Inductees – Salinas Sports Hall of Fame

CLASS OF 2022

Monica Abbott

Monica Abbott was one of the most dominating fastpitch softball hurlers at every level - from high school to college and ultimately a two-time Olympi...

CLASS OF 2013

Ed Adams

Adams helped pioneer Hartnell College Athletics when he joined the department in 1937. He spent more than 30 years campaigning for better facilities ...

CLASS OF 2019

Tamisha Allen-Smith

A three-sport standout, Tamisha Allen-Smith didn’t waste any time getting off to a fast start – literally. At North Salinas High School, she set ...

CLASS OF 2022

Matt Alvarado

Matt Alvarado was a two-time league champion in wrestling in 1955 and 1956 for Salinas High School. He supported local wrestling as a coach and refer...

CLASS OF 2024

Robin Baggett

Born and raised in Salinas, Robin Baggett made a lasting impact at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo on and off the field. On the field he was a two-time All-...

CLASS OF 2024

Jennifer Barrett

Gonzales High graduate Jennifer Barrett was at her best when the competition was the best. At the XI Paralympaid in Sydney, Australia, a multi-disabi...

CLASS OF 2014

Marv Beguhl

Marv Beguhl was the head coach for the North Salinas High football team for 21 years. He had only one losing record in his last 14 seasons and finish...

CLASS OF 2014

Elgie Bellizio

Elgie Bellizio was commissioner of the Salinas area high school athletic leagues for 30 years and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from th...

CLASS OF 2018

Serena Benavente

Benavente was a three-time league MVP at Notre Dame High School and four-year starting guard for St. Mary’s of Moraga. She recently capped off a le...

CLASS OF 2019

Al Borges

Lauded by former Auburn football coach Pat Dye as “one of the best offensive coordinators’ I’ve ever seen,’’ explains how and why North Sal...

CLASS OF 2016

Mike Brannan

As a young golfer, Mike Brannan made his mark, winning championships on the national stage. The North Salinas High grad was ranked by Golf Digest as ...

CLASS OF 2024

James Brewster Thompson

James Brewster Thompson was the NCAA judo champion in 1975 and 1977, earned a bronze medal in the 1975 Pan American games, was first in the World Mas...

CLASS OF 2013

Art Brusa

Brusa was the name of youth sports in Gonzales. He organized youth baseball, basketball and football leagues in the early 1940s and remained involved...

CLASS OF 2017

Bob Burlison

The 1974 Palma High graduate was hitting the shots and calling the shots as a basketball player and coach. He was league MVP his junior and senior ye...

CLASS OF 2013

Ernie Camacho

Beginning in 1980, the Alisal High/Hartnell College right-hander played for the A’s, Pirates, Indians, Astros, Giants and Cardinals. In 1984,...

CLASS OF 2023

Richard Casper

Dick Casper spent 40 years in Salinas teaching and coaching but was best known for creating the highly-popular Salinas Valley Track Club he started i...

CLASS OF 2017

Jose Celaya

A 2000 graduate of Alisal High School, Jose Celaya fought his way up through east Salinas and into the national boxing spotlight starting in 1997 by ...

CLASS OF 2013

Doug Chandler

Known as one of the most versatile motorcycle racers of the 1980s and 1990s, Chandler was inducted into the American Motorcycle Association Hall of F...

CLASS OF 2013

Dave Chaney

An all-league linebacker and running back for King City High School, Chaney’s greatest game came as a San Jose State linebacker on November 13, 197...

CLASS OF 2015

Joe Chappell

Retired from coaching the Salinas High School boys’ basketball team in 2013 as the winningest coach in Central Coast Section history with 687 victo...

CLASS OF 2013

Chet Chesholm

Mr. Baseball. That’s the name Chesholm earned because of his passion for the game and his commitment to keep Salinas a longstanding member of the C...

CLASS OF 2022

Steve Clayton

In his senior year at Palma High in 1976 Steve Clayton was the class valedictorian and Athlete of the Year. Fifteen years later he returned to teach,...

