Warriors basketball great Chris Mullin, Raiders linebacking sensation TedHendricks and legendary Stanford coaches Dick Gould and Payton Jordan havebeen elected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, it was announced today byBASHOF President Tom Martz.
Mullin, who played 13 of his 16 NBA seasons with Golden State, is now the franchise's executive vice president for basketball operations. As a player, hewas a five-time league All Star who from the 1988-'89 season through '92-'93averaged better than 25 points per game, a five-year scoring splurge equaled onlyin Warrior history by Wilt Chamberlain. Mullin is the team record-holder forgames played (807) and steals (1360). He finished his long NBA career averaging18.1 points per game.
Mullin was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 1985 draft afteran All America career at St. John's University in New York. He was a member of two Gold Medal U.S. Olympic teams, as a collegian in 1984 and as a professional in '92.
Hendricks, who played nine seasons for the Raiders, both in Oakland andLos Angeles, revolutionized the linebacking position in the 1970s and '80s, "roving"between run and pass coverage behind the line and rushing the passer from whatordinarily was a defensive end position. As such he was the forerunner of such laterstars as Fred Dean and Lawrence Taylor.
At 6-7 and about 225 pounds, Hendricks didn't look much like a linebacker,either. But the so-called "Mad Stork" was everywhere on the field, sackingquarterbacks, intercepting passes, blocking kicks and recovering fumbles. In fact,he scored touchdowns on an interception return, a fumble recovery and by fallingon a blocked punt. He played on Raider Super Bowl championship teams of 1976, '80, and '83 and was All Conference seven times.
In his 38 years as Stanford's tennis coach, Gould produced 17 NCAAchampionship teams, as well as ten singles champs and seven doubles teamwinners. (Among these champions was last year's BASHOF enshrinee JohnMcEnroe). All told, in NCAA championship play Gould's teams won a remarkable88 of 99 matches.
He was intercollegiate tennis's Coach of the Decade for both the 1980s and'90s, his teams winning three straight NCAA titles from 1988 through '90 and fourfrom '95 through '98. His 1998 team was undefeated in 28 collegiate events, losingjust three points the entire year. Gould's instructional book, "Tennis Anyone?," isin its sixth printing.
Jordan coached track and field at Stanford from 1957 through '79. He wasthe head coach of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team that won more medals (24) and setmore world records than any team in the history of the Games. Jordan also directedthe historic U.S. vs. USSR meet in 1962 that drew more than 150,000 over two daysof competition at Stanford Stadium.
In his 23 years at Stanford, his athletes won six individual NCAA titles andset five world records. And 29 won All America honors. Then, astonishingly enough,Jordan, in his mid-50s resurrected his own track career which had begun more than
30 years earlier when he was a record-breaking sprinter at USC. And for the nextquarter century, he set "Masters" world records in the 100 meters for every agegroup from 55 to 80. With no more worlds to beat, he finally retired from competition in 1998 at age 81.
The 27th Annual Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement Dinner will be held on April 4, 2006 at the Westin - St. Francis, Union Square, San Francisco. The banquet will be chaired by Don Fisher, Chairman Emeritus of The Gap Inc. Broadcasting luminary Greg Papa will be the master of ceremonies. For more information or ticket information call 415.352.8827.