| School: Madison | Graduation Year: 1976 |
Sports Played: Football, Track and Field
Year Inducted: 2024
High School Honors: 2 Football letters. 1st Team All-PIL as a Junior and Senior; All-State as a Senior. Shrine All-Star.
1 Track & Field letter.
Post High School Career: 1 Football letter at Mt. Hood Community College, 1977 (won National Title). American Legion Baseball, 1974; Senior Babe Ruth All-Star, 1976. Played Semi-pro Football for Twin City Cougars, 1979-1980. Coached sons in Baseball (T-Ball through Babe Ruth), Basketball and Football for 13 years. Carpenter. Became Supervisor in a 30-year food industry career with Sysco. Security, David Douglas High School.
Commentary:
I’m very honored to be inducted into the PIL Hall of Fame. My journey had a “rocky” beginning because I wasn’t real interested in going to high school. My Mom convinced me that it would be a good training ground for athletics, which I loved as a kid. Fortunately, I learned early that academics were essential, too. Poor grades kept me off the baseball field as a freshman. A turning point came the next year when math teacher and JV football coach Mr. Carlson taught me to channel my anger and frustrations positively on the field. By the end of football season, I was not only enjoying school but also learning how to be a teammate. Baseball in the summers with Babe Ruth and American Legion teams led to all-star recognition. I’d also discovered a talent in track and field, lettering my senior year in shot put, discus, and javelin.
After high school I was fortunate to play offensive and defensive tackle on a team coached by Marv Hebert at Mt. Hood Community College. With just one loss, we were nominated as national champions. Later teammate Scott Hume invited me to play semi-professional football for the Twin City Cougars in 1979-80. We were undefeated in 1980 and won the national championship.
Better than winning championships was meeting (1984) and marrying (1986) my future wife Colleen. We’ve raised three sons who were all three-sport athletes at David Douglas High School. I enjoyed coaching them in flag football, baseball, soccer, and basketball in the early years. I’m retired after a fulfilling 30-year career with Sysco Foods and enjoying seven grandchildren. The “rocky start” has become quite a blessing.