BOBBY RICHARDSON SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

Andre Roberts, The Citadel’s record-setting wide receiver, will receive the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame’s annual Bobby Richardson Sportsmanship Award during the Hall’s 49th Induction Ceremonies on May 18 in Columbia.

The Richardson Award, which will be presented by its namesake, honors a South Carolina athlete who best exemplifies excellence on and off the various fields of play while displaying the utmost in sportsmanship.

Roberts, who just completed his junior year at the Military College of South Carolina, is already a two-time All-America selection and hails from Columbia’s Spring Valley High. 

The Richardson Award is part of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame’s celebration night.  Being enshrined in the Hall of Fame at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center will be Herman Helms, former sports editor of The State and a founder of the Hall; former USC basketball standouts Skip Harlicka and Jack Thompson; Ty Cline, a former Clemson baseball All-American and 12-year veteran of the major league; former S.C. State and Detroit Lions star Robert Porcher; NASCAR veteran Cotton Owens; longtime Olympia High coach Bobby Giles; and former Francis Marion University and current University of North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell, who has captured national championships at the AIAW, NAIA and NCAA levels.

Roberts earned first-team All-America citations in 2008 from the American Football Coaches Association, The Sports Network, Associated Press (2nd team), as well as first team accolades from the Southern Conference coaches and media as a wide receiver and punt returner.

With another year remaining to play, Roberts already owns The Citadel’s record for most receptions in a game, season and career; most yards receiving in a season and career; most punt returns in a game; and most yards returning in a season and career.  He ranks among the Top-5 in nine Southern Conference season and career categories, and has scored a touchdown in 17 consecutive games.  This past season, Roberts was first in six statistical categories.

The award is named for the Sumter native, who played second base for the New York Yankees from 1955-66 and who appeared in seven World Series, winning three.  He captured the 1960 World Series Most Valuable Player Award and in the 1964 series against the St. Louis Cardinals, he tied a World Series record with 13 hits.