| Cassell Hall of Fame inductees honored
BY MATT GETTY In a celebration linking the past and future AU’s Athletics immortalized three unique former student-athletes last Saturday and formally kicked off its $7.5 million portion of the AnewAU campaign at the 2005 Stafford H. Cassell Hall of Fame dinner. Honoring the achievements of Arthur Beatty Jr. ’68, Jacqui Frazier-Lyde ’83, and David Nakhid ’87, the university gathered some 100 alumni, friends, faculty, and staff at the Washington, D.C., Marriot Wardman Park Hotel for heartfelt memories of a “gentle giant,” a major gift announcement from the son of AU’s “Pop,” and a five-time heavyweight boxing champ’s acceptance of yet another challenge.
Photo by Jeff Watts
From left, Jacqui Frazier-Lyde,
David Nakhid, Clyde Beatty,
Khalil Tracme (son of inductee Arthur Beatty Jr.), and Hazel Beatty pose with Cassell Hall of Fame plaques.
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In the evening’s most moving display, Clyde Beatty tearfully accepted the Hall of Fame honor on behalf of his brother Arthur Beatty Jr. who passed away last summer. While the 7’ 1” Beatty made his name on the court as a prolific scorer and fierce rebounder, the evening’s remembrances focused equally on his off-the-court accomplishments in the arts. Both AU trustee Jack Cassell ’77 and SIS professor Gary Weaver spoke of Beatty as a “gentle giant” equally remarkable for his acclaimed illustrations of jazz greats as the 1,126 rebounds he grabbed during his career at AU. “If he were here tonight, he’d be carrying a thick valise of clippings from his art exhibits, photos of friends, and playbills from plays he was acting in,” said Weaver. Fittingly, Beatty’s induction was followed by the announcement that a portrait gallery in the Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Arts Center would bear his name. Said Beatty’s mother, Hazel, who was on hand for the celebration, “He would have been so thrilled to see that [the Katzen Arts Center] because the arts were really his lifeline.” Admittedly humbled by Beatty’s emotional induction, the night’s other inductees, Frazier-Lyde and Nakhid, shared fond AU memories. Frazier-Lyde, who became the university’s first female basketball player to score 1,000 points before following in the footsteps of her father, “Smokin’” Joe Frazier, to become a boxing champion, called her days at AU “the time of [her] life.” Asking Barbara Reiman to stand, she publicly thanked the former athletic director for fostering the creative and competitive spirit that drove both her professional success as a criminal lawyer and her winning ways in the ring. “I want my children to see you,” she told Reiman from the podium, “because I want them to know that in life your family goes beyond just your blood family.” Similarly, Nakhid, a Trinidad and Tobago native who led AU’s 1985 soccer team to the NCAA championship game, thanked AU for giving him a second home. “Here I was in a strange new land, encountering the cold and snow for the first time,” he recalled, “and you made a home for me in Washington, D.C.” Memories, however, were only half of the evening’s story, as AU President Benjamin Ladner and former standout AU swimmer Charlie Lydecker ’85, unveiled the university’s plans to raise $7.5 million to enhance athletics through AnewAU. Noting such recent achievements as AU’s top 20 spot in the Fall Sports Director’s Cup rankings, Ladner praised AU’s on-the-field improvements since joining the Patriot League in 2001. “What’s happened in athletics in the last few years really is a rejuvenating spirit that’s an example for the whole university,” he said. With upgrades to Reeves Field, Bender Arena, the Greenberg Track, and other facilities and programs, said Lydecker, the AnewAU campaign promises to build on this success and the history of greatness embodied by the night’s inductees. Beyond introducing the fund-raising goals, Lydecker also shared news on the campaign’s early success. Already $2 million towards its goal, he announced, the campaign recently received an additional $500,000 commitment from Jack Cassell ’77, a former AU soccer player and the son of
legendary AU athlete, coach, and athletic director, Stafford “Pop” Cassell. Sharing such childhood memories as weekend visits to campus with his father, who still wore his AU letterman sweater more than two decades after graduating, Cassell stressed a connection between yesterday’s and tomorrow’s Eagles. “This night is about three people who realized their dreams,” he said. “Without the help of many of the people in the room and other friends and alumni, future athletes will not be able to realize similar dreams.” Based on Frazier-Lyde’s reaction to Cassell’s gift, the heartfelt contribution and remarks may have inspired another prominent former Eagle to support those future dreams as well. “I have to say that I’m a competitor always,” Frazier-Lyde said after admitting that she was touched by Cassell’s dedication to his alma mater. “So as far as your contribution goes, I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to exceed that.” |
