Who's in Houston Sports Hall of Fame? Here's a look at all 30 inductees through the years.

A ninth class will go into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame with an induction ceremony Tuesday night at Le Tesserae, pushing the Hall of Fame count to 30 when the Texans’ J.J. Watt, Astros’ Billy Wagner and Dynamo’s Brian Ching join the illustrious group.

It will be tough to ever top that first class in 2018 when Nolan Ryan, Earl Campbell and Hakeem Olajuwon all went in together. Since then, the bronze plaques on the Walk of Fame at GreenStreet in downtown Houston have multiplied covering so many of the city’s all-time great athletes.

Here’s a look at all 30 Houston Sports Hall of Famers after the 2026 class is inducted…

Jeff Bagwell, Astros (2021)

Bagwell, who was inducted the same year as longtime teammate Craig Biggio, is one of just three players in the Baseball Hall of Fame wearing an Astros cap. Bagwell holds Astros franchise records with 449 career home runs and 1,529 runs batted in, was the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year and a unanimous 1994 NL MVP, and was a four-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner and one-time Gold Glove recipient.

Lance Berkman, Rice/Astros (2024)

Berkman helped the Rice Owls reach their first College World Series in 1997 before going on to play 12 seasons with the Houston Astros, including being a huge part of the 2005 World Series team. The five-time All-Star still has the best career on-base percentage (.410) in Astros history and ranks second in home runs (326) behind only Jeff Bagwell.

Craig Biggio, Astros (2021)

Fittingly, Biggio went into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame at the same time as his longtime Astros teammate and friend Jeff Bagwell. Biggio, the first player in the Baseball Hall of Fame to wear an Astros cap on his plaque, still leads the Astros in games played (2,850), hits (3,060) and doubles (668), ranks second in RBIs (1,175) and is third in home runs (291).

Jackie Burke Jr., golf (2019)

Burke, who died in 2024 at 100 years old, won the Masters and PGA Championship in 1956 as well as 14 other PGA Tour victories over his 14-year professional career. The World Golf Hall of Famer later co-founded Houston’s Champions Golf Club and helped bring the Ryder Cup there in 1967.

Earl Campbell, Oilers (2018)

Campbell, who finished his career with two seasons in New Orleans where he played for his good friend Bum Phillips, is one of just 11 Texans enshrined by the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the only one to do so by playing every significant moment of his career for a team representing Texas. The man known as the Tyler Rose rushed for 8,574 yards in seven seasons with the Oilers, a career number yet to be matched by anyone with a Houston professional football team.

Van Chancellor, Comets (2025)

Chancellor was a successful college coach before being picked as the Houston Comets’ first coach in 1997. In the WNBA’s first four years, Chancellor and the Comets went an astounding 114-27 for an .809 winning percentage including the postseason in which the Comets won the league’s first four championships. Chancellor was named the WNBA’s coach of the year in three of those four years.

Brian Ching, Dynamo (2026)

Ching is the best Dynamo player of all-time, leading the franchise to back-to-back championships in its first two years in Houston in 2006 and 2007. Ching, who still is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals, endeared himself further to Houston in 2012 when the Montreal Impact selected him in the MLS expansion draft and he said he’d rather retire than leave Houston and took a paycut to finish his career with the Dynamo.

Roger Clemens, Spring Woods HS/Astros (2022)

Clemens, a Spring Woods High School graduate and former University of Texas star, pitched for the Astros from 2004-06 as part of a 24-season major league career that also included stints with the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees. He won a record seven Cy Young Awards and is third on the all-time strikeout list with 4,672. During his three seasons in Houston, the Astros won a playoff series for the first time in franchise history in 2004 and advanced to their first World Series in 2005.

Cynthia Cooper, Comets (2024)

Cooper helped the Houston Comets win the WNBA’s first four championships, getting named the league MVP in 1997 and 1998 and WNBA Finals MVP for all four titles. Before helping launch the WNBA, Cooper played in three Final Fours with USC and had a big-time professional career overseas. She later coached for 17 years, including five years at Prairie View A&M and four at Texas Southern.

