Between his gruff disposition and gravelly voice, Larry Little's demeanor perhaps is best served for tasks such as the one that earned him a bust in Canton – staring down Mean Joe Greene or clearing expressways for Jim Kiick, Larry Cskonka and Mercury Morris to run through.

This one, though, was perfect. Little, the Bethune-Cookman and Miami Dolphin legend, was downright giddy. We're talking Will Farrell in Elf level enthusiasm.

Inspired was Lynn W. Thompson when he decided how cool it would be to include former coaches/players/friends/ in the phone call to those who had just been inducted into the Bethune-Cookman Athletic Hall of Fame. Happiness shared is multiplied, after all.

First was a call to Maulty Moore, Little's teammate both here at Bethune-Cookman and those famed 1972 Miami Dolphins who went 17-0 and won a Super Bowl  when the game  had a single digit Roman numeral.

Wow. Being coached by Cy McClairen and Don Shula.  Here's the other Wow: When McClairen played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1950s, Earl Morrall was the quarterback. In 1972, Morrall was the backup quarterback who took over when starter Bob Griese was injured.

Living and dying and running the table with a quarterback who played WITH your college coach. Boom. Mind blown.

Little and Moore's exchange was that of those who've shared five decades.

Then it came time to inform John Bostic, who Little coached back in the 1980s. Bostic was a beast in the Wildcat secondary and had just as much to do with the 1984 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship as those gaudy numbers Bernard Hawk and company ran up on offense.

This phone call was the coach/player dynamic that's just the same as the teammate dynamic, only different. Football thing.

Bostic, once the elation wore down a tad, came up with the perfect retort.

"Hey Coach," Bostic asked – still calling Little "Coach"  "Why did this take so [darn] long?"

This repeated itself several times over the ensuing days. It actually started earlier when Thompson brought in walking history bank/CatEye broadcaster Larry Wesley and photographer John Reeves under the guise of a Circle Classic photo op so the Hall of Fame Committee could let their colleagues know in person.

It was the perfect "get." So perfect that Reeves actually said something profound that I wish I remembered it but was caught up in the moment seeing my friends/mentors get their props.

Okay, we got something here. Let's go over and inform Director of Bands Donovan Wells. When the announcement was made, the whole band was so excited you'd had thought Drumline 2 had been announced. Wells wanted to make sure his staff was included in the presentation. Band practice was a lot more spirited that night.

And so it went. Committee member Anna Cindric, a former softball great, got to reach out to softball great Kamilah Johnson. Thompson reached out to the widow of former golf coach Dr. Gary Freeman and spoke to the family like it was yesterday.
 
There was the stop by football practice to inform assistant coach Terry Williams, who had just lost his mother days before. The applause from the team. The quick look and "Thank You" skyward. The object lesson to his current crew of defensive backs about how focus and paying attention to details could make a moment like that possible … for them.

There was the call to former baseball player Stan Jefferson, who went on to be a first-round draft pick of the New York Mets before moving on to a career in law enforcement. He was a NYPD officer who was among the first to respond to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011.  He saw the second plane hit the second tower. He's had a lot of medical issues since.

Johnny Randolph, his coach from the 1980s, is on the call. Jefferson, whose issues include agoraphobia – the fear of going out in public – is honored and informed of the October 19 induction ceremony.

"I'll do everything I can to make it," Jefferson said.

"We'll do everything we can to help," Randolph replies.

Former coach/player dynamic. Some as football, only different. Baseball thing.

When we do these Hall Of Fame presentation, the underlying theme kind of writes itself. In 2016, it was all about it was time. It was the perfect time for the induction of Alvin Wyatt Sr. and his prodigy -- Rashean Mathis and Nick Collins joining him because it was their time as well. Ditto for all the other inductees, who produced a lot of star power. Some one said that class had a lot of …wait for it…."Shine." See? It wrote itself.

This 2018 collection is one of shared happiness among former coaches, players and the Wildcat nation. Come on out Friday and Saturday and see what we mean. Reeves won't have to take pictures. Wesley won't have to provide commentary. And since this a sports column from a Faith-based institution, let's close with some 1 Timothy 6:18.

"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share."