Matt F. Gorges
Inducted: 1992
Hometown: Harlingen
High School: Harlingen High School
College: Rice University
Best Known for: Officiating Football
b. 1936
An All-Southwest Conference guard for the Rice University in 1957, Gorges eventually made an even bigger splash as a businessman and philanthropist.
Gorges played for Coach Joe Hamrick at Harlingen High School, following all-star lineman Jerry Fitzpatrick. He was an all-district player in high school who earned a scholarship to Rice, where he won the Bob Quin Award as the outstanding Rice senior athlete in 1958, after helping the Owls to their last Southwest Conference title, under legendary coach Jess Neely. After graduation, he took over the family business and built a Valley dynasty in food service and cold storage. For decades his Gorges Foundation has been at the fore of Valley charity work and Gorges was named to the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2004.
Gorges was also a standout football official for 20 years, including 10 in the SWC, and was named to the Rice University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
