1996 ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION INDUCTEE HANS WIEDENHOEFER Hans Wiedenhoefer Sr. was part of the original coaching staff when Fresno City College fielded a football team for the first time in 1948. He remained with the college for thirty-six years with six conference titles as head coach and two state titles in wrestling. He also was athletic…
1996 WEIGHTLIFTING INDUCTEE DAN TAKEUCHI Dan Takeuchi didn’t take up weight lifting until he was fifty-four years old, going on to win gold medals as well as break masters and age division tournament and world records well into his golden years. Takeuchi was born in Fresno and graduated from Sanger High School. He spent two…
1996 COACHING-BASEBALL INDUCTEE MIKE NOAKES Coach Mike Noakes-whose high school teams won sixteen league championships and five section titles-was known as the fiercest of competitors who relished the battle and gave orders until the very last out. His respect for discipline and fundamentals was legendary in the valley. His competitive nature was balanced off the…
1996 TENNIS INDUCTEE ELAINE MASON Winning more than eighty United States Tennis Association National Senior titles all after the age of sixty-four, Ruth Elaine Mason is a legend in her sport. She also traveled to colleges on both coasts, conducting instructional clinics for tennis teachers and coaches, and developed the concept of teaching children to…
1996 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE LONNIE HUGHEY Harry Miller said Lonnie Hughey was as good a basketball player as he had ever coached and one of the most enjoyable to be around. That was high praise from a former Fresno State coach who only had the 6’7″ Hughey for one year and coached mostly winning collegiate basketball…
1996 COACHING-BASEBALL INDUCTEE AUGIE GARRIDO Augie Garrido was a record-setting slugger for the Fresno State baseball team who later pursued coaching and became the winningest dugout general in National Collegiate Athletic Association history, including five College World Series crowns. Garrido, coach of national powerhouse University of Texas since 1996, traces his success to former Fresno…
1995 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL INDUCTEE JACKIE WHITE It’s quite possible that the Fresno County athlete that most dominated the sport that they participated in, was a female. Jackie White had the numbers and accomplishments in her basketball career to suggest that what she did was of legendary proportions. During her high school years at San Joaquin…
1995 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE BOB SEAMAN In August 1962, Bob Seaman ran the mile in 3:58 at Whitesbridge Stadium in London, England, becoming the first, and to this date the only, Valley-born athlete to beat what, at that time, was the magic mile mark. Seaman had a remarkable track career as a competitor, assistant,…
1995 COACHING-SWIMMING INDUCTEE SKIP KENNEY Skip Kenney never swam a competitive lap in his life, but parlayed the wisdom of Gene Stephens, Darryl Rogers, and Don Gambril with thirteen months as a Marine-the last four as a sniper in Vietnam-into the most successful collegiate team swimming program in the country. He coached his Stanford University…
1995 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE ROD HIGGINS In 1978, Fresno State basketball coach, Boyd Grant, introduced a new recruit at the pre-season luncheon of the Bulldog basketball booster’s Time Out Club. The shy 6’7″, rail-thin, teenage forward from Harvey, Illinois, stood up, smiled, and waved to the crowd. Coach Grant announced to the audience, “This is Rod…