This year’s recipients include former HD Woodson swimming coach Bruce Bradford, DC basketball pioneer E.B. Henderson, longtime D.C. United and Washington Wizards play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson, former Washington Senators pitcher Emil “Dutch” Leonard and former D.C. United defenseman Eddie Pope.
Zimmerman spent his entire career with Washington after the Nationals selected him as the team’s first-round draft pick in 2005. A two-time All-Star and winner of the 2019 World Series, Zimmerman retired before the 2022 season after leading the Nationals in career home runs (284), hits (1,846), RBIs (1,061) and games played (1,799). That same year, he was the first Nationals to have his uniform number retired.
Casserly began his career with Washington in 1977 as an unpaid intern for then-Redskins coach George Allen. He then served as assistant general manager to Bobby Beatard for seven years, during which Washington won two Super Bowl titles. When Beatard resigned in 1989, owner Jack Kent Cooke named Casserly his successor. Washington won its third Super Bowl after the 1991 season. Casserly served as general manager of the new Houston Texans for four years before becoming an NFL analyst.
Barrett averaged 21.4 points per season during her senior year at Maryland in 1988-89, was named ACC Player of the Year, and led Maryland to the Final Four. A member of the 1988 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, Barrett played three seasons with the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting before being traded to the Mystics in 2000. At Washington, she teamed with Hall’s Crow, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft after a standout career with Tennessee that included three national titles. Hall’s Crow, a six-time WNBA All-Star, was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
“The mix of players, coaches and contributors among this year’s honorees collectively demonstrates the diversity of achievement and representation we are so proud of,” D.C. Sports Hall of Fame selection committee chairman Bobby Goldwater said in a statement.
Bradford has led one of the district’s top swimming programs at H.D. Woodson High School for more than 30 years, despite the school’s lack of facilities. Some seasons, the pool was closed, forcing his team to travel across town just to practice.
Known as the “grandfather of black basketball,” Henderson introduced the game to black students in his native Washington, DC, in 1907 after studying the game as a graduate student at Harvard. Henderson raised funds for the District’s first black YMCA building, which opened on 12th Street NW in 1912, and dedicated the rest of his career to promoting the game. Henderson, who died in 1977 at age 93, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Johnson has called DC United games since the team’s inception in 1996 and has served as the Wizards’ beloved play-by-play announcer and host of “Radio Party” since 1997. Johnson, who served as sports director and morning sportscaster at WTOP from 1995-2022, was named the 2019 DC Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
Leonard pitched nine of his 20 major league seasons with the Senators from 1938 to 1946. A right-handed knuckleballer, Leonard was a four-time All-Star with Washington and retired as the second-most victorious pitcher in franchise history behind Walter Johnson.
Pope played 143 games for DC United from 1996 to 2002, helping the club win three MLS Cup titles. The U.S. men’s national team defender also played in three World Cups, heading the golden goal in DC’s inaugural season to seal the club’s first ever title. Pope was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.
The 1983-84 Hoyas, led by D.C. Sports Hall of Famers Thompson and Patrick Ewing, along with David Wingate and Reggie Williams, defeated Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Cougars to win the school’s first national title. They are inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame along with D.C. champions Bullets (1978), Capitals (2018), Mystics (2019), Nationals (2019) and Spirit (2021).
The DC Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1980 but lay dormant for about a decade, beginning around 2001. Candidates for induction are determined by a 14-person selection committee and must be individuals who have “earned fame” in the DC area for their achievements as athletes, coaches, owners, executives, media personnel or contributors in professional, college, amateur or high school sports. The names of honorees are displayed on a sign in the outfield of Nationals Park.
