Billy Wagner, Former Ferrum Baseball Student-Athlete, to Join Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
FERRUM, Va. -- Former Ferrum College baseball standout Billy Wagner has been selected for induction into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Wagner and six other individuals from across the state comprise the VSHOF's Class of 2012.
Joining Wagner this year are former University of Virginia Women's Basketball Coach Debbie Ryan; former Virginia Commomwealth University and Boston Celtics star Gerald Henderson; former Virginia Tech and Green Bay Packers standout Antonio Freeman; the late Ray Hendrick, a late-model ace from Richmond who was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998; former NBA referee Jess Kersey; and Al Pearce, a former sports writer for the Daily Press in Newport News.
Wagner is the second person from Ferrum to be inducted into the Virgina Sports Hall of Fame, joining legendary football coach Hank Norton, who was inducted in 2006.
Wagner played three seasons at Ferrum under then Head Coach Abe Naff, now the College's Director of Athletics. He struck out 327 batters as a left-handed fireballer for the Panthers, closing his collegiate career with a 17-3 record.
Wagner holds the NCAA Division III single-season record for strikeouts per nine innings at 19.1 (109 strikeouts in 51.1 innings, 1992). He was a first team All-American in 1993 after finishing 6-3 with 3 saves, 133 strikeouts, and a 1.56 ERA.
The Houston Astros selected Wagner in the first round of the 1993 major league baseball amateur draft, as the 12th pick overall. A seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star, Wagner played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.
Wagner retired after the 2010 season, and is fifth in Major League Baseball history with 422 saves. He struck out 1,196 major league batters, the most by an MLB left-handed reliever.
Wagner was inducted into Ferrum's Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. His wife Sarah Quesenberry-Wagner, a career 1,000-point scorer for the Panthers from 1991-94, was named to the College's Hall of Fame in 2004.
Wagner and the other six members of the Class of 2012 will be inducted during a ceremony in April. For more information, please visit the Virginia Sporta Hall of Fame web site at http://vshfm.com/.
