Welcome to the WHS Sports Hall of Fame website.  The Hall of Fame will serve to honor athletics, coaches, administrators, and long-time supporters of the Athletic Department at Walton High School.  This site will contain documents that specify criteria for selecting a nominee as well as a nomination form.

You can fill out these forms and email them to heraldsports@aol.com.  Or you can print them out, complete the forms, and mail them to:

DeFuniak Herald
Attn:  Pat Casey
740 Baldwin Ave.
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435

• Selection Criteria - WHS Sports Hall of Fame.docx (26.0 KBs)

• Athletes Nomination Form - Nomination Form.docx (54.4 KBs)

• Coaches, Administrators, and Community Supporters Nomination Form - Coaches Admin Community Supporter Nomination.docx (45.6 KBs)

Walton Sports Hall of Fame Announces 2026 Induction Class
By Patrick Casey

The Walton High School Sports Hall of Fame recently chose their 12th class to be honored with the ceremony set for October 2. The selections were made from former athletes, coaches, administrators, and distinctive supporters of the Athletic Department at Walton High School.

This year’s class includes an athlete from the 1950s who was a star in three different sports, a boys basketball player in the mid-2000s who led the Braves to back-to-back district titles over his junior-senior years, a female athlete that starred in both basketball and volleyball in the late 1990s, and a baseball, football, and basketball player from the mid-1960s who hit one of the biggest home runs in the history of the Braves baseball program.

In addition, the 1967-68 boys basketball team has been chosen for induction this year after posting a school record 24 wins nearly 60 years ago while also capturing the Northwest Florida Conference championship with one of the more talented group of athletes to play the sport in the school’s history.

The individuals to be honored include:
- Pat Bludworth - member of the 1960 graduating class, lettered in the sports of football, baseball, and basketball owning the Walton record for most solo tackles in a game(17) for more than 50 years in a 7-6 Homecoming win over Crestview in 1959 in which he also scored the Braves only touchdown and kicked the extra point. Owner of nine varsity letters, he played near flawless defense at shortstop from 1958-60.
- Darryl McGhee - member of the Class of 2006, the 6-foot-7 basketball player helped the Braves to a 45-14 record over his junior-senior years, capturing back-to-back district championships and three playoff wins. McGhee was a tenacious rebounder and shot-blocker while also scoring 1,103 points in 102 games for a 10.8 PPG scoring average.
- Kristen Yates King - member of the Class of 1999, led the girls basketball team in scoring her last three years at the school, posting 983 points in 84 games for a 10.5 PPG average with a trip to Lakeland her freshman year when the Braves lost to Tampa Academy of Holy Names in the Class 3A title game. In volleyball, she helped the Braves to the Region 1, Class 3A title game in 1998 using her 5-foot-11 athleticism to lead Walton on their deepest playoff run in school history.
- Mike Jacobs - member of the Class of 1965, the multi-sport athlete used his versatility to play baseball, football, and basketball with his grand slam home run on May 7, 1965, in the bottom of the fourth inning rallying Walton to a 6-4 home win over Live Oak Suwannee and a trip to the Class A state tournament where he threw a 2-hitter only to see the Braves lose 1-0 to Plant City in the state semifinal. 

The Walton 1967-68 boys basketball team posted a 24-5 record for head coach Steve Dashiff, winning the Northwest Florida Conference title while also owning one of the longest winning streak’s in the program’s history (14 games) with four different players averaging more than 16 points a game:  Burvin Pugh (20.9), Ricky Scott(16.5), Carroll Tharpe (16.5), and John Lindsey (16.0). The squad posted a 113-55 win at Pensacola Tate on Dec. 15, 1967, in what is likely the highest-scoring boys game in school history, while scoring 37 points in the fourth quarter (before the existence of the 3-point line). Walton also scored 100 points in a win at home against Poplar Springs with the team averaging 78.4 PPG.

Members of the 1967-68 team and the head coach invited for the event include:
- Roger Andrews
- Danny Beasley
- Heck Currie
- David Holder
-Jimmy Holder
- John Lindsey
- David McIntosh
- Burvin Pugh
- Johnny Roehm
- Ricky Scott
- Carroll Tharpe
- Curtis Warren
- Alan Williams

Head Coach Steve Dashiff

The induction class will be honored on Friday, October 2, when the 2026 Walton Braves football team plays host to South Walton at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium. Festivities will include an induction ceremony at 11 a.m. at Eagle Springs Golf Course and Recreation Center in DeFuniak Springs and on-field recognition at halftime of the football game that evening.

For more information you can also contact Patrick Casey at The DeFuniak Herald at 850-892-3232; via The DeFuniak Herald's Facebook page; or by e-mail at heraldsports@aol.com.