2002 UMPIRE BASEBALL INDUCTEE TERRY COONEY When Terry Cooney was growing up in Salem, Oregon, his main passion was playing sports. He participated in all types, but his favorites were football, baseball, and track. At Sacred Heart High School, Terry earned fourteen letters and made many all-star teams during his prep years. “I mainly just…
2002 SOFTBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1953/1954/1957 FRESNO ROCKETS WOMEN’S SOFTBALL The Fresno Rockets played arguably at the highest level of women’s softball ever in this area and helped change the notion that only men were allowed to excel in sports. Th squad attracted sold-out crowds at Holmes Playground near downtown Fresno, numerous sponsors, and three national…
2001 YOUTH-SOCCER INDUCTEE HAROLD S. YOUNG Transplanted Englishman Harold S. Young introduced youth soccer to Fresno County in 1967, launching a movement that attracted all ages in communities throughout the area. Young, who had lived in Fresno for ten years, brought his favorite sport-largely unknown before then-to the attention of Howard Holman, chief of Fresno…
2001 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE BERNARD THOMPSON Bernard Thompson was a prolific scorer for Fresno State and a key member of the Bulldog basketball team when they won the historic National Invitation Tournament title at Madison Square Garden in 1983. Teammate Ron Anderson and Thompson were the “Bookend Forwards,” the outstanding offensive and defensive tandem for Coach…
2001 COACHING-FOOTBALL INDUCTEE TIM SIMONS Tim Simons coached football at Clovis High School for twenty-four years, amassing an incredible 220-59-4 record while winning five Central Section championships and eleven league titles. He also was an assistant coach at Fresno State and came out of retirement in 2006 to launch the football program at Clovis Unified…
2001 BASEBALL INDUCTEE TERRY PENDLETON Terry Pendleton, one of Fresno State’s all-time greats, played fifteen years in the major leagues, winning the National League Most Valuable Player award, three Gold Gloves, and went to the World Series five times. After his first year in Little League at age nine, Pendleton said he was the worst…
2001 COACHING-WRESTLING INDUCTEE BILL MUSICK Bill Musick was one of the most successful community college wrestling coaches, winning four state college championships, twelve Northern California titles and seventeen conference crowns during a twenty-two year career at Fresno City College. His overall record was 247-50-5 with twenty-five individual state champions and three two-time state winners. When…
2001 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE TIM MCDONALD An exemplary person from West Fresno, who is a living example of what can be achieved through determination, is Tim McDonald. Anyone who is familiar with the great athletic traditions of the Edison High School Tigers, the University of Southern California Trojans, and the San Francisco 49ers knows that Tim…
2001 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE GENE C. JOHNSON Gene Johnson, the former Edison High School, Fresno City College, and University of California star, was the first high jumper in the world to leap over 7 using the western-roll style, eventually hitting a personal best of 7’2 3/4″. Johnson was number one in the United States…
2001 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE RON COX Fresno State linebacker Ron Cox’s toughness and athleticism took him all the way to the NFL following standout careers at Washington Union High School and Fresno State University. He was awesome, the strongest athlete I ever coached,” said former Bulldog coach Jim Sweeney. His attacks on the quarterback were legendary,…