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Chris |
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Chris began fishing as a small child on the banks of the Illinois river, in northeastern Oklahoma. In 1961, she met a high school senior, by the name of Jimmy Houston and this chance encounter would forever change her life. In the early '60s, when tournament bass fishing was in it's formative years, her husband became involved with some local & state tournaments, and after just a few events, came home convinced that his wife could fish as well as anyone he had encountered at these tournaments. He talked her into fishing the next Oklahoma State Championship, where she finished third, on lake Tenkiller. In 1968, this couple both fished "the World Series of Sport Fishing" tournament, on Lake Texoma, where she won the Women's division, while her husband won the Men's division and they collectively won the Mr. & Mrs. division. In 1977, along with several other ladies from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, she organized the first ever all women's bass club, "the Tulsa Bass Belles". Chris won the "Miss Bass Belle" award many times, while she fished with the club, when it was uncommon for women to be seen out fishing in a boat by themselves. In the early 70's,Project Sports, Inc. (PSI) held national bass tournaments throughout the South and invited women to fish. This lady angling pioneer, along with 5 or 6 other ladies, competed in PSI tournaments for several years. In the late 70's, she dominated the "Bass'n Gal" circuit" for many years, winning the "Bass'n Gal" "angler of the year" title seven times. she placed in the money 19 straight times, over a period of five years, and fished every regular season "Bass'n Gal" tournament for 20 years, as well as qualifying for every classic, which she won three times. In 1987, Chris Houston was named to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, and she also fished in every "Legends of Fishing" tournament that was been held by Bass Pro Shops. Chris retired from professional fishing when "Bass'n Gal" discontinued their circuit. She is the first female inducted into the Hall of Fame. |
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Jim |
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Jim Bagley never won a national bass tournament but, instead, dedicated his life to assuring that anglers all over the world have some of their happiest days on the water by creating some of the best fish catching lures ever made. Born in Safety Harbor, Florida on July 24, 1923, with a hard working mom, who was his family's sole provider and his mentor, taught him he could accomplish anything in life that he truly wanted. His first job, at the age of 7 was pulling straws at an "ice plant". In the mid1950's he became famous for his first fish catching invention: the "New Black Magic Eel". By accident, his "Purple Worm" was the first plastic worm to be marketed, and his "Hardhead" and "Springtail Fishing Worms" were way ahead of any other plastic worms that were on the market at the time and were top sellers for several years. Of the over 143 different fishing lures, in 75 different colors that he invented and manufactured, none were better known than the "Bang-o-Lure", the "Balsa B", the "Diving B", the "Kill'r B", the "007", "Mighty Minnow", and the "Salty Dog". At one time, he had 4 fishing lures ranked in the "top 10" in the country, and his creations have been credited with helping win four BassMaster Classics, including being a part of both the 2003 and 2004 Classic wins. Along with creating some of the most famous, and popular, fishing catching baits in the world, Jim Bagley is also credited with starting the "Super Line" craze, when he brought "Bagley's Silverthread Fishing Line" to market, from 1983-1993. Simply creating great fishing lures wasn't the only talent he possessed. In order to get the equipment used in making balsa wood lures, in the very specific tolerances he needed, he invented and built his own manufacturing machinery. Because it was unavailable to buy... anywhere! Anyone who ever saw, or fished with a Bagley lure in the '70's or '80's knows they were a work of art, much like today's Bagley Baits. Throughout his distinguished career, he sold lures and fishing line in almost every country of the free world. He even sold products in Russia, after the Berlin wall came down. By the time he retired, in 1992, his "little bait company" was employing as many as 170 people, in Winter Haven, Florida. an