CLASS OF 2013

Patricia Cornett

Cornett burst into the golf scene in 1971 at the US Girls Junior Tournament. At North Salinas High School, she was the first female in Monterey Count...

CLASS OF 2018

Ramiro Corrales

In 1996, at 18, North Salinas star Ramiro Corrales went directly from high school into a professional, star-studded career for Major League Soccer’...

CLASS OF 2014

Norm Costa

The Palma football team was coming off five straight losing seasons when Costa was named coach in 1977. Twenty-three seasons later Costa's teams ha...

CLASS OF 2014

Russ Critchfield

The Salinas High graduate became one of the top guards in the history of the University of California Berkeley basketball program. He was voted team ...

CLASS OF 2015

Ron Critchfield

Was an all-leaguer for the Salinas High School’s only unbeaten varsity basketball team (22-0 in 1954), was first-team All-State and third-team All-...

CLASS OF 2013

Chris Dalman

Dalman, a Palma High graduate, was a four-year starting lineman at Stanford University and was named second-team All-Pac 10 in 1992. He was drafted i...

CLASS OF 2013

Hal Davis

Known as the “California Comet,” Davis rivaled Jesse Owens as the world’s fastest human in the early 1940s. Between 1940 and 1943, the Live Oak...

CLASS OF 2022

Jennifer Deering

Deering was a 4-year varsity athlete at North Salinas High in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was Monterey County Athlete of the Year ...

CLASS OF 2022

Terry Espinoza

Terry Espinoza (El Coach) may have been a man for all seasons, but his greatest accomplishments at Alisal High came as a wrestling and softball coach...

CLASS OF 2017

Dave Esquer

Palma High graduate Dave Esquer began his college career as a walk-on for the Stanford University baseball team and eventually became the starting sh...

CLASS OF 2022

David Estrada

David Estrada was born in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, was raised in Salinas and became one of the most prolific scorers in the nation as a senior on ...

CLASS OF 2024

David Fales

David Fales used a radar-like arm to become a standout quarterback that led to a record-setting career at San Jose State and eventually the NFL. A Pa...

CLASS OF 2015

Gary Figueroa

Gary was a two-time U.S. Olympic water polo player (1980 & 1984). He was a silver medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. Figueroa...

CLASS OF 2022

Chuck Filice

Regarded as one of the Salinas Valley’s premier football and baseball coaches. At Alisal High he was the varsity football & baseball coach, wit...

CLASS OF 2024

John Flannery

John Flannery, a Salinas High graduate, went from winning the California Interscholastic Federation golf title in high school, to becoming a colle...

CLASS OF 2016

Joe Given

Joe Given was a mainstay at Notre Dame High, coaching the softball team for 30 years. His teams had a winning season each year, as he finished wit...

CLASS OF 2015

Ricky Graham

Ricky Graham was considered by many to be one of the greatest dirt-track motorcycle racers in history. He won four American Motorcycle Championships,...

CLASS OF 2013

Marv Grim

Grim retired in 1989 as the winningest coach in the history of Hartnell College football, with a record of 106-36-4 over his 14-year career. Just onc...

CLASS OF 2019

Rudy Guevara

Rudy Guevara grew up needing braces on both legs. But the 1973 Gonzales High graduate overcame his early-age challenges to eventually become a coach ...

CLASS OF 2016

Mark Haddan

One of the standout players of the Alisal High boys basketball teams in the 1970s was Mark Haddan, son of coach Cork Haddan. Mark Haddan was on the 1...

CLASS OF 2014

Cork Haddan

Cork Haddan coached the dynamic Alisal High varsity boys basketball teams of 1970 (27-3), 1971 (26-5) and 1972 (28-2). The Trojans made it to the cha...

CLASS OF 2018

Calvin Harrison

North Salinas High School sensation and member of the USA 2000 Summer Olympic track & field team, Calvin Harrison has set many records. In 1993, ...

CLASS OF 2018

Alvin Harrison

In 1993, Alvin Harrison helped the North Salinas High track team to the California Interscholastic Federation state title. At the 1996 and 2000 Olymp...