Clyde Drexler, Sterling HS/UH/Rockets (2022)

Drexler graduated from Sterling High School before being a key cog of the University of Houston’s Phi Slama Jama teams of the early 1980s, helping them to two Final Four appearances, including the 1983 national championship game. After 12 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, he was traded to the Rockets where he helped then win the 1995 NBA title. Drexler, who retired in 1998, was also named one of the top 50 players in NBA history and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2004 and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.”

George Foreman, boxing (2019)

Foreman, who died in 2025, won the 1968 heavyweight boxing gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics and after turning professional won the world championship in 1973 against Joe Frazier and again more than 20 years later at age 45 against Michael Moorer. Foreman, who grew up in Fifth Ward, went on to become a huge celebrity with TV appearances and the famed George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million units since its introduction in 1994.

A.J. Foyt, auto racing (2019)

Foyt, who won the Indianapolis 500 four times, was selected by the Associated Press along with Mario Andretti as drivers of the century and is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of LeMans. Foyt, who got his start in racing while attending Lamar, San Jacinto and St. Thomas high schools, remains active in the IndyCar series as owner of the two-car A.J. Foyt Racing team.

Elvin Hayes, UH/Rockets (2023)

Hayes, who went into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. After leading University of Houston to two Final Fours, Hayes was the No. 1 overall pick of the San Diego Rockets. The 12-time All-Star played seven of his 16 NBA seasons with the Rockets and still ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list and second in rebounds. The Rockets retired his number in 2022.

Kenny Houston, Oilers (2025)

Houston, who grew up in Lufkin, played linebacker at Prairie View A&M and was drafted by the Oilers in the ninth round in 1967. The Pro Football Hall of Famer’s nine interceptions returned for a touchdown still ranks first in Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans history. Houston finished his career with 49 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries. His hard-hitting and ball-hawking style of play helped redefine the role of the defensive back in the NFL.

Andre Johnson, Texans (2021)

Johnson, the Houston Texans’ first Pro Football Hall of Famer, played 12 seasons for the Texans after being drafted third overall in 2003. He was selected to seven Pro Bowls while being the only player in NFL history to have 60-plus receptions in each of his first eight seasons. He leads the franchise in every significant receiving category, including receptions (1,012), yards (13,597) and touchdowns (64).

Carl Lewis, UH (2020)

Lewis, one of the world’s greatest track athletes of all-time, won nine Olympic gold medals and a silver medal from 1984 through 1996. He is one of only three athletes to have won the same event, in his case the long jump, in four successive Olympics, and in 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics duplicated the feat of Jesse Owens in 1936 by winning four track and field goad medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 400-meter relay. The former University of Houston star still coaches the school’s track team.

Guy V. Lewis, UH (2021)

The University of Houston basketball coach, who died in November 2015 at age 93, was a trailblazing coach who helped integrate college athletics in the South. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer coached the Cougars from 1956-86, leading them to five Final Four appearances, and gained national prominence by beating UCLA in the famed “Game of the Century” in 1968 at the Astrodome. His UH record was 592-279, with six Southwest Conference championships and five Final Four appearances.

Bruce Matthews, Oilers (2023)

Matthews, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, played his entire 19-year career with the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. The ninth overall pick of the Oilers in the 1984 draft finished his career by making 14 straight Pro Bowls and his 296 games played are still the most ever by an offensive lineman.

Warren Moon, Oilers (2024)

Moon, who went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, played for the Houston Oilers from 1984 to 1993, leading them to seven straight playoff appearances. Moon was the NFL’s offensive player of the year in 1990. He still is the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans’ all-time leader in passing touchdowns, yards, attempts and completions. After his years in Houston, Moon played for Minnesota, Seattle and Kansas City.

Calvin Murphy, Rockets (2023)

Murphy, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, played all 13 seasons of his career with the Rockets, including his rookie year in San Diego before the franchise moved to Houston. Murphy, who is part of the Space City Home Network’s broadcast team for Rockets games, still ranks third on the franchise’s all-time scoring list behind only Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden. He also is second in games played behind Olajuwon and second in assists behind Harden.