accomplishment that he held dear to his heart. In addition to everything else this great american did, he also served in the US Army Air Corps, in World War Two, and flew 51 missions as a ball turret gunner, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross along with other metals. Those of us who were privileged to know him, knew of his love of flying... especially when he'd show up for a tackle show or fishing tournament in his bright orange helicopter. During his life, Jim Bagley sponsored many fishing tournaments, donated time, money, and products to many charitable causes, and won many awards, including: the Pradco Legend Award for contributions to the fishing tackle industry; the Dolphin Award; the Living Legends of American Sports Fishing award; the Big Business Gold Cup of Industry Award, and was awarded a charter membership into the International Fishing Hall of Fame, to name a few. The world of bass fishing lost this giant of the fishing industry on February 14, 2004. leaving a void that may never be filled. |
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Ricky |
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Many sports legends have been given nicknames to signify their performances in their respective sport. Nicknames like: "Mr. Clutch", for Larry Bird's ability, on the basketball court, to make the game-winning shot in a tight game; or how about: "Mr. October", for Reggie Jackson's ability to always come through in the baseball playoffs each fall. This inductee was dubbed "Mr. Consistency". When this Ricky Green caught his first bass, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, he was only six years old and has been hooked on the sport ever since. His first taste of national bass fishing competition occurred when he fished in the "BassMaster All-American" in 1968, where he finished eleventh. Only the sixth tournament that B.A.S.S. founder, Ray Scott had held. Ricky went on to compete in 184 tournaments, around the country and earned a check ninety times. He won two B.A.S.S. events and posted five runner-up finishes. He won eight "Big Bass" awards at a time when that honor earned a fully rigged bass boat. And , he captured the award two times in a row, twice. A feat that hasn't been done since, along the B.A.S.S.. tournament trail. Ricky's reputation for catching "big bass" on "big baits" is the type of thing that legends are made of, as the early BassMaster magazines proved, by regularly publishing articles on this man's uncanny ability to catch "big 'uns"! He began fishing professionally, full-time, in 1974 and went on to appear in fourteen consecutive BassMasters Classics; an early day record that wasn't broken for many years. He also finished in second place in two BASS Classics. Ricky Green holds the all-time record for the biggest bass ever caught in a BASS Classic. In addition to fishing the B.A.S.S. tournament trail, he qualified for four "American Angler" Classics; three "Project Sports" Classics; and three "FLW Tour" Championships. Ricky was the 1979 "Angler of the Year" on the "American Angler Association" circuit and won five national tournaments during his very distinguished professional life. With these accomplishments, it's easy to see why ESPN selected him as one of the thirty-five greatest bass fishermen ever. While traveling the waterways of America, he has helped promote the sport and profession of bass fishing by being the first sportsperson to make the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He's been featured in Field and Stream; Outdoor Life; BassMasters; Bassin; Sports Afield; North American Fisherman; Southern Outdoors and Bass Times. He has made countless guest appearances on television shows, including: Jimmy Houston Outdoors; Bill Dance Outdoors; Ron Shearer's American Outdoors, as well as appearing on Al Lindner's In-Fisherman; Orlando Wilson Outdoors and Jerry McKinnis' Fishin Hole television programs. His fishing career has taken him all over the world to fish tournaments, promote products and represent major companies in the fishing industry. Ricky holds three U. S. patents on fishing and hunting products, and today, even though he is retired from competitive angling, he donates his time and talents to many organizations around the country, and currently owns his own booking agency for fishing and hunting trips to Mexico and Brazil, where he will join his clients on several trips a year. |
Al
Lindner
Over the past thirty-five years, Al
Lindner has become a world-renowned sport fishing leader.
