Francis Marion University athletic officials have announced thatformer baseball All-American Wayne Huggins andformer tennis All-American and current Patriot tennis coachGarth Thomson will be inducted into the FMUAthletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Jan. 31, 1998.
Huggins, a native of Florence and a graduate ofSouthside High School, was a four-year letterwinner on the firstfour Patriot baseball teams (1973-76). He graduated with aB.S. degree in mathematics in 1976. Still a resident ofFlorence, he owns and operates Carolina Medical Corp., LeaseAssociates, Inc., and Greenville Dialysis Center.
The 5'11" right-handed hitting catcher appeared in 125 careergames and recorded a .320 career batting average with 61 runsscored, 18 stolen bases (in 26 attempts), 32 doubles, four homeruns, and 74 runs batted in. He was twice named the team mostvaluable player, was selected to the NAIA District Six All-DistrictTeam three times (1973, 1975, 1976), and as a senior was named NAIAhonorable mention All-American.
Statistically, he enjoyed his best year in 1975 when he batted.387 with 24 runs scored, 23 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, and athen-record 14 doubles, as Francis Marion posted a 21-14record. Following that season, in addition to earningAll-District honors, he was named to the All-State Team. Hehelped lead the Patriots to the District Six Tournament title andthird-place finishes in the area tournament in both 1974 and1976. As a senior, he batted .299 with 11 RBIs and earnedAll-District and All-Area recognition, in addition to the honorablemention All-America honors.
Listed as the first-ever baseball scholarship recipient atFrancis Marion, he helped lead the Patriots to a four-year mark of84-59 and four District Six Tournament appearances.
As a student, he was a member of Tau Upsilon Delta fraternity,and following graduation has been active in the Patriots Brigadeand FMU Alumni Association.
