Searcy School District recently learned that Searcy’s very own Butch Gardner is being inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on April 19. Because Butch is a 1973 Searcy High School graduate, the district wanted to congratulate him on this outstanding honor.
Butch played SHS basketball for Coach Birdie Rogers, who once commented that he would “not trade Butch for any other player in the state….He’s a natural.” During his junior year for the Lions, he averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. During his senior year at Searcy High School, he averaged 24 points and 14.1 rebounds per game. In one specific game, he scored 43 total points. Butch was named an All-American basketball player in 1973. Gardner was recruited by numerous colleges and universities and ultimately decided to play for the Harding Bisons where he earned athletic accolades all four years.
Now retired from Harding University where he served in various leadership positions, Butch resides here in Searcy with his wife Sheila. They are the parents to Jarrod, Heather, and Autumn, all of whom graduated from Searcy Public Schools, and enjoy 3 grandchildren with one on the way.
At the February 16 home basketball game, Dr. Bobby Hart and the Searcy School District Board of Education, presented Gardner with a banner that will hang for years to come in Lion Arena that reads “Butch Garder, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2024, Searcy High School, Class of 1973.” As a token of this recognition, the district also gave him a smaller model that he and his family can enjoy.
Congratulations to Mr. Gardner on his induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and we thank him for leaving a legacy of athletic excellence with the Searcy Public Schools!
