Murphysboro High School Hall of Fame: Class of 2016

Frank Borgsmiller

Athlete 1946-1950
Frank Borgsmiller competed in football, basketball, baseball and track at Murphysboro Township High School.  His senior year he was awarded the inaugural MTHS Outstanding Athlete Award for his accomplishments. Frank received numerous awards and recognition for his athletic endeavors during high school.  In football he played offensive and defensive end and was named to the Southwest Egyptian All-Conference team and was selected to the All-State team.  In baseball he played first base on the 1950 team that advanced to the Sectional tournament and was selected to the All-Conference team for his hitting prowess.  On the track team, Frank threw the discus, and competed in the high jump and long jump. 
Basketball, however, was his favorite sport.  As a 6’4” senior shooting guard he was considered one of the best players in Southern Illinois.  He earned All-Conference and second team All-State honors.  He was highly recruited by colleges including Indiana, Ohio State, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina State, Kansas, Notre Dame, and Illinois.  Legendary coach Adolph Rupp visited Murphysboro to personally recruit him to attend Kentucky.  Ultimately, Frank decided to attend Northwestern University on an athletic scholarship to play both football and basketball.  After playing on the freshmen football and basketball teams at Northwestern, Frank left college and joined the Navy.  During his four years of service, he played on the Navy’s touring basketball team, both domestically and internationally, and was a leading scorer.  When his enlistment ended he enrolled at Southern Illinois University and played on the basketball team for one year while completing his college degree. When he was 35 years old, Frank played his first round of golf and became hooked on the game.  He honed his skills to become a low handicap player, and enjoyed golf as often as possible for the rest of his life.

Molly McDaniel

Contributor and Coach 1975-2007
Molly McDaniel is a 1969 graduate of MTHS.  Six years later in 1975, Molly began her long and successful coaching career as volunteer assistant volleyball coach at MTHS for two years. During the fall and winter of 1975, Molly was the volunteer assistant girls’ basketball coach at MTHS.  She continued in that volunteer capacity until she was hired for that position in 1978.  Molly served as the assistant coach until 1983 when she was hired as head coach.  As the assistant coach she was privileged to coach the 1982-1983 girls’ basketball team which went to the Sweet 16.  She served as head coach for 12 years. In the spring of 1976, Molly instituted the Jr. High girls’ track program.  She coached Jr. High track for 32 years.  Her teams were Regional champs 11 times.  
The teams placed 4th at state once, 3rd at state twice, 2nd at state once and were the state champions in 1979 and 1980.  Murphysboro had the distinction of sending a girl to compete at the state level every year that Molly coached. In the fall of 1976, Molly initiated the Jr. High girls’ softball program.  She served as Jr. High softball coach for 23 years.  Her teams placed 4th at state twice, 3rd at state three times, and reigned as state champions in 1993.  In the 23 years that Molly coached, her teams won 190 out of 287 games for a .662 winning percentage. In the fall of 1983, Molly began building the Jr. High girls’ cross country program.  She coached Jr. High cross country for 24 years.  Her teams placed 3rd at state twice, 2nd at state once, and were state champions in 1984.  Several of her girls later competed at the college level. In other endeavors, Molly served as the clock keeper for both the girls and boys Jr. High basketball teams for over 10 years, and was the wrestling and basketball cheerleading coach for one year. Molly retired from the Murphysboro School District in 2007 after coaching and teaching for 32 years. In retirement she continued to support Murphysboro athletics by serving on the first Murphysboro Athletic hall of fame committee.

Bill Williams

Athlete 1945-1949
Big burly Bill Williams was a block and tackle force on the offensive and defensive lines for the undefeated football squads of 1947 and 1948.  During Bill’s junior and senior years at MTHS the Red Devils were named the “Best Team In Illinois” by the Chicago and Champaign newspapers.  Called Murphysboro’s best lineman by many, Bill was a defensive tackle on the unscored upon team of ‘47.  He lead the offense to an average of over twenty five points per game in 1948 from his tackle position.  Bill was named  All Conference, All Eleven of Southern Illinois, and Honorable Mention All State following his senior year.  After graduation Bill accepted a football scholarship to Northwestern University.  There he was a three year starter for the Wildcats and named to the Big Ten All-Conference team as a junior.