CLASS OF 2017

Raymond Herbert “Whitey” Smith

After two sizzling years on the Salinas High varsity football team where Herbert “Whitey’’ Smith lead the Cowboys to a combined 16-1-1 record (...

CLASS OF 2016

Debbie Hudson

Debbie Hudson’s King City ties remain strong, then as a student-athlete and today as a coach. When Hudson attended King City High in the 1970s, cro...

CLASS OF 2014

Terri Huff

Terri Huff was a dominating player for Notre Dame-Salinas in the mid to late 1970's to the point of perhaps being the greatest female basketball play...

CLASS OF 2013

Tut Imlay

Imlay arrived in 1920 to play and to teach the game of football to Salinas High players and fans. As captain of the University of California team, he...

CLASS OF 2013

Ernie Irvan

The Salinas High graduate won the Daytona 500 in 1991. He spent 13 years on the NASCAR circuit with 15 victories and three Busch Series wins. In 1993...

CLASS OF 2024

Orlando Johnson

Following his sophomore season at North Salinas High Orlando Johnson enrolled at Palma and flashed his all-around talents that led to a college schol...

CLASS OF 2018

Cotton Kaiser

Kaiser was a key figure in the Salinas-area golf community for decades. He was the Northern California PGA Teacher of the Year in 1990, and listed as...

CLASS OF 2014

Joe Kapp

Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kapp moved to Salinas with his family while in third grade, went to El Sausal Middle School in east Salinas then spent ...

CLASS OF 2013

Bill Kearney

Salinas High track and field teams in the 1950s and became a respected administrator. After serving as principal of Salinas High and vice principal o...

CLASS OF 2013

Bob Kelley

Under Bob Kelley’s leadership as athletic director, Hartnell College developed one of the most recognized athletic programs in the state. Four of h...

CLASS OF 2013

Eddie King

Between 1953 and 1955, King held every Salinas High lightweight and varsity running record from the 75-yard dash to the 880-yard run. As a sophomore,...

CLASS OF 2023

Jean Kinn Ashen

Jean Ashen’s prolific career as an athlete and athletic administrator began in 1972 and spanned over five decades at North Salinas High School. Whe...

CLASS OF 2019

Ken Kline

Ken Kline coached the King City High girls’ basketball team into a perennial powerhouse during his nearly three decades of service. From 1979 to 20...

CLASS OF 2014

Jim Langley

A Salinas High graduate who was a member of Cal's 1959 NCAA Basketball championship team. Langley was the head golf pro at Cypress Point for 34 years...

CLASS OF 2018

Dennis Lennen

Lehnen was often referred to as “The Dean’’ of local sports and for good reason. Lehnen was the sports anchor for KSBW-TV Action News 8 for 35 ...

CLASS OF 2019

Dick Leonard

For more than 40 years Dick Leonard dedicated his life to youth sports programs in the Salinas-area. In 1968 Leonard played a major role in the growt...

CLASS OF 2023

Wyatt Maker

The 6-foot-11 Wyatt Maker went straight from the North Salinas High School basketball court in 1982 to Villanova University. Two years later he wa...

CLASS OF 2018

Jim Mankins

In his senior year at King City High School in 1962, Mankins led all of Northern California in rushing and receiving. He was chosen Northern Californ...

CLASS OF 2013

Mario Martinez

A Salinas native, Martinez was one of the United States’ premier weightlifters for nearly two decades. He was a four-time USA Weightlifter of the Y...

CLASS OF 2013

Russ Messner

Messner was Salinas High School’s sole varsity basketball coach from 1947 to 1972. His teams won six league championships. Messner’s legacy, howe...

CLASS OF 2024

Dorothy Middaugh

As the Physical Education Department Chairman at Hartnell College Dorothy Middaugh was the driving force to the growth and development of women’...

CLASS OF 2023

Gina Miller Uccelli

Considering what Gina Uccelli did off the volleyball court it shouldn’t be surprising what she did on the court. She climbed the ladder from being ...

