2021 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE KIM MAHER Kim Maher was not born in the United States. A native of Vietnam, she came to this country when she was two months old. Her dad was a contractor, and the family spent time in New York and Louisiana before eventually moving to California. Maher grew up in Ventura. She…
2021 AUTO RACING INDUCTEE PHIL CASEY In 2015, Phil Casey was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame (now known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame), but you can trace his love for the sport back to his adolescent years in the central valley. Born in Clovis in 1937, Phil Casey grew…
2021 COMMUNITY LEADER INDUCTEE FLOYD ‘DOC’ BUCHANAN Floyd ‘Doc’ Buchanan is known as a ‘champion of education.’ But, believe it or not, he actually grew up wanting to be a heart surgeon. Born in Arkansas but raised in Colorado, Buchanan attended the University of Denver, enrolling in the pre-med program. During World War II, he…
2019 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE ANDREA DURAN Andrea Duran can describe in one word what it meant to her to be an Olympian: “amazing.” Duran was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic softball team that won a silver medal in Beijing, China. She was chosen for that team after a standout career at UCLA, where she…
2019 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE ADRIAN WILLIAMS Born and raised in Fresno, Adrian Williams had no shortage of options when it came time to decide where she wanted to play basketball in college. Williams says she was recruited by “every top school except for Stanford. They were loaded.” Her top four schools, in no particular order, were…
2019 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE MATT GIORDANO Matt Giordano is a football player. And he’s been fortunate to not only play at the highest level, he’s been successful at the highest level. Matt Giordano is a Super Bowl champion, though he will be quick to tell you that is not necessarily the highlight of his career. Giordano’s…
2019 VOLLEYBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1967 FRESNO VOLLEYBALL CLUB “It was the biggest upset in volleyball ever, us winning.” That is how George Sarantos describes the accomplishment of the 1967 Fresno Volleyball Club winning the U.S. national championship. “Teams were seeded by how they did. We weren’t seeded. We ended up being the best team in…
2019 BASEBALL INDUCTEE 1960 ROOSEVELT AMERICAN LEGION Jake Abbott knew pretty early on in the summer of 1960 that his American Legion baseball team was special. “At the high school level, pitching is important,” he said. “With these two kids, Wade (Blasingame) and (Dale) Williams, we would be tough to beat. We had some kids…
2018 BASEBALL INDUCTEE 1959 FRESNO STATE BASEBALL Coached by the legendary Pete Beiden, the Bulldogs became the first team in Fresno State history to reach the College World Series in 1959, a season in which they finished with a 41-13 record. Upon reaching the CWS at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, the Bulldogs won three of…
2018 BASEBALL INDUCTEE 2008 FRESNO STATE BASEBALL Entering the WAC Tournament with a 33-27 record, the underdogs transformed themselves into Wonderdogs, overcoming injuries and long odds to claim the NCAA College World Series with a 6-1 victory over Georgia in the championship game. It was the first CWS baseball title for Fresno State, which finished…