2004 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE TRACY ROGERS With success as both a linebacker and fullback at Taft Union High School Tracy Rogers had to decide which side of the line of scrimmage to pursue after high school. He chose defense, a decision that would clear a path for a seven-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs. “My…
2004 BASEBALL INDUCTEE BOBBY JONES Bobby Jones never anticipated playing ten seasons of professional baseball. After all, he had loved ice hockey above all sports as a youngster and was so laid back about being drafted, he went golfing the day the big selections were made. Jones had an eight-year career with the New York…
2004 AUTO SPORTS INDUCTEE MIKE GEJEIAN Mike “Blackie” Gejeian made a name for himself as the king of vintage hot rods and exceptionalcustomized cars. Known for his head-turning street rods and customized coupes, Gejeian is the originator of the Fresno Autorama, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in March 2009. Gejeian’s array of out-of-the-ordinary machines is…
2004 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE MIKE FREEMAN Many of our Hall of Fame athletes played more than one sport. McLane High School’s Mike Freeman was no exception. Besides excelling on the football field, Mike was also a wrestler for the Highlanders and a sprinter in the 100- and 220-yard dashes for the track team. Make no mistake…
2004 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE DOUG FRALEY Winning an NCAA Division I championship in any field is an incredible thrill. Just a fraction of millions of student-athletes who have participated in college sports make it all the way. Doug Fraley not only did it once, he did it three times. Doug’s future as a world-class…
2004 FOOTBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1972 FRESNO CITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL The quarterback for the 1972 Fresno City College football team, Rick Jelmini, described the secret to their gridiron success this way: “I think the best thing about us was that there really wasn’t one big star in every game; we just were a team that learned…
2003 COACHING-SWIMMING INDUCTEE GENE STEPHENS Gene Stephens certainly was one of the most influential people in the sport of swimming and water polo in San Joaquin Valley history. Not only did he teach hundreds of youngsters how to swim in his First Street pool, but he also founded the Fresno Swim Club. His teams from…
2003 SWIMMING INDUCTEE SYBIL SMITH-FARRELL Sybil Smith was an athlete with a unique record. The San Joaquin Memorial swim star was the first African-American woman to place in the top eight at the NCAA Championships, and in doing so, became the first female All-American swimmer in Boston University History. Smith was just five years old…
2003 COMMUNITY LEADER INDUCTEE ELMER RICHTER There are few major building projects on the Fresno State University campus, athletic or academic, that don’t contain the fingerprints of Bud Richter. One prime example is Bulldog Stadium, where Richter and his wife, Jan, provided an anonymous gift of $500,000 in seed money to help school president Dr.…
2003 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE MARTHA NOFFSINGER-O’KELLEY In 1986, Martha Noffsinger, a Southern California softball sensation from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, was sought after by many colleges around the country. The talented shortstop chose Fresno State because she wanted to play for Margie Wright and liked the Fresno area. As it turned out, Bulldog fans…