Charleston, S.C. -  Early Eastburn '62, the football team's celebrated running back who led the Bulldogs to the 1960 Tangerine Bowl victory and the 1961 Southern Conference championship, highlights a list of five who will be inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 30, at 9:15 a.m. in McAlister Field House.

Also entering the Hall as members of the Class of 2006 are football standouts Jim Gabrish '85 and Jimmy King '71, soccer player Craig Stephans '91 and supporter William M. Altman, Jr. '31, who enters posthumously and as an honorary member. 

The five increases the membership of the Hall of Fame, which originated in 1977, to 138 individuals.  The Hall is located in the lobby of McAlister Field House on campus.

Early Eastburn

The left halfback on offense and defense for The Citadel's best back-to-back football teams of all time, Eastburn, a native of Mobile, AL, was a three-time letterwinner who once held the college's career rushing record.  His play led the Bulldogs to a 27-0 victory over Tennessee Tech in the 1960 Tangerine Bowl and the college's first Southern Conference football crown in 1961.  A lieutenant colonel in the Corps of Cadets, Eastburn was a first-team All-Southern Conference and All-State selection, and earned an Honorable Mention All-America citation.  Playing for Coach Eddie Teague, Eastburn starred on teams that won 23 of 31 games, including a 0-0 tie with Florida State at Johnson Hagood Stadium.  A tri-captain his senior season, he was The Citadel's first player ever to participate in the annual Senior Bowl Game in Mobile.

Jim Gabrish

A right tackle from Canfield, OH, Gabrish was a four-year letter-winner (1982-85) who played for coaches Art Barker and Tom Moore.  A two-time team captain, Gabrish earned Associated Press and United Press International First-Team All-America honors his senior year in addition to being named a Kodak First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Southern Conference, First-Team All-State and All-America by The Football News.  As a junior, he garnered first-team honors from UPI, Kodak, the Southern Conference and earned All-State honors, and was a second-team AP All-American.  He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers and eventually spent time with the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns.

Jimmy King

A member of the football team who played from 1968-70, King was a defensive back on Red Parker-coached teams.  An all-Southern Conference first-team member who also earned honorable mention All-America honors in 1970, King called the defensive coverage for the backfield.  The native of Raleigh, NC led the 1969 team with six interceptions that tied a then-school record, and continues to be in a five-way tie for the school mark with three picks in a single game (vs. VMI in 1970).

Craig Stephans

A four-year letterman and midfielder on Citadel soccer teams from 1987-90, Stephans, a native of Edmond, OK, started in 66 of the 68 games he played and recorded 33 goals and nine assists for his career.  A three-time, first-team All-Southern Conference selection, Stephans, in 1989, earned third team All-South honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.  A member of the 1990 All-SoCon Tournament Team, he appeared regularly in the league's scoring statistics and was once named the league's player of the week.  A Dean's List and Gold Star student who played for coach Bill Barfield, Stephans held rank in the Corps of Cadets, was a member of the Honor Court and served as editor of The Shako, the college's student literary magazine.

William M. Altman, Jr.

Native South Carolinian Bill Altman's lead gift of more than $1 million paved the way for Phase I of the Revitalization of Johnson Hagood Stadium Project with the creation of the Altman Athletic Center.  Altman, who graduated from The Citadel in 1931, served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46 with tours in Europe at the battles of Normandy, Northern France, Central Europe and the Rhineland, and was decorated with the Bronze Star and was awarded service ribbons from the European and American theaters.  He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Citadel in 1991, and was a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto while serving as a leader of the Orangeburg community.  He and his wife established the William M. Altman, Jr. and Henrietta B. Altman Foundation Citadel Fund in 1984 as a charitable trust to provide educational funding for The Citadel in the form of academic scholarships.  He passed away on Dec. 21, 1996.