Hall of Fame Inductee - Tom Payne

The sixth-man as a sophomore on the 1951-52 state runner-up team, Payne went on to score 1,022 points during his three-year varsity career, which ranked second behind Bruce Brothers at the time of his graduation. He was voted to the Illinois All-State first team as a senior and earned a scholarship to the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes finished second to the San Francisco Dons - led by future NBA stars Bill Russell and K.C. Jones - in the 1956 NCAA tournament, with Payne again playing the sixth-man role. His son, Michael, helped lead the Blue Devils to the Class AA state championship in 1981, and followed in his father's footsteps and enjoyed a stellar four-year career at Iowa before playing professionally overseas. Tom Payne, known as a gentleman and an athlete, was a charter member of the Quincy High School Sports Hall of Fame.