1986 COACHING-BASEBALL INDUCTEE FRANK ABBOTT It would be difficult for any high school coach to match the seven-year record that Frank “Jake” Abbott established at his alma mater, Roosevelt High School. Under Abbott, the Rough Riders won five league titles and tied twice. They were the only Fresno team to ever win the state American…
1985 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE “GIB” RAMBO Gib Rambo had the heart of a lion while competing in basketball, football, and track at Wasco High School and Fresno State. The kind man, who served as executive director of the SPCA for nearly half a century, had the patience of Job and was as gentle as a lamb…
1985 ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION INDUCTEE CHARLES JOHNSON Charles Johnson’s athletic career started in the humble surroundings of Citrus Union High School in the town of Azusa where he was born and raised. There were only thirty-five boys at Citrus, but they won the Southern California Basketball Championship one year and track titles for two years. Johnson…
1985 DIVING INDUCTEE ROBERT S. CROSSLAND Crossland took his first springboard dive as a youngster at the old Fresno YMCA pool which he laughingly described as “bathtub-sized.” When he reached Fresno High School, he won the San Joaquin Valley Division championships for several years in a row. Crossland was captivated by the springboard and continued…
1985 COACHING-SOFTBALL INDUCTEE “CHUCK” CHANDLER Chandler played a key role in fielding some of the best men’s and women’s softball teams in the country. “Dutch” surfaced early as his nickname and he was born in Champaign, Illinois, but his family moved to Bloomington, Indiana when he was still a youngster. Chandler was a versatile athlete…
1985 COACHING-FOOTBALL INDUCTEE BOB BURGESS Bob Burgess was born to be a Bulldog, even if he didn’t know it at the time. The big, strong, and tough-as-leather Burgess was head line coach for nine Fresno State football head coaches in a thirty-two year career that spanned from 1948 until his retirement in 1980. Loquacious coach…
1985 BASEBALL INDUCTEE WADE BLASINGAME If there was ever a pitcher with potential, Wade Allen Blasingame was it. They nicknamed the Roosevelt High School left-hander, “The Blazer,” and his three-year record for the Rough Riders was 26-0. That’s right: no losses. Blasingame’s Roosevelt coach, Jake Abbott, recalled when he first saw Wade. “Earl Jones, a…
1984 BASEBALL INDUCTEE GUS ZERNIAL As a boy, Gus Zernial and his pals would excitedly watch baseball games through knotholes in an outfield fence in Beaumont, Texas. He daydreamed of becoming a major league player and he did. No one could have envisioned that Zernial would be instrumental in bringing minor league baseball back to…
1984 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE PAUL STARR Had it not been for a tendon injury, track and field followers might have known the name Paul Starr in a different light. The University of Oregon sprint standout won a place on the 1932 United States Olympic team in the 100-meter, but sustained the injury prior to…
1984 BASEBALL INDUCTEE “DICK” SELMA Long before he became a Hall of Fame pitcher, Tom Seaver envied the swift, strike-throwing skill of Dick Selma when they played together at Fresno High School. Selma was a senior member of the varsity squad in 1961 when Seaver, one year behind him, was playing for the junior varsity.…