Oklahoma Hall of Fame names inductees

Miller will be honored posthumously.

The seven newcomers will join 641 Oklahoma notables who already have been inducted.

The first Hall of Fame class was in 1928.

“Being inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is the single greatest honor an individual can receive from our state,” said Shannon L. Rich, president of the Oklahoma Heritage Association and Gaylord-Pickens Museum, in a news release.

The Oklahoma Heritage Association was founded in 1927 to establish the Hall of Fame. The museum opened in 2007 to honor significant Oklahomans.

While this year's inductees were announced at a museum lunch Thursday, the official induction ceremony and banquet will be Thursday, Nov. 17, at Cox Convention Center.

Portraits of each member of the 2011 class will be added to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gallery at the museum. Biographies, photographs and facts about them will be accessible through touch-screen computers in the gallery.

Franks, 65, was born in Wynnewood but grew up in Midland, Texas. He joined the Army after two years at the University of Texas and later earned degrees from UT-Arlington and Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

Before retiring as general in 2003, Franks served as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, overseeing military operations across 25 countries, including the Middle East. He led the attacks on the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9/11 and led the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

He earned an array of military honors, including three bronze stars with valor and three purple hearts for his work in Vietnam, as well as the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Distinguished Service Medals, four Legions of Merit, Air Medal with Valor, and an Army Commendation Medal with Valor.

He and his wife, Cathryn, have one daughter and three grandchildren. They split time between Tampa, Fla., and Roosevelt.

Hamm, 65, was born the youngest of 13 children. His parents were sharecroppers. He graduated from Enid High School and worked in the oil fields before starting his own one-truck oil field service business in Ringwood.

In 1967, he incorporated Shelly Dean Oil Co., which later became Continental Resources. Continental is an oil and gas exploration company that operates in 20 countries and is on the New York Stock Exchange. Hamm is chairman and chief executive.

He also is chairman of the board of Hiland Partners GP Holdings and is a board member of Complete Production Services. He is past chairman of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and was a founding board member of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, among many other accomplishments.

He has received the National Ernst and Young award in the energy, chemicals and mining category. An education advocate, Hamm has received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions. The Harold and Sue Ann Hamm Foundation donated $10 million for the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center.

Haynes, 84, was born in Sand Springs and led Booker T. Washington High School to a national championship in basketball in 1941. He starred at Langston University from 1942-1946, leading the team in scoring and to a win-loss record of 112-3.

His dribbling skills brought him to the attention of the Harlem Globetrotters, and after graduation, he signed on with the novelty basketball team for six years. In 1953, he founded the Harlem Magicians basketball team but ended up rejoining the Globetrotters as a player and coach. He also played with the Harlem Wizards and the Bucketeers. His last nine years as a pro were spent with his revived Magicians team.

Haynes' career spanned four decades. He played more than 12,000 games, traveled more than 4 million miles and entertained fans in almost 100 countries. Despite that, he and his teammates often faced racial discrimination.

Haynes retired in 1992. He was the first Globetrotter to earn a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Langston Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

Keating, 60, is a fourth-generation Oklahoman who has spent much of her life on community service. She was Oklahoma's first lady from 1995 to 2003, a period that included the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City.