2016 BASKETBALL INDUCTEE YVETTE ROBERTS Among the best athletes in Fresno history, Roberts starred in track and field and basketball at Washington Union High School before rewriting the women’s basketball record book at Fresno State and then playing at an MVP level in Europe’s pro leagues. Roberts was the 1985 state long jump champion, soaring…
2016 GOLF INDUCTEE BILL GLASSON The sports-loving youngster who turned to golf after a serious knee injury and then learned the game while working at a Fresno municipal golf course fashioned a highly successful career on the PGA and Champions tours. Overcoming numerous injuries and surgeries, the graduate of Fresno’s McLane High School won seven…
2016 COACHING-BASKETBALL INDUCTEE RON ADAMS The Laton native put his indelible stamp on the National Basketball Association and the college game in a coaching career that began at Fresno Pacific in 1969 and soared highest in 2015 when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA title. Then Fresno State Coach Boyd Grant dubbed him his…
2016 BASEBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1968 HOOVER HIGH BASEBALL Coached by Jack Hannah, who was inducted into the FAHOF in 1998, the Patriots won the North Yosemite League and Central Section championships and were recognized as the best prep team in California and the nation by media outlets. Hoover compiled a 27-3 record against stiff competition…
2015 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE RON RIVERS The 5-foot-9, 205-pound tailback captured the hearts of Fresno State football fans and teammates with a fearless bulldozing style that shattered school records and left bruises on defenders attempting to stop him. In three seasons, Rivers rushed for a school record 3,473 yards and set another school mark with 4,388…
2015 GOLF INDUCTEE STEVE MENCHINELLA For over six decades at Sunnyside Country Club, Menchinella was the pro’s pro — giving lessons to members, mentoring young club professionals, leading international golfing tours, staging U.S. Golf Association qualifying tournaments and bringing top PGA and Champion Tour stars to Fresno. One more thing: Menchinella could play the game…
2015 SOFTBALL INDUCTEE NINA LINDENBERG As a senior second baseman in 1998, she hit the most famous home run in Fresno State history — a no-doubt-about-it shot to left field in the sixth inning that propelled the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory over top-ranked Arizona and the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship. Amplifying…
2015 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE BERNARD BERRIAN From Atwater High School to Fresno State to the National Football League, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound speedster commanded the attention of opposing teams. He was a touchdown threat every time he touched the ball — whether hauling in passes or returning punts and kickoffs. Overlooked by many major college teams because…
2015 FOOTBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1969 FRESNO CITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL The defending state champion Rams entered the title game as one-touchdown underdogs against Fullerton College — and that was before word came that Stanford-bound running back Vic Lamanuzzi would miss the “JC Super Bowl” because of a back injury suffered in practice. But with “win it…
2015 FOOTBALL TEAM INDUCTEE 1968 FRESNO CITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL East Los Angeles had most of the press clippings and a star running back in Clarence Davis, who had broken O.J. Simpson’s state community college rushing records. But it was the Rams, with a bevy of future NCAA Division I recruits, who claimed the California Community…