Athletic Hall of Honor Inductees 2016

John Thompson

"Duncanville Weekly News":  In the early 1990's there was a huge void in sports coverage in Duncanville.  The then Today newspaper didn’t think the local people cared about high school sports. Having recently left the banking industry, John Thompson was looking for a new job interest.  He had played high school and college basketball, so sports was his interest.

John and his wife Martha created Green Tree Productions and initiated Duncanville Weekly News, a weekly cable TV show that focused on sports and the good news of Duncanville. Their slogan was "We Were There" because their plan was to cover every sporting event DHS played.

But more was going on behind the new show. John put his film to extra use, making highlights of all the season's games and musical highlights for the team banquets. Now the parents could sit in the stands and enjoy watching their kids play, knowing that John was there to record it all for their enjoyment for years to come. Also, he put together highlights of individual players to help them get college scholarships. And when Bob Alpert was looking for added motivation for his football team, every week John put together a short video from the previous games footage and set it to Go and Get 'Um music. On Friday night, just before the team took the field, Coach Alpert would gather his team to watch. Duncanville won the State Championship one of those years. John was asked to put together the team game programs for football and went on to do the basketball. He sold the ads and did the layout, with the Athletic Department receiving a majority of the profits. 

John has immortalized Duncanville's greatest athletes and coaches. He created a History of the Pantherettes with the only footage of Coach Sandra Meadows sitting mid-court in the old gym talking about her great teams and their traditions. Half of the proceeds from the sales were given to the Pantherette Exes Scholarship Foundation.

Janice Savage Martin

Janice (McJunkin) Savage-Martin attended grades 1-12 in Duncanville schools and graduated in 1971. She is the sixth generation of her maternal family to live in Duncanville. Janice has three sisters, one son Brody and daughter-in-law Megan, and granddaughter Parker.  She married Steve Martin in 2006.

Janice played basketball for Coach Sandra Meadows in 1968-71 receiving All-District and letterman honors. Four generations of her family were Duncanville Pantherettes - her grandmother, her mother, and her niece, as well as herself. Janice also lettered in track. In addition to her athletic abilities, she was selected Miss DHS, elected as Student Council Secretary and Treasurer, and served in the National Honor Society.

After high school she attended Southern Methodist University to study dance, and also lettered in basketball all four years. During this time, she served as Miss Duncanville in the Miss Texas Pageant and Duchess of Duncanville in the Tyler Rose Festival. Janice was also a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority.

Always busy, Janice assists her husband Steve with the Sandra Meadows Classic Basketball Tournament (formerly SWAAU). Janice is a Leadership Southwest graduate, served on the 1994 World Cup Soccer Training Site Committee, and has served on various boards including the Incorporating Duncanville Community and Economic Development (4B) Board, DISD Education Foundation, Duncanville Chamber of Commerce, and Duncanville Lions Club.  She was selected as Duncanville Woman of the Year in 2001 and currently serves on the Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees since 2012. 

Katie McClelland Glenn

Katie McClelland Glenn graduated from Duncanville High School 1995 as one of the most decorated high school swimmers in the state of Texas.  While swimming at DHS, she was a four-time district female swimmer of the year (1992-1995) and a two-time regional female swimmer of the year (1994-1995).  She also earned the distinction as UIL state champion and two-time high school All-American.  At the UIL State Meet Katie set a state record and was awarded the Most Outstanding Competitor designation.  

After high school, Katie competed for Southern Methodist University.  At SMU, she set five Western Athletic Conference records, was a two-time NCAA All-American, a three-time NCAA relay Champion, and a GTE Academic All-American.  Katie was also a two-time team captain for the SMU swim team and in 1996 finished as the NCAA Individual Runner Up in the 100m breaststroke.  Upon completing her degree at SMU, Katie went on to earn a law degree from Texas Tech University.  

Katie’s success in college led to her competing multiple times at the USA Olympic Trials.  She was a semi-finalist at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 200m breaststroke and in 2000 she was again a semi-finalist at the Olympic trials in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.  Katie was a member of the USA Swimming National Team in 2000 and 2001 and was a World University Games Team member in 2001.

Tank Davis, Jr.

Billy J. “Tank” Davis, Jr. attended Duncanville schools in grades 2-12 and graduated in 1979. Tank is married to Brenda Davis, also a graduate of DHS; they reside in East Texas. They have six children and nine grandchildren. Tank coached BBI while living in Duncanville. Both of his sons learned the love of the game and much of their skills in baseball under his direction. Just as Tank learned from his father, Billy J. Davis, Sr.

Tank played baseball for coaches Jay Miller and Mike McDaniel in 1977-79. Tank     received many honors throughout his baseball career at DHS. He was named All-District 1977, 1978 and 1979, All-Metro Player of the Year 1979, All-District Player of the year 1979 and Sophomore of the Year 1977. Tank played in the Texas High School All-Star game consisting of the top 18 players in the state in 1979. Many of his records still stand today untouched.  He is still listed as the #1 homerun hitter in a season with 12 homeruns and #1 on career homeruns at 22. Tank has been credited with 44 RBI’s in a single season, placing him in a tie for third place. Tank is ranked 5th with an all-time batting average of .451.

Tank attended Panola Jr. College in Carthage, Texas after turning down offers from the San Diego Padres to play professional ball. Furthering his education was important. He played baseball at Panola and was All-Conference for two years and also played in the Junior College All Star game. He then went on to play ball at Baylor University in Waco, Texas and finished his college and baseball career at Dallas Baptist University.  While at Baylor, he was 1st Team All-Southwest Conference.

Dave Burton

Dave Burton is in his 46^th year as a state licensed board certified athletic trainer. He   retired from Duncanville ISD in 2009 after 30 years.  During his tenure with Duncanville Athletics he was the Head Athletic Trainer from 1979 to 2002.  During that time the school won 13 state team championships and three individual state titles in various sports.  The athletic training program at Duncanville HS was a well-respected model for health care of student-athletes in the nation.  After 2002, Dave continued to practice athletic training with the district and spent hislast four years as Athletic Trainer/Coordinator of Middle School Athletic Operations.  Five student-trainers during his leadership continued their education and became professional athletic trainers in their own right. 

Dave’s Bachelor’s Degree is in Health and Physical Education from East Carolina University, and holds a Masters in Physical Education and Athletic Administration from the University of North Texas with teaching credentials in both. Dave treated all of the athletes with respect and compassion regardless of their sport, gender or playing status while demanding their compliance to a complete recovery from injury.

Dave was an athletic trainer with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres organizations prior to arriving in Duncanville, and has continued since retirement as the Practice Liaison for Lakewood Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Dallas.  He has also been a Clinical Assistant Professor for University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Adjunct Professor of Kinesiology for Dallas Baptist University, American College of Sports Medicine Team Physician course faculty member and a Sports Medicine Consultant for Arizona Ballet Theatre.  He was awarded the highly coveted NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award for career service to the profession in 2007 as a result of local, regional and national speaking engagements and countless hours of athletic training volunteerism. He was alsohonored for consulting for several athletic organizations, multiple committee involvement and history of publishing.  He also served as DISD UIL Campus Host Administrator for several years, and was the SWATA Liaison to Texas UIL Athletic Council for five years.  The pinnacle of his volunteer work was in 1994 when he served as the USA Host Medical Coordinator for South Korea during the FIFA World Cup of Soccer.