CLASS OF 2018

Rosa Montejano

Montejano blossomed as a dominant basketball player for North Salinas High in the 1988-89 season. She averaged 32 points and nearly 20 rebounds per g...

CLASS OF 2016

Xavier Nady

With deep Monterey County roots, Xavier Nady played more than a decade for several Major League Baseball teams. The 1997 Salinas High alum was drafte...

CLASS OF 2017

Carl Nicks

In 2012 Carl Nicks, a graduate of North Salinas High and Hartnell College – where he was rated the seventh best prospect in the state by a national...

CLASS OF 2018

Roger O’Sullivan

For more than three decades, O’Sullivan turned high school track teams into powers. He coached Palma for six years, and then in 1982, started his 2...

CLASS OF 2016

Kassim Osgood

A three-sport student-athlete at North Salinas High, Kassim Osgood went on to make his mark in college football and the NFL. Osgood played 12 seasons...

CLASS OF 2023

Clay Peterson

Beginning in 1962 Clay Peterson was chief photographer of the Salinas Californian for 36 years. He was best known for prowling the sidelines, ball fi...

CLASS OF 2018

Gary Plumlee

After a standout career at Salinas High, Hartnell College and the University of New Mexico, Plumlee was drafted by the New York Jets of the upstart A...

CLASS OF 2013

Teresa Raine-Lee

Raine-Lee was MVP in basketball, softball and volleyball. The North High graduate was named Salinas Valley’s Female Athlete of the Century in 1999 ...

CLASS OF 2024

Gene Rambo

After a standout career at Salinas High, Hartnell College and the University of New Mexico, Plumlee was drafted by the New York Jets of the upstart A...

CLASS OF 2017

Jim Rear

Jim Rear kept the legacy of Alisal High boys’ basketball going strong by claiming 8 league titles from 1983-1997 and reaching the Central Coast Sec...

CLASS OF 2017

Ernie Reyes

The Salinas High graduate was called “one of the greatest martial arts masters of the 20th century’’ in a TNT special produced by Wesley Snipes...

CLASS OF 2023

Gene Robertson

It’s not a stretch to say that Gene Robertson is the Father of Little League baseball in the Salinas Valley. On the final day of the first year of ...

CLASS OF 2013

Del Rodgers

Rodgers’ lightening speed and agility on the football field for North High earned him the nickname of Popcorn. Rodgers staged quite a show leading ...

CLASS OF 2015

Jim Rodriguez, Jr

Born in Watsonville and a Salinas High alum, Jim Rodriguez was a four-time team-roping champion of the California Rodeo Salinas. He became the younge...

CLASS OF 2017

Johnie Schneider

Johnie Schneider was one of the top riders on the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit for years. He was inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame in 1992...

CLASS OF 2022

Lindsay Schutzler

In a sport where pitching typically dominates, Notre Dame High graduate Lindsay Schutzler was a hitting machine in fastpitch softball at the Division...

CLASS OF 2023

Lauren Schutzler Palmer

From the moment Lauren Schutzler stepped on the Notre Dame High softball field she was an impact player. She was the Central Coast Section softball F...

CLASS OF 2015

Gary Shaw

From 1969 to 2006 Gary Shaw coached the Hartnell College men’s and women’s track and cross country teams to unparalleled success. His men’s tra...

CLASS OF 2022

Alan Shipnuck

A graduate of Salinas High and a former stringer for the Salinas Californian, Alan Shipnuck wrote his first Sports Illustrated cover story as a 21-ye...

CLASS OF 2019

Laird Small

The Salinas High School graduate is well-known for being one of the top golf instructors in the country. Among the honors;--Was named one of America�...

CLASS OF 2014

Rob Smets

The Palma High graduate became a premiere bullrider for 19 years on the Wrangler World Bullfighting championship circuit from 1981-2000. He finished ...

CLASS OF 2013

Arvin Smith

The King City High School graduate coached a powerhouse Hartnell College football program. From 1960 to 1969, Smith’s teams compiled a 68-28-2 reco...

