2009 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE LAURA BERG Veteran Fresno State coach Margie Wright summed up her description of Bulldog outfielder Laura Berg in a few words: “The best woman outfielder ever.” Wright’s statement carries weight since she is the most successful coach in NCAA Womens’ Fast Pitch division. Internationally, she has seen the best from all over…
2009 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE RON ANDERSON Talk about a diamond in the rough; Ron Anderson was a find for sure. In the early 1980s while Frank Carbajal was head basketball coach at Santa Barbara City College, he was told by one of his players about a kid in Chicago who was a playground legend of sorts.…
2009 WRESTLING INDUCTEE STEPHEN ABAS Stephen Abas was the smallest athlete in Fresno State history to find success on both the collegiate and international stages. Wrestling at 125 pounds as a collegian and 121 to 125 pounds in freestyle Olympic and World competition, the three-time state champion and high school standout compiled eye-popping records at…
2009 BASKETBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1983 FRESNO STATE NIT BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS March 31, 1983 was a special day for Fresno, her basketball fans, and the San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno State basketball Bulldogs were coming home to celebrate their incredible victory over the DePaul University Blue Demons for the National Invitational Tournament championship at Madison…
2008 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE AMANDA SCOTT Amanda Scott threw twenty-four no-hitters and sixty-two shutouts in eighty-one victories, striking out 1,051 batters. And that was just her record at Clovis High School. By the time the college scouts came calling for the young phenom, Scott had decided to stay close to home and signed with Fresno State…
2008 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE WILLIAM NEUFELD Born third in a family of nine children in the Ukraine at the turn of the 20th century, William Neufeld moved to the United States and blossomed into a world-class performer in the javelin and other throwing events. His father, a Mennonite minister, eventually settled the family in…
2008 COMMUNITY LEADER INDUCTEE PETER G. MEHAS The Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame president for 15 years at the time of his induction, Mehas’ professional and civic career is a notable example of applying the lessons learned in athletics to other endeavors. Under Mehas, the Hall of Fame expanded on its mission of honoring the…
2008 BASEBALL INDUCTEE TOM GOODWIN Tom Goodwin won an Olympic gold medal for the USA’s baseball team while excelling as a Fresno State Bulldog, and went on to a fourteen-year professional career. At age twenty, he was the youngest member of the USA team that took the top prize at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. “It…
2008 COACHING-TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE BOB FRALEY Bob Fraley coached track and field at Fresno State for twenty-eight years, mentoring forty-four All-Americans, winning a slew of awards and saving the program from the budget ax by coaching without pay. He gained a world-wide reputation as a pole vault expert and launched the Run for the…
2008 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE STEPHEN BAKER The two most skilled positions on any football team are unquestionably quarterback and wide receiver. The passer must be able to guide the ball accurately to his target like threading a needle. The receiver must become a contortionist, leaping and diving, necessary, to collect the ball. The two players greatly…