PSU Magazine Winter 1997

PSU Athletic Hall of Fame Portland State's 50th anniversary serves as the perfect time to establish an Athletic Hall of Fame. An inaugural class of 10, plus a national championship team, will be inducted Friday, Jan. 17, at a special banquet at the Lloyd Center Red Lion. The goal each year will be to recognize individuals who have honored the University and the community as student-athletes, coaches, or administrators of Portland State University or its prede– cessor, Vanport Extension Center. Thi s year's PSU At hlet ic Hall of Fame class is composed of: Joe Holland, administrator and coach, is being honored posthumously as founder of PSU athletics. He was the first director of Athletics at Vanport, coached three sports, and was chairman of the Health and Physical Education program. Holland led the program from 1947 to 1981 and brought it into prominence as a NAIA member in the Oregon Collegiate Conference. Howard Westcott, coach, is being recognized posthumously for producing one of the nation's top wrestling programs between 1952 and 1971. His team won the NCAA College Division championship in 1967 and wa runner-up in 1968. Portland State was consistently among the top team in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Conference, the forerunner of the PAC-10. "Doc" also served as as istant football coach and professor of physi– cal education, positively influencing the lives of many student athletes. Gordon Reese, baseball player, was the first Portland State athlete to be– come a first team All-American (1963 and 1964). He is still the record– holder for career victories (29-6) and earned run average (1.59). His pitch– ing led PSU to second place in the NAIA. Reese also earned first team Oregon Collegiate Conference four straight years and was twice named team MVP. Rick Sanders, wrestler, is being honored posthumously for having competed against the best in the nation and the world. Sanders won the NAIA championship in 1965, NCAA College Division in 1967 and 1968, and NCAA Univers ity Division in 1966 and 1967. He was PSC's first Oregon Ath lete of the Year, was the 28 PSU MAGAZINE WINTER 1997 first American to win a world champi– onship, and he won Olympic Silver Medals in 1968 and 1972. Sanders was killed in an automobile accident after the 1972 O lympics. The 1967 Wrestling Team won the NCAA College Divi ion champi– onship, becoming the fir t PSC team to win a national title. Rick Sanders, Ma aru Yatabe '69, and Chuck Seal won individual championships; Mike McKee! '70 was runner-up; Freeman Garrison '77 took third, Rich Green fourth, and Tony Campbell fifth. Team members went on to place at the University Division, giving PSC a fifth place finish among major universities. Marlene Piper, coach and adminis– trator, developed PSU into a nation– ally recognized volleyball power, guiding all 14 of her teams into the playoffs. The Vikings won 436 and lost 106, placed second in the nation (all div isions) in 1981, third in NCAA II in 1982, and second in 1983. Piper also coached softball, women's track and field, and was associate athlet ic director between 1969 and 1983. Freeman Williams, basketball player, shot PSU onto every sports page in the nation in 1977 and 1978 when he led the NCAA Division I in scoring. Averaging more than 30 points over four years, Williams became the second-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,249 points. The 6-4 guard was first team All-American, was All-Coast three times, played for the U.S. in the 1977 World Games, was Oregon's Athlete of the Year in 1978, and was a first round pick (eighth) in the 1978 NBA draft. Mouse Davis, football coach, may have saved the program in 1974. He created an offense that led the nation in passing and total offense for six straight years. His famed run-and– shoot team also led the nation in scor– ing four times, averaging 37.8 points and 486 yard per game. Davis's charis– matic personality also drew attention to PSU, along with the records set by future NFL quarterbacks June Jones and Neil Lomax. Neil Lomax '82, football player, rewrote the NCAA record book between 1977 and 1980, most notably passing for 13,320 yards and 106 touchdowns. He was first team NCAA I-AA All-American, seventh in the He isman Trophy voting, MVP of the North-South senior bowl, and PSU's only East-West game participant. Twice named Oregon's Athlete of the Year, Neil was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Lynda Johnson '87, MT '88, volley– ball player, led PSU to two national championships, a second place, and a third place between 1982 and 1985. She became the first player in NCAA history to make first team A ll– American fou r times. Johnson was also PSU's Woman Athlete of the Year four times, and she was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Pokey Allen, football coach, who died Dec. 30, i being honored posthu– mously as the winninge t coach in Portland State history (63-26, 71 percent). Between 1985 and 1992, five of his seven teams made the playoffs, with two advancing to the NCAA Division II national championsh ip game and two others to the semi– finals. His promotional efforts and winning football also led to record crowds of 12,000 fans per game. D