CLASS OF 2024

Terri Sonniksen

Terri Sonniksen might not have built Notre Dame - even if she did help with the construction of the basketball gym – but she certainly helped with ...

CLASS OF 2022

Susan Springer Garcia

By the time Susan Springer Garcia graduated from Salinas High in 1979 she was not only the most decorated track and field girl in the history of the ...

CLASS OF 2013

Tony Teresa

Teresa’s influence ramains as strong today as it did when he was a football and baseball coach for Hartnell College in the 1970s to the 1980s. He w...

CLASS OF 2023

Brian Thure

Brian Thure was a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman from Salinas High who was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 1995 ...

CLASS OF 2022

Ferd Tihista

Ferd Tihista was born on Christmas day 1927, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he unwrapped a set of dumbbells the same day. Even though he didn’t...

CLASS OF 2013

Anthony Toney

The North High and Hartnell College football and track standout won the Central Coast Section 400-meter run and placed fourth in the state in the 200...

CLASS OF 2014

Maria Trujillo

She went out for track at Hartnell College in 1978 with the goal of losing five pounds. In the process Trujillo broke the Hartnell record in the 3,00...

CLASS OF 2019

Dick Tuttle

Dick Tuttle spent more than 32 years as a coach, teacher and administrator with the Salinas Union High School District. In 2009 he was inducted into ...

CLASS OF 2018

George Watkins

Watkins was a sports writer with the Salinas Californian for 37 of his 40-year career. He won several awards from Gannett (parent company of the Cali...

CLASS OF 2014

Warren Wayland

In January of 2014 Warren Wayland became the first person to be recognized for a second time by the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen...

CLASS OF 2024

Mike Welsh

Mike Welsh was a Salinas High School coach for the better part of 22 years and athletic director for 11 of those years. By the time his career was ov...

CLASS OF 2014

Larry Welsh

Gonzales High football was at its peak under Larry Welsh, who coached the Spartans from 1966-75). During that span Gonzales went 69-18-1 with 33 shut...

CLASS OF 2017

Ellen Wilson Deerman

Ellen Wilson, who attended Notre Dame High, is one of the most decorated women judoka in the U.S. She is a two-time Olympian – 2000 Sydney Games, 2...

CLASS OF 2016

1971 Alisal Boy’s Basketball Team

Alisal was the first team from the Salinas Valley to win a Central Coast Section championship in any sport, boys or girls. That championship squad ...

CLASS OF 2014

1952 Hartnell College Football Team

Considered to be the most honored, revered and recognized team of any sport in the Salinas Valley. In 1952 The Panthers went 10-0-1, outscored the op...

CLASS OF 2019

1990 King City Girls Volleyball Team

It was an historic season for the 1990 King City girls’ volleyball squad by becoming the first high school team in the Salinas Valley to reach a st...

CLASS OF 2023

1974 King City High School Girls Track & Field Team -CCS Champions

The 1974 King City High School girl’s track team not only competed in the first Central Coast Section Track and Field Championship meet in history ...

CLASS OF 2017

1978 Notre DameGirl’s Basketball Team

The 1978 Notre Dame Girls Basketball CCS Championship Team The 1978 Notre Dame girl’s basketball team (members of the Monterey Bay League) finished...

CLASS OF 2015

1992 Palma Boy’s Basketball Team

In 1992 the Palma Chieftains became the first – and through 2015 – the only boys basketball team from Monterey County to win a state title. They ...

CLASS OF 2018

1996 Salinas Storm Softball 16U Team

This fast-pitch team became the first in Salinas Valley history to crack the Top 10 national rankings, at the elite ASA National tournament in Chatta...

CLASS OF 2022

1976 Salinas American Little League Softball All-Star World Champion Team

In 1976, a group of girls aged 11-12, mostly from the east Salinas area, quietly and almost unnoticed, slipped out of town and made history by becomi...

CLASS OF 2024

1964 Salinas High School Boys Basketball Team

In 1964 – an era when all California high school varsity sports competed in one division - the Salinas High boys basketball team was the Coast Coun...

Salinas Valley Sports Hall of Fame

Contact Info