| School: Madison | Graduation Year: 1964 |
Year Inducted: 2018
Sports Played: Golf
Featured Member of the Month ~ July 2022
High School Honors: 4 Golf letters, played No. 1 on 3 successive City Championship Teams.
Post High School Career: 4 Golf letters on an academic scholarship to Arizona State University while earning Bachelor and Masters degrees in Education (Math). Taught and coached golf in the Phoenix Union High School System from 1970-1980 and Head Women’s Golf Coach at ASU from 1980-2001. Her Sun Devils teams won 9 Conference and 6 NCAA championships and the 1995 team was undefeated, winning every tournament it played. She was named Coach
of the Year 22 times by 5 different associations and Pac-12 Coach of the Century in 2016. Golf World Magazine honored her in its Top 10 College Coaches of the 20th Century and she has been inducted into 6 other Halls of Fame. She’s currently an ambassador for the Sun Devil Club in ASU athletics and mentors other coaches.
Commentary:
I’ve been involved in sports all of my life. I grew up in the NE part of Portland with a brother and his friends who played football, baseball, basketball, kickball and any other kind of ball. I could never figure out why there were no girls’ teams to play on, so I would tag along with my brother to the playgrounds and hope that I would have a chance to throw or catch a ball!
Then at the age of 10 my parents joined Riverside Golf and Country Club where we would go to the course as a family and play golf. They had a great kids program headed up by golf professional Eddie Hogan. Most of the country clubs promoted junior golf. As a result, the high schools were able to have girls golf teams, something that I found out later was very unusual in the 1960s. Title IX was not in existence yet, so I was very fortunate to have a team to participate on. I have fond memories of playing high school golf at Rose City Golf Course.
My success at Madison HS and competition throughout the country led me to Arizona State University, one of the few colleges that had a golf program for women. I received an academic scholarship allowing me to participate on the golf team and receive a degree in math education. I went on to teach high school math and coach girls golf. I fell in love with coaching and in 1980 became the head women’s golf coach at my alma mater, ASU.
I realized very quickly that it wasn’t about golf, it was about life and life’s experiences. My job was to provide a safe and nurturing environment where my women golfers could grow and mature and become who they were meant to be.
Being involved with sports teaches so many things: leadership, team work, self-esteem, time management, confidence, accountability, discipline, emotional management, character, respect, goal setting and the importance of a positive attitude, just to name a few.
I will always be indebted to Madison High School and the PIL for providing me with the opportunity to participate in sports. And a special thank you to my parents, Lyle and Norma, who introduced me to the great game of golf and who encouraged me every step of the way.