Ten years after his father went into the Salem Sports Hall of Fame, Howard Thurman Jr. now joins him in this elite group.

The son of former Salem coaching great Howard Thurman Sr.,Thurman Jr. was a strong athlete in basketball, track and football during his days as a Wildcat.

A 1952 graduate, Thurman Jr. set school records in both basketball and track at Salem. He set a single game scoring record of 34 points during a game in the 1951-52 season.

During that same year he broke the North Egypt Conference track record in the 180 yard low hurdles with a time of 22.9.

Thurman Jr. received state recognition in both basketball and track. In 1952 he was chosen to the Chicago Daily News All-State Third Team.

In his senior track season,Thurman Jr. competed in the Illinois state meet as a member of the mile relay team. Other members on that relay team were Frank Brinkerhoff, Harold Thurman and Glendel Phelps.

After he graduated from high school, Thurman Jr. went on to play both basketball and football at Bacone Junior College in Muskogee, Oklahoma. On the basketball court Thurman Jr. led his team in scoring in both the 1952-53 and 1953-54 seasons. As a member of the Bacone football team, he played in the Junior Rose Bowl at Pasadena, California in 1952.

After junior college Thurman Jr. transferred to Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State) where he obtained a B.S. in geology.

At the time of his induction,Thurman Jr. resided in Bakersfield, California.