hummer was a first round pick by the Buffalo Braves in the 1970 NBA draft, and conitnued to play with the Braves and the Seattle Supersonics until 1976,Â
Charlie Butt
Charlie Butt was a successful crew coach at W-L from 1949, when he started the program, until 1991. Butt graduated from MIT and was an aeronautical engineer for the US Government. While at W-L, Butt’s boats won 19 national championships. In 1964, the W-L Varsity 8 was the first American boat to win the Princess Elizabeth Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. Butt also coached at the Potomac Boat Club at the national level, as was president of several crew organizations. He is the namesake fo the annual Charlie Butt Regatta sponsored by the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association and is considered the father of scholastic rowing in the Washington area for his instrumental role in the creation and development of many programs in the region.
Shelley Mann (Class of 1955)
Shelley Mann began competitive swimming at age 12. By the time she was 14, she had won her first 24 national titles. She excelled in all the strokes, and in the 1950’s, won the national championships in the 100m backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly, the 250m freestyle, the 200m butterfly, and the 200m individual medley. Mann was also a world record holder in the 100m and the 200m butterfly. She went on to win a gold medal in the 100m butterfly, and the silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.Â
Clay Kirby (Class of 1966)
Clay Kirby played football, basketball, and baseball for Washington-Lee. He was also very active in clubs, including the Blue and Gray Club and the Varsity Letterman Club. Clay was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966, in the third round of the MLB draft. However, he was chosen by the San Diego Padres in the 1968 expansion draft and and became a starting pitcher for that team in 1969. He went on to pitch for the Cincinnati Reds, who won the World Series in 1975 against the Boston Red Sox. His eighth and final year was spend with the Montreal Expos.Â
Coach Guido (Guy) Cavallo
Guido (Guy) Cavallo coached multiple sports at Washington-Lee. As wrestling coach, he helped lead the team to the AAA state championship in 1959, interrupting Granby High School’s streak of 21 titles. He was also the boys’ assistant coach in crew in the 1960’s. In 1997 he was a Florida medalist at the sixth edition of the US National Senior Sports Classic, winning the silver in golf in the 75-79 age group. In the 2002 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics, he placed first in golf in the 80+ age group. In 2003, he was one of three gold medal winners in golf and one two gold medal winners in miniature golf. Cavallo’s athletes remember him as teaching valuable presonal skills such as good sportsmanship, good moral character, goal setting, and team spirit.Â
John Harocopos
John Harocopos was a Washington-Lee English teacher, chair of the English department, and debate team coach. He was also the faculty adviser for the The Penman literary magazine from teh 1960’s until 1999. In 1993, Harocopos received the Vriginia Gazette Award in recognition of his years of continued service to journalism education and publications advising, and for consistently maintaining journalism standards and setting high goals for achievement for both himself and his staff. In 2002, Harcopos received the Virginia High School League Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions as debate coach and magazine adviser at Washington-Lee.
