There’s been some confusion about the Kitsap Sports Hall of
Fame. A wrong date was published (probably my fault) and the
correction that appeared in The Sun (again, my fault) had
wrong info about where to buy tickets. Sorry for the bad
info, but I’m here to set it straight. If you have any questions
after reading the information below, contact me at
chuckstark00@gmail.com.
Here’s the skinny:
27TH KITSAP SPORTS HALL OF FAME BANQUET
When: Jan. 24, 2015; 11 a.m. social hour, noon
dinner and program
Where: Kiana Lodge, Poulsbo
Tickets: $30 in advance ($35 at the door). Send
check or money order to Kitsap Athletic Roundtable; P.O. Box 5707,
Bremerton, WA, 98312. Tickets also available at Kitsap Tennis &
Athletic Center (1909 NE John Carlson Rd, East Bremerton) and
Baymont Inn & Suites (5640 Kitsap Way, West Bremerton).
Sponsor: Kitsap Athletic Roundtable.
Presented by: The Suquamish Tribe and Port Madison
Enterprises.
More information: Email
Jodee.Strickland@aol.com.
WHO IS BEING
HONORED?
Rex Brown Distinguished Service Award: Chuck
Bullard, who died of cancer in March, and his wife, Sherry, will be
honored for their years of service to the sport of wrestling.
The award recognizes individuals or organization that have
made an impact on the Kitsap sporting community. The Bullards
were active leaders of USA Wrestling and Chuck co-founded the
Silverdale-based Northwest Washington Wrestling Club, which made an
impact not only locally, but throughout the state, and country.
Dick Todd Officials Award: Harold Conway, who
has officiated volleyball and basketball for 39 years, is the
recipient of this year’s award.
TEAMS:
1965 East High football team: First team in
school history to beat rival West High, the Knights posted six
shutouts in nine games and allowed just 26 points while winning the
Olympic League championship and finishing as the No. 4-ranked team
in the state.
1956-57 Olympic College basketball team: The
Rangers won the 10-team Washington State Junior College
Athletic Conference with a 13-1 record (20-3 overall). It was Phil
Pescoe’s fifth championship team.
1984 Olympic High baseball team: Coached by
Robin Campbell, the Trojans won the Class 2A state baseball
championship 30 years ago, culminating a dream postseason run with
a 6-5 victory over Eastmont in the championship game at the
Kingdome.
INDIVIDUALS:
Ken Anderson: A multi-talented athlete
(football, basketball, baseball), the 1980 Bremerton grad played
baseball and football at Olympic College (All-NWAACC safety), and
football at Central Washington, where he was the Wildcats Defensive
Player of the Year. Anderson also starred on the softball diamond,
first in slowpitch, later in fastpitch, at shortstop. He also
coached Central Kitsap Junior High’s football team for 20 years,
compiling a 102-21 record while winning 11 league titles and
posting eight unbeaten seasons.
Seabury Blair Jr.: The Spokane native
covered the outdoors, among other things, and he’s still writing
columns and stories for The Sun, in addition to writing outdoor
books and hiking guides.
Ted Brose: The 1980 South Kitsap grad, now
living in Yakima, was among the first high-profile players that
coach Ed Fisher sent to Washington. Brose was a Scholastic Coach
Magazine High School All-American and all-state offensive lineman.
He played on two Pac-10 championship teams (1980, ’81) at
Washington, where he was a three-year letterman.
Mike Cheney: The standout athlete from South
Kitsap was part of the 1984 Suquamish softball team that was
inducted in 2013; this year he goes in on his own merits. Cheney
was one of the best power hitters to come out of the region.
Teammates called him “launch” and said he was a home-run hitting
machine.
Darell Davis: Bremertons Davis was a
three-time national junior American Motorcycle Champion by the time
he was 15, and was racing a factory-backed Harley Davidson the
following year. He won six motocross races in six days at Sturgis,
North Dakota, and was leading the AMA world championship series
when he was tragically killed while competing in Erie, New York, in
1987. He was 16 when he died.
Carol Dodd: She was among the dominant bowlers
in the state during her era, averaging 192 during the 1980s when
the conditions weren’t nearly as conducive to scoring as they are
now. The Kitsap Bowling Association Hall of Famer and a 13-time
KWBA all-star was a tough tournament bowler and has always
given back to the sport, providing free lessons for juniors,
seniors and anybody who asked.
Don Dow: The 1978 Bainbridge grad played in two
Rose Bowls, a Sun Bowl and an Aloha Bowl and was drafted in the
12th round by the Seattle Seahawks in 1983. The offensive tackle
landed with the 49ers, and didn’t play, but was on the team that
won the 1985 Super Bowl. Based in Medford, Oregon, he has operated
DowEvents, a corporate hospitality provider for events like the
Masters, World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics, for 20 years.
