Honoring Houston athletes

The who’s-who of Houston sports gathered at the Hilton Americas-Houston for the third annual Houston Sports Awards, a Roaring 20s-themed affair. Strake Jesuit graduate Matthew Boling, who set the national high school record for the 100-meter dash, took home the High School Athlete of the Year award. Peter Berry, the 18-year-old Emery/Weiner senior who helped lead TIRR Memorial Hermann’s Junior Hotwheels basketball team to three national titles since 2013 and one national softball title, was also honored. After losing the use of his legs following a car crash that took his parents’ lives in 2011, Berry dedicated himself to wheelchair basketball and has become a Houston sports icon. Starting this fall, he’ll play for the two-time defending national wheelchair champions University of Alabama. Berry accepted the city’s first Inspiration Award, presented by Houston Texans player J.J. Watt. Three legends were inducted into the 2020 Class of the Houston Sports Hall of Fame: Olympic gold medalists Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton plus former Houston Rockets coach and player Rudy Tomjanovich. Also honored was the late Robert C. McNair, the man credited with bringing the NFL back to Houston. McNair was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. For more details and a video of J.J. Watt presenting the award to Peter Berry, see “Houston Sports Awards: Celebrating A Golden Era of Houston Sports” by Pooja Salhotra.

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