| School: Jefferson | Graduation Year: 1970 |
Year Inducted: 2016
Sports Played: Football, Baseball
High School Honors: 2-year Football Letterman. PIL 1st Team, All-State 3rd Team, Senior. City Champions.
3-year Baseball Letterman. Two time PIL 1st Team Outfielder, Junior, Senior. Connie Mack World Series.
Post High School Career: Lower Columbia CC and OSU, 2-year Baseball Letterman at each.
Continental Airlines, 23 years. Volunteer Coach, Pop Warner Football and Little League Baseball, and with Bethel Community Care food program.
Commentary:
I feel very grateful; first to God that he gave me the gifts I have. Second, I credit my colleagues for making me the best that I can be. Without them I would never have been able to achieve what I have accomplished. Every day in practice being committed to them and competing with them—I call them my family now. I’m thankful that we are still together today.
We had to live up to the reputation of the people that came before us. Jefferson had a strong reputation and produced some of the greatest athletes. I am honored to be part of that group. It led me to be responsible, committed, loyal and helped me build the character of who I am. There were a lot of Hall of Famer’s around my time. We were so good because we had tough times in practice. We were happy when the games came so we could have fun!
I’m thankful for the community parks like Peninsula, Overlook, Farragut, and Alberta where we would go to play together. That is where we started growing up together and being together.
I’m grateful for those who sacrificed their time to coach us, like Andy Pienovi. He helped develop me in baseball, teaching me the way to play the game, what to look for and how to play with strategy.
I didn’t go through this journey by myself, I had my wife and she went through this journey with me. I’m very proud of my kids Perhaps one day they will notice the accomplishments of my legacy. I want to be an inspiration to young kids because hard work and dedication makes a difference.