Aug. 12, 2004

A two-sport player of the late 1940's who went on to a successful business career in Amarillo, Texas, a basketball player who epitomized the "rush `em and wreck `em" style of the coach, a volleyball All-American who precipitated the greatness of Lady Buff volleyball, and a Buff lineman of the Joe Kerbel era make up the Class of 2004 inductees into the West Texas A&M University Athletic Hall of Champions.

Athletic Director Ed Harris announced today that the late Boyce Box, Hubert "Cuby" Kitchens, Eve (Posey) Gerber, and John Varnell will be inducted August 28, 2004, at the Hall of Champions luncheon at the Alumni Banquet Hall.

Boyce Boxand his twin brother, Cloyce (1988 Hall of Champions inductee) came to West Texas State Teachers College in the fall of 1942 from tiny Jonesboro, Texas.

The 6-4 Boyce played as a freshman on the team that went 15-7 for Coach Gus Miller and were co-champions of the Border Conference. Box then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was assigned to V-12 program at the University of North Carolina. He played on the 1943-44 Tar Heel team that went 17-10 and was the regular-season Southern Conference champions and lost to Duke in the tournament final game.

After the end of World War II, Box came back to WT and played two years of basketball beginning in the fall of 1946 and was an end on the football 1946 team that had a record of 5-5. As a senior on the basketball team he was the captain and during his career the Buffs went 39-31.

Box received his Bachelor's of Science degree from WT on Aug. 22, 1949. He signed a contract with the New York Yankees and was assigned to the Beaumont, Texas, farm club as an outfielder. The Yankees made him a pitcher, but he developed bursitis in his pitching arm and that ended his pro career, however, he did return to action and pitched two summers for the Amarillo Gold Sox.

Box then decided to go into coaching and was hired as the athletic director at Abernathy, Texas, where he coached football, basketball, and track for three and a half years.

During the Korean War, Box once again served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After Box was honorably discharged as a captain in 1951, he became an insurance agent for Massachusetts Mutual Life, where he worked for more than 40 years - becoming a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table.

Along with his insurance business Box branched out as an entrepreneur, building motels, restaurants, mobile home parks, and truck stops.

In 1974, Box was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus award from the WT Alumni Association, and for many years served on the Development Board at Baylor University. He coached American Legion baseball and served as a mentor to many young boys striving to excel in sports.

Box and the former L. Louise Pugh were married in 1950 and had five children, daughters Brenda, Lynette and Rhonda, and sons Blake and Bernay, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Mr. Box passed away at the age of 72 on March 21, 1996.

Hubert Wiley "Cuby" Kitchens came to WT from Childress High School in the fall of 1946 and became a part of the "sizzlin' frosh" team that went 30-3. He then played three years on the varsity with a combined record of 46-31.

As a sophomore he was a teammate of Boyce Box. The WT annual describes Kitchens' junior year as being a part of the "rush `em and wreck `em" type of platoon basketball - "a tall combination plus a little fast team." He was named to the All-Star team of the Enid, Oklahoma Intercollegiate Tournament, when the Buffs won the first place trophy.

Kitchens' senior year of 1949-50 produced a 19-10 record and third place in the Border Conference, which included a three-game sweep over Texas Tech. In the regional playoffs, WT defeated Texas Wesleyan, 72-55 in the last home played at Burton Gymnasium before the Buffs moved to the new WT Field House, before losing at East Texas State, 56-53.

He was named first-team All-Border Conference and team captain as a senior, Most Valuable Player as a junior, and averaged more than 12 points per game during his WT career.

Kitchens received his Bachelor's of Science degree in physical education in May 1951, and he also received his Master's of Education from WT in August 1956. He began his coaching career at White Deer, Texas before serving in the U.S. Navy from 1952-54. After an honorable discharge he coached at Groom, Texas and then moved to Hereford, Texas, where he coached football, golf, and basketball for 30 years. Kitchens led the Whitefaces to the state finals in basketball in 1957. He then moved into junior high school administration for four years and retired in 1989.

From 1985 to 2003, he was the color commentator for Hereford football on KPAN. Kitchens also was honored by the City of Hereford on "Cuby" Kitchens Day for his years of coaching at the high school. He even played one year of baseball for the Amarillo Gold Sox.

