Honorees

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 WILLIAM RUSSELL MOORE (1910-1950) probably never heard of Korea as a boy in Nowata, Oklahoma. But, after starting at The Oklahoman, he would join The Associated Press and distinguish himself as a war correspondent who gave his life helping...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 A.J. SMITHERMAN (1883-1961) was an African-American press pioneer and political activist. In 1913, he founded the Tulsa Star, America’s first black Democratic nationally distributed newspaper. Smitherman highlighted the achievements and...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 MARJORIE PAXSON (1923-2017) was one of the first woman publishers in the country. She spent 42 years in the newspaper industry, serving as a writer and holding various editorial positions for United Press, Associated Press, Houston Post,...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 WILLIAM E. LEHMANN (1928-2016) As publisher of the Guthrie Daily Leader, he galvanized support to save the state’s first capital building and other historic sites in that city. His column “By the Way” was named the National Newspaper...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 HELEN HOLMES (1915-1997) wrote for newspapers, taught journalism, and was honored for her historical writing about Guthrie’s early days, work that was recognized by state leaders after her death. The former Guthrie mayor is a member of the...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 DON GAMMILL (1952-2017) had a varied career that extended beyond the four walls of a newspaper office. He held the traditional roles as a sportswriter and other various editorial positions, including editor and columnist, during his career...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 JOHN A. FERGUSON, JR. (1925-2000) had a passion for writing about sports stars for nearly 50 years. Young athletes and internationally known athletes were part of his beat. “Fergy” wrote “The Bullpen” column for the Tulsa World. He was a...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 CHARLES CAGLE (1937-2015) began his career throwing newspapers, then worked in several departments at the Harrison Daily Times (Arkansas) and was managing editor at the Clinton Daily News. In 1975, he joined Neighbor Newspapers (later CNHI)...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 TIM CHAVEZ (1958-2009) worked for The Oklahoman as a business writer and TV columnist before becoming an opinion page editor for the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York. He then became a reporter and political columnist for The Tennessean,...

Posthumously Inducted: 2020 B.A. BRIDGEWATER (1894-1964) may be the only person in the newspaper industry who, as a managing editor, hired himself to be a sports editor. “Bridge” held the Tulsa World position for 37 years and wrote a “Telling the World” column. In...