The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring the accomplishments of our great athletes and community leaders and telling their stories to inspire others to achieve success in their own lives.
Today we have over 400 individual and team inductees recognizing the accomplishments of the best of the best in Fresno County Athletes. The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame, which will soon be located at the Save Mart Center on the Fresno State campus, is a non-profit organization that depends upon the support of the community and local businesses.
The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame was founded in 1958 by John Voenes, the original chairman of the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, and Ed Orman, Sports Editor for the Fresno Bee.
Our mission, from our inception, as it remains today, is to honor and remember the past accomplishments of our Fresno County athletes, to annually celebrate the enshrinement of our new inductees and to provide inspiration to our youth so they too can become all they can be in their lives.
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame (FCAHOF) is pleased to announce the following individuals and team that have been selected for enshrinement in 2023:
James Patrick
Jaime Ramirez
Todd Riech
Rolland Todd
1968 Fresno State Men's Tennis
The class of 2023 will officially be inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame on Wednesday, September 20th in the hall's permanent home inside the Save Mart Center.
"We have three high-profile coaches, an Olympian and a national championship team," said president Gena Strang-Behrens. "This is a terrific class."
James Patrick is the winningest high school baseball coach in Central Section history. He retired in May of 2019 with a career record of 757-272-3. Patrick spent the bulk of his career at Clovis High School, leading the Cougars to ten section championships and two national championships.
Jaime Ramirez is the head men's soccer coach at Fresno Pacific. The winningest coach in FPU history, he is also a former Sunbird player after a standout career at Clovis High School. He was a three-time NAIA all-American from 1977-1980.
Todd Riech broke the NCAA record in the javelin as a senior at Fresno State in 1994. Two weeks later, he won the national title in the javelin at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He represented the United States in the javelin at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Rolland (pronounced "Raw-lund") Todd was the first-ever head coach of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. A native of Strathmore, Todd played basketball at Fresno State in the 1950's where his roommate was Jerry Tarkanian. Todd scored 965 points in 64 games with the Bulldogs.
The 1968 Fresno State men's tennis team won the Division II national championship. The Bulldogs had an 11-1 record in dual meets that year, and they defeated Cal State Los Angeles to win the title. In addition, Jim Powers and Gary Ogden won the national title in doubles.
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We hope to empower and to encourage our community members to realize that through commitment, hard work, and dedication anybody can achieve their goals and their own individual levels of greatness in life. As with any team sport, our community will thrive with the combined efforts of individuals. We support, encourage, and motivate one another to achieve success.
Just as our outstanding athletes have achieved success with the support and guidance of family, coaches, and mentors, our youth and the future of our community will also require guidance, life coaches, and mentors to thrive. You can become a mentor by contributing to the success of our exhibit and providing a place where children can be inspired and motivated to overcome the negative influences in their lives and to realize the opportunities that they have available to achieve greatness in their own way.
The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring the accomplishments of our great athletes and community leaders and telling their stories to inspire others to achieve success in their own lives.
The future home of Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame, will soon be located at the Save Mart Center on the Fresno State campus. We are a non-profit organization that depends upon the support of the community and local businesses. You can become a proud participant by pledging your financial support today!
- Board of Directors
- Gena Strang-Behrens, President
- Andrew Marden, Vice President
- Bill Chaltraw, CPA, Secretary/Treasurer
- Suzi Huettmann, Office Manager
- Jean Ainger
- Walt Byrd, Past President
- Diane Carbary
- Steve Cleveland
- Robert DeSoto
- Dean Eller
- Hank Gutierrez, EdD
- John Higginbotham
- Tom Kane
- Jared Mosley, DDS
- Pat Ogle
- Rod Perry
- Ron Scott
- Tom Sommers
- Camilla Sutherland
- David Tangipa
- Shelly Van Houwlingen
- Gordie Webster, Jr., Past President
- Emeritus Board
- Steve Albrect
- Bob Barnett
- Mark Cameron
- Joe Cooper
- Kellie Dyer
- Pete Esraelian
- Tim Leary
- Diane Milutinovich
- Bill McEwen
- Tom McFerson
- Char Nunn
- Jim Pardini
- Donna Pickel
- Dan Taylor
- Chris Terrence
- Mike Watney
- DeWayne Zinkin
- Committee Chairs
- Walt Byrd, Capital Campaign
- Steve Cleveland, Development
- Tom Sommers, Zinkin Award
- Tom Kane and Dean Eller, Peter G. Mehas Scholarship
- Pat Ogle, Selection Committee