He, and his brother Ron, were cofounders of Lindy Tackle, as
well as In-Fisherman, Inc., which included: In-Fisherman
Magazine; In-Fisherman Television; radio shows; books;
videos; calendars; a web site; and, a Walleye tournament
circuit. In addition to being one of the
earliest participants in professional bass tournament
fishing, Al is one of the few fishermen who has successfully
fished, and won, both major bass tournaments in the South,
as well as professional Walleye tournaments in the
North. His long career as an author, host
of a syndicated radio and tv fishing show, producer of
videotapes, guide, tackle manufacturer, lecturer and
champion tournament angler has spanned 35 years during the
most revolutionary time in the history of
sportfishing. His work, teaching young people to
fish, reached a high point when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service used his In-Fisherkids Camp fish formula, as a
nationwide teaching tool. Of all the titles Al Lindner holds,
he prefers to be known as an "angling educator". A job he
tirelessly pursues. Al has had a hand in developing and
promoting many of the angling concepts, procedures, products
and language that all of us take for granted today. He is
also famous for figuring out fish response by calendar
season, and today still fishes avidly for all types of
freshwater fish, averaging about 180 days a year on the
water. In 1973, he and his brother sold
their stake in the Lindy's Tackle Company, then, in 1998,
sold In-Fisherman. Today, their "Lindner Media
Productions" specializes in producing educational fishing
programs, dvds, videos, national tv commercials, product
sales videos, point of purchase videos, as well as providing
underwater photography to the sport fishing
industry. Lindner Media Productions films,
edits and produces outdoor television programming for some
of America's most popular television shows, which include:
Lindner's Angling Edge; Lindner's Fishing Edge and Gander
Mountain's Bass Tournament Tour. Additionally, they also
supplied video footage, from their extensive film library,
for the History Channel's series: "Modern
Marvels". With all of this, it's easy to
forget that he comes to us his accomplishments as a bass
tournament angler as well. When Al entered his first
B.A.S.S. tournament, in November of 1970, the
"All-American", on Table Rock Lake, Missouri, he proceeded
to show that anglers from North of the Mason/Dixon line
could catch 'em, too. He finished a very respectable 15th.
When he won just his fourth B.A.S.S. tournament, the
"Tennessee Invitational", on Watts Bar Lake, near Spring,
Tennessee, a superstar was in the making. From 1970 until 1978, Al Lindner
captured two B.A.S.S. tournament victories, appeared in
three BassMaster Classics and took home money in 14 of the
26 tournaments he competed in. Not bad for any angler, let
alone someone who had to drive from Brainerd, Minnesota, to
compete, and was in the process of starting and running two
very successful businesses. Additionally, Al has been
inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame;
the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame and has received
countless awards for his contributions to sport fishing and
the sport fishing industry.
Ray
Murski
From Dallas, Ray Murski comes from
"the great state of Texas". A place where everything is
bigger...including this man. While being a bass fisherman all of
his life, he began his professional business career in 1966
when he began working for the Bliss Sales Company, selling
fishing tackle, hunting equipment and other outdoor
recreational products. A fisherman first and foremost,
when he heard that Ray Scott was about to have a B.A.S.S.
tournament, back in 1967, he wanted to see who was the best
bass fisherman in the nation. Plus, he wanted to find out
just how good a bass fisherman he was by competing in this
tournament. So Ray entered Scott's first B.A.S.S. tournament
and, for the next 5 years, fished the B.A.S.S. circuit with
a great deal of success. He finished 2nd three times, twice
behind the legendary Bill Dance and never finished out of
the money, during his professional fishing
career. When he quit fishing professionally
in 1972 , he was 9th on the B.A.S.S. all-time money winning
list and, last year, BassMaster Magazine named him as one of
the top 35 icons of bass fishing. In the late 1960's, Ray Murski met
another upstart businessman who needed help and advice, on
the correct fishing and hunting tackle to put into his
small, but growing, chain of discount stores. The friendship
that developed, between Ray and Sam Walton, the legendary
founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, helped take this
man from a successful regional businessman, to a nationally
known and successful business entrepreneur. In 1977, Ray became a partner in
Bliss Sales Company and, in 1981, he bought the company,
which currently has 100+sales representatives and support
personnel representing major hunting and fishing tackle
companies in 30 states and territories. In 1995, he bought
Strike King lure company and today, Strike King is the
leading freshwater spinner bait company in the
world. He is a lifetime member of numerous
organizations, foundations, and associations. He serves on
numerous boards, including the Professional Bass Fishing
Hall of Fame, and has received many awards. Ray Murski has
been inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of
Fame: the highest award an outdoorsman can receive in his
home state of Texas. He told an outdoor writer,recently:
"I am most proud of the fact that I have given 50,000 Texas
youngsters their first outdoor experience, whether they were
fishing, hunting, boating, or camping." In his own quiet way, he's helped
to mold, shape and move bass fishing to the place of
prominence that it is today.