Kitchens and his wife, the former Bobbie Ford, were married in Dec. 1952, and have three children, Keith (head football coach at Shallowater, Texas), Karen, (wife and mother of three in Hereford), and Kelly (head golf coach at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas). Kitchens plays golf almost every day, still walking the course, and dominoes on the weekend.

Eve (Posey) Gerber is part of the 2004 WTAMU Hall of Champions Induction Class.

After suffering through five losing seasons in seven years of Lady Buff volleyball from 1980-1986, head coach Kim Hudson turned the program around in 1987 with a 25-7 record, but she knew they could do better. In 1988, after sitting out a year of volleyball action, setter Eve (Posey) Gerber, whom Hudson had coached at Amarillo High School, came to WT and immediately had an impact on the program upon her arrival.

The Lady Buffs reached the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time ever in 1988. WT won its first Lone Star Conference championship, going undefeated during the conference slate, finishing the season at 33-8 and losing in the regional semifinals to Regis. Gerber was named second-team All-LSC after ranking second on the team with 609 assists. She also recorded 210 digs and 72 kills.

In Gerber's senior season of 1989, the Lady Buffs went 31-9, sharing the LSC championship with Angelo State, and made it to their first ever Elite Eight appearance - losing in the quarterfinals to host Cal State-Bakersfield. She was named first-team All-LSC, AVCA All-South Central Regional Team, South Central Regional Tournament MVP, and AVCA second-team All-American. Gerber led the LSC with 1,616 assists, then a conference and WT single-season record.

Following her stellar career at Amarillo High, Gerber played volleyball at San Jacinto Junior College, earning all-conference honors in 1985 and first-team All-American honors in 1986. She was named the first-ever Volleyball Player of the Year in 1986 by the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, and then three years later she shared the honor with her WT teammates, Jill and Julie Myatt (both members of the WT Hall of Champions).

After receiving a Bachelor's of Business Administration from WT in August 1990, she married Sid Gerber in the summer of 1991 and came back to WT for teacher certification. She taught five years in elementary school, six years as a middle school physical education teacher, and now will teach physical education at the West Texas Early Childhood Center for the Levelland, Texas, ISD.

She and her husband of 13 years have three sons: Matt, Nick, and Chris.

John Varnell is part of the 2004 WTAMU Hall of Champions Induction Class.

John Varnell was a two-way all-district 6-4, 217-pound lineman for Plainview, Texas, High School, who decided to come to WT to play football for first-year head coach Joe Kerbel. By the time he finished his collegiate career, the Buffs had gone 22-17-1, highlighted by a 15-14 victory over Ohio University in the 1962 Sun Bowl, during Varnell's junior year.

Teammate and 1991 Hall of Champions inductee Charlie Daves said of the then-275 pounder, Varnell was "the first big, fast lineman to play at WT."

Varnell was a starter at defensive end most of his WT career and part of the 1962 team recorded three shutouts and allowed 115 points during the 9-2 season. In 1963 he was team captain and president of the Lettermen's Club.

After his senior season, he played in the Southwest Challenge Bowl in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco, Calif. He was also invited to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. In 1964 during the AFL-NFL draft wars, Varnell was drafted in the third round by the AFL Houston Oilers and in the fourth round by the NFL Los Angeles Rams.

He signed with the Oilers and in 1964 played under coach Pop Ivy, but when legendary TCU and Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh took over the coaching reins, Varnell went to the Rams, but he hurt his neck in practice and never played for them.

After a year out of football and while working out in Canyon, Varnell was offered a signing bonus with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before the 1966 season. The team finished 5-9 as he played several positions before a knee injury ended his playing career.

He was timed at 4.6 and 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dashes by pro coaches who were amazed and "could not believe a guy that big could run [that fast]."

Varnell graduated from WT in May 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with minors in mathematics and English and received his Master's of Education in mathematics and physical education from Sul Ross State University in 1976. He was head coach at Springlake-Earth High School, Texas, and had coaching stints at Tulia, Big Spring, Ector High School in Odessa, Bishop College, and Jefferson and Spruce High Schools in Dallas, all the while teaching algebra and geometry. In 1996, he was selected for "Who's Who Among America's Teachers."

Varnell and his wife, the former Janice Hays, have two children, John and Lori, and two grandchildren.

The Hall of Champions induction banquet will be at 11:30 a.m. on August 28, 2004, at the Alumni Banquet Facility on campus. For reservations call the Athletic Offices at (806) 651-4400.

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