Former Will Rogers great Tom Jones to be inducted into TPS Hall of Fame
Oak Tree National President and COO Tom Jones will be among the 2026 class to be inducted next month into the Tulsa Public Schools Hall of Fame. He will be joined by Archie Marshall and Layn Phillips as well as previously announced inductees Demarco Cobbs, Debbie (Cunningham) Miggins and the 1979 Hale football team.
Six more inductees will be announced over the next two weekends for the 14th annual banquet that is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at a new venue, the DoubleTree Tulsa Downtown. A reception will start at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets for the banquet are available at $100 individually or a table for 10 at $1,000. Reservations can be made by contacting Michael Goedecke in the Athletics Office by email at goedemi1@tulsaschools.org or by calling at 918-746-6869 or 918-261-7424.
Jones, before leading Oklahoma State to the 1976 NCAA golf title and being a four-time All-American selection, won the 1973 high school state title while at Will Rogers. He captured the 1975 Big Eight title and was a three-time conference runner-up.
His PGA Tour career included winning the 1981 Magnolia Classic and the 1979 qualifying tournament. Other pro highlights are winning the 1977 Kansas Open and 1983 Oklahoma Open. After being the head pro at The Golf Club of Oklahoma (1984-93), he was the GM/head pro at Karsten Creek (1993-2004) and GM/Director of Golf at the Blessings Golf Club (2005-13). Since ‘13, he has been the President/COO at Oak Tree National, overseeing the rise of the new Oak Tree Gang and leading the process to host the 2014 U.S. Senior Open and the 2027 U.S. Senior Open coming up next year. He is also president of the board of the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame.
Marshall averaged 24.7 points as a senior for Edison and was named the 1983 state player of the year by the Tulsa World and Oklahoma Coaches Association. After a season at Seminole State, he became a key spark for Kansas, helping lead the Jayhawks to the 1986 Final Four before facing a series of knee injuries.
Though these setbacks sidelined him after he started 11 games of the Jayhawks’ iconic 1988 national title run, he remained the emotional heartbeat of the team — symbolized by teammate Danny Manning wearing Archie’s No. 23 as a tribute. Coach Larry Brown selected Marshall in the 1988 NBA Draft for San Antonio as a testament to his character.
Before his career in the judicial system, Phillips, a Memorial graduate, won the 1970 state high school tennis No. 2 doubles title with Mike Knox. In 1974, Phillips won the Missouri Valley Conference’s No. 1 singles championship while at the University of Tulsa.
Phillips went on to serve as the U.S. attorney in Tulsa from 1983-87 and a federal district judge in Oklahoma City from 1987-91. Since then, he has been a nationally recognized mediator of complex commercial and sports litigation