Metro Nashville Sports Hall of Fame inducts Ricky Collins, Maurice Fitzgerald, Reggie Grimes and others

Tennessee State basketball coach Brian "Penny" Collins believes a program is only able to move forward with a full awareness of its past.

It's one of the main reasons Collins has his father Ricky on his staff.

"It's priceless to have someone like my dad on our staff; someone who has been through all the things he's been through," Brian "Penny" Collins said. "He's seen it all, done it all, and when coach Collins speaks we all listen."

All that he accomplished first as a high school basketball player at Pearl High (1971-74) and Cumberland, Middle Tennessee State and UT Martin – and then as a longtime high school coach – led to Ricky Collins being part of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

The class, which also included Sherrie Wright Dickens (Overton), Jeff Edwards (DuPont), Maurice Fitzgerald (Pearl), Reggie Grimes (Hunters Lane), Shawny Bo Wynn (Cameron), Leon Bradley (Pearl, posthumous) and Lillian Jackson (Litton, posthumous), was inducted Thursday at the Millennium Maxwell House

As much as Ricky Collins, a two-time Tennessean All-Nashville Interscholastic League performer, loved basketball in high school, he never expected it to remain a part of his life as long as it has.

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"I have enjoyed the ride basketball has given me and I may be enjoying it more today than ever before getting to be with my son," Collins said.

Collins coached at Pearl-Cohn, Antioch and Whites Creek along with several schools in Memphis.

He said basketball has changed over the five decades he has been a part of it, but the fundamental relationship between coaches and players has pretty much remained the same.

"A lot of kids want discipline," Collins said. "They want somebody to guide them and tell them what to do. They need that. It's the same today as it was years ago. Kids who are fortunate enough to be able to play basketball, or any sport, are fortunate to get that guidance they are looking for."

Wright Dickens played softball at Overton (1987-90). She posted an 8-1 record as a senior and went on to play one season at Central Michigan before transferring to Belmont, where she was an NAIA All-American in 1993.

Edwards was an All-NIL baseball pitcher in 1981 who posted a 3-1 record with an ERA of 0.41. He struck out 20 batters in 14 innings in a game against McGavock before being relieved and struck out 19 Maplewood batters before a game was called because of darkness. He went on to play at Vanderbilt.

Fitzgerald retired in 2021 after spending 36 years as a Metro coach. He was a football star at Hume-Fogg and TSU whose head coaching stints included Pearl-Cohn (1990-2005), Stratford (2015-16) and Hillsboro (2017-20). His career record was 150-101.

Fitzgerald led Pearl-Cohn to Class 4A state championships in 1996 and 1997, and Hillsboro reached the playoffs each year under Fitzgerald.

Grimes played quarterback, running back, tight end and defensive end at Hunters Lane (1992-94). He rushed for 1,186 yards and 17 touchdowns while leading the Warriors to the state playoffs as a senior and was listed among Nashville's greatest 50 high school football players of all time by The Tennessean in 2019. He went on to play at Alabama.

Wynn played football, basketball, baseball and ran track at Cameron. He made the All-NIL Eastern Division Football Team and went to play at TSU and became a pro wrestler after he graduated.

Bradley played basketball and baseball at Pearl (1949-52) and basketball at South Carolina State. He then became a coach at Cameron and moved rapidly up the administrative ladder in Metro. In 1966 he served as coordinator of special projects, in 1967 became supervisor of professional personnel and in 1969 became the first Black assistant superintendent of personnel.

Jackson was a three-year starter on the Litton basketball team and captain as a senior in 1937. She attended Nashville Business College where she was a softball star and later played professionally through 1954.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Metro Sports Hall of Fame inducts Ricky Collins, Maurice Fitzgerald , others