Hakeem Olajuwon, UH/Rockets (2018)

Olajuwon is the greatest Houston Rockets player of all-time, setting a high bar as a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who carried the franchise to its only two NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, while winning the league’s MVP award in 1994 and getting snubbed for it in 1995 (ask David Robinson how that worked out). Olajuwon also is a University of Houston legend, playing a central role in the basketball program’s Phi Slama Jama era that included three Final Four Trips.

Dan Pastorini, Oilers (2019)

As the quarterback of the Houston Oilers’ Luv Ya Blue teams, Pastorini was one of the city’s most popular athletes. Pastorini, who still lives in the Houston area, played for the Oilers from 1971 through 1979, taking them to two straight AFC Championship Games and making a Pro Bowl in 1975.

Mary Lou Retton, gymnastics (2020)

Retton was born in West Virginia, but moved to Houston in the early 1980s to train with coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi. She won five medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, becoming the first U.S. woman to win the all-around gold medal. She also won two silver medals and two bronze medals in individual and team events, and she was selected a decade later for the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Nolan Ryan, Alvin HS/Astros (2018)

One of the city’s iconic No. 34s along with Earl Campbell and Hakeem Olajuwon, Nolan Ryan got his start at Alvin High School and went on to have one of the most legendary pitching careers in big-league history with records that likely will never be matched, including seven no-hitters, 5,714 career strikeouts and six seasons with at least 300 strikeouts. Ryan pitched nine seasons with the Astros, helping the hometown team reach the postseason three times.

Sheryl Swoopes, Comets (2022)

Swoopes, a collegiate national champion at Texas Tech in 1993, was a linchpin from the start of the Houston Comets’ existence, helping them win the WNBA’s first four championships from 1997 to 2000. She was a three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, won the scoring championship twice and was voted an all-star six times. Swoopes was inducted into both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (2016) and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2017).

Rudy Tomjanovich, Rockets (2020)

Tomjanovich was a good enough player for the Houston Rockets that he made five All-Star teams and had his number retired by the team. Still, he’s most celebrated for what he did as a head coach, helping guide Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995 and uttering one of the most famous phrases in the history of the city: “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Billy Wagner, Astros (2026)

Wagner, who went into the Baseball Hall of Fame with an Astros cap on his plaque in 2025, was one of the most successful relief pitchers in MLB history over his 16-year career. His 422 saves are eighth-most all time, and his 225 saves for the Astros are the most in franchise history. His 694 strikeouts in Houston are also the most by an Astros reliever. Wagner was a three-time All-Star for the Astros, won the 1999 National League Rolaid Relief Award and helped the team to four postseason appearances during his Houston tenure.

Andre Ware, UH (2025)

Ware, who also is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, starred at Dickinson High School before going to UH. He shined with the Cougars, winning the Heisman Trophy as a junior when he threw for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns, setting 27 NCAA passing records that season. Ware went pro after that season and was the No. 7 overall pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1990 draft. He played three seasons in Detroit, only getting six starts in his career.

J.J. Watt, Texans (2026)

Watt is not only the best defensive player in Houston Texans history – his spot in the franchise’s Ring of Honor next to Andre Johnson as the only players to etch their name in the Reliant Stadium rafters so far confirms that – but he’s also the best defensive player in the history of professional football in Houston. Watt, who will join Johnson in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible in 2028, dominates the Texans’ record books. His 101 sacks in a Houston uniform is 44 more than the Whitney Mercilus, who is second in franchise history. His 172 tackles for loss is 100 more than anyone else and his 282 quarterback hits more than doubles his nearest competitor.

Bill Yeoman, UH (2021)

Yeoman, who died at 92 shortly before his induction, was UH’s head football coach from 1962-86 and the Cougars’ first inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame (in 2001). The father of the Veer offense, he led the Cougars to four Southwest Conference championships while amassing a 160-108-8 record. He also helped integrate the program by recruiting Black running back Warren McVea in 1964.

Subscribe

There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at Who’s in Houston Sports Hall of Fame? Here’s a look at all 30 inductees through the years..