| School: Lincoln | Graduation Year: 1978 |
Year Inducted: 2015
Sports Played: Football, Basketball, Baseball
High School Honors: MVP in all three sports at San Jose Jr. High, freshman; Novato High in N. California, sophomore. 2-year letterman at Lincoln, all three sports, junior and senior. 1st team All-PIL Football, junior; 2nd team All-PIL, senior running back; safety and linebacker. Prep All-American. 1st team All-PIL, baseball, junior and senior, top 3 in batting average both years. Team MVP, football and baseball. Lincoln’s Outstanding Senior Male Athlete. National Honor Society.
Post High School Career: Treasure Valley CC, 2-year baseball letterman, 1-year football. BA degree, Portland State, 1982; JD degree Willamette University College of Law, 1985. Idaho State Bar 25 years; Deputy Atty General in Idaho, 8+ years. Youth coach in baseball and soccer 20+ years.
Commentary:
I was blessed with parents who were encouraging and supportive. My parents attended every game of mine and my brothers from Little League through High School. My dad was my Little League and basketball coach but beyond those early years he was always there to help and advise. I enjoyed practicing and working on fundamentals and my dad was always there to throw BP, act as catcher, shag balls, hit flies, etc. or just to drive me to a field or court.
I loved playing sports and competing and did so most every day for hours on end even if it was tape ball or running races and obstacle courses around the house with my younger brother who was a great athlete in his own right. Daily challenges from my brother, dad, and friends helped me hone football moves, recognize pitches and compete.
I was also blessed with great coaches at Lincoln. Coaches Mike Hill and Chuck Hawthorne for football and Fred Freimark and Roy Richmond for baseball were positive coaches who created contagious enthusiasm in practice, games and off the field. They encouraged hard work and taught you to extend yourself and not fear making a mistake and to never let down.
I was further blessed with great teammates. I was a newcomer to Portland and was welcomed. My years at Lincoln were lean in terms of athletes – 29 on our football team and 14 for baseball. A small group (band of brothers if you will) with numerous leaders in their own right working hard together was fun. We were the underdog – we were “Rocky”. The juices and emotions were flowing but we were up for the challenge and the competition. It was awesome when the large schools would parade with their numbers and size and try to intimidate and then we would walk away the winner.