Gordon Farrar: The 1946 graduate of Bremerton
High broke the Washington State record in the high jump, clearing 6
feet, 4 inches his sophomore year. Farrar, who was 5-foot-8, tore
up his knee playing American Legion baseball in the summer and
thought his track and field career was over, but he was talked into
turning out again while returning to school while studying for his
masters in Mechanical Engineering. Farrar won the long jump at the
Pacific Coast Conference Track and Field Championships. His winning
jump (24 feet, 4 inches) was the second longest by a college
athlete that year. He was invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials, but
declined because he’d previously committed to completing his
plumbing apprenticeship in Alaska.
Paula Grande: The 1990 North Mason grad guided
her alma mater’s softball team to a 311-69 record and a state
championship and six district titles during her 15 seasons with the
Bulldogs. She was inducted into the Washington State Softball
Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
Cindy Guy: She’s coached gymnastics for 33
years at Bainbridge, leading the Spartans to a state championship
and three other top-four finishes. She’s coached three state
all-around champions. The Spartans won 115 straight Metro League
meets at one point.
The Hansen Brothers: They (Jim and Dave) ran
Pro Competition and Top Alcohol dragstars from 1960 to the ‘80s.
They own the 1972 Northwest NHRA championship and were world record
holders at one time and won multi-time NHRA Division 6 races.
Bruce Larson: The 1969 West High grad held the
school scoring record (40 points). He played on a state
championship junior college team at Tacoma and powerhouse teams at
the University of Puget Sound before setting into a 40-year
teaching career in the Central Kitsap School District. He’s coached
36 of those years. He’s currently the athletic director and varsity
boys and girls basketball coach at Central Kitsap Junior High. His
girls teams have won 56 games in a row and are 183-29 under his
guidance.
The Raines family: Belfair’s Raines Gang
(father Dave and sons Darrell and Doug, and Doug’s son Jason) have
won everything from regional to state to national titles on
motorcycles.
Joe Sherk: Sherk was the sports editor at
The Sun in the 1960s before moving on to the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer and Tacoma News Tribune. After 18 years as a
sports writer, the South Kitsap grad worked as a media/public
relations professional for over 30 years in NHRA drag racing. He
represented many of the greatest drag racers in the history of the
sport.
Paul Stoffel: The former all-state center from
West High earned a scholarship to Washington State, but ended his
college career as a starting linebacker at Central
Washington. Stoffel returned to Bremerton in 1969 and assisted
his former coach, Chuck Semancik, before taking the head job at
Central Kitsap. He coached the Cougars from 1971-75, going 35-13-1
and reached the state playoffs twice. His father, Vaughn Stoffel, a
four-sport letterman at the University of Puget Sound, is already
in Kitsap’s Hall of Fame.
Tommy Thompson: The Central Kitsap grad was a
first-team all-state selection in golf at Olympic College in 1966
and ’67, helping the Rangers win state titles both years. He also
played basketball at OC, and went on to earn All-Evergreen
Conference honors in golf at Central Washington. His 41-year
coaching highlights include 12 league championships as the head
golf coach at Central Kitsap and a 288-90 record that included 14
league championships as the boys basketball coach at CK Junior
High.
Gordy Wood: The 1986 Olympic High grad and
tight end set records at Wyoming, catching 151 passes while helping
the Cowboys win a pair of Western Athletic Conference titles and go
to two Holiday Bowls. He played for Doug Smith at Olympic High, and
later coached quarterback Alex Smith (Doug’s son) and future
Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush at Helix High in San Diego. He’s
currently coaching at West Valley H.S. in Hemet, California.
WHAT’S THE PROCESS OF BEING ELECTED TO THE HALL OF
FAME?
The Kitsap Athletic Roundtable accepts nominations from the
public. Mail your nomination with information supporting your
nominee to the Kitsap Athletic Roundtable; P.O. Box 5707,
Bremerton, WA, 98312. The KAR has a six-person HOF committee that
goes over nominations. Discussion starts in the early spring. By
summer, the list has been whittled down to about 25 or 30. By
September, the HOF committee takes a final vote and makes final
arguments for candidates. Believe me, we’ve got a long list of
candidates, but if you think we’ve overlooked someone deserving,
please let us know.
(Dick Thompson, Dan Haas, Jodee Strickland, Chris
Horn , Tim Quimby and yours truly were on the HOF committee
this year. This was my second year).