MM Hall of Fame to open its doors
Friday, February 4, 2005 7:53 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleSix former athletes and coaches, along with a state championship baseball team, will be honored as the inaugural inductees into the newly-formed Mark Morris High Athletic Hall of Fame.
A ceremony to honor ex-MM athletes Marv Chamberlain, Julie Grummel, Jill Smith and Rick Sweet, former coaches Bob Hansen and Jackie Evenson, and the 1973 Class AA state championship baseball team will be held at halftime of the Mark Morris-Fort Vancouver boys basketball game on Feb. 11.
"When I first came to the school, boys basketball coach Bill Bakamus talked to me about starting up a Sports Hall of Fame," MM athletic director Robert Blackman said. "We have a committee that met two or three times and talked about ideas. From that the group, we selected six individuals and a team."
The committee consisted of Blackman, Bakamus, teacher Jocelyn Schauer, volleyball coach Lisa Verage, former MM administrator Don Wiitala, Booster Club president Ann Wright, and alumni Dave Andrew and Kirc Roland.
Blackman said the selection process will be changed following this year's induction.
"We are asking Mark Morris alumni and members of the community to submit nominations on forms we will have at the game and on our Web site," he said. "From that pool of suggestions we hope to have the same number of inductees next year."
Blackman said a permanent display hasn't been purchased yet, but all of the inductees will receive a plaque at the ceremony.
"We need some start-up money to get a permanent display," he said. "We don't have that piece yet, but we didn't want to start the program after we had the money."
The Hall of Fame ceremony begins at 6 p.m. with a no-host social in the cafeteria.
Blackman said the school is attempting to get an accurate count of how many members of the state-title baseball team will be attending the induction ceremony. Members of the team should contact Diane Bryant at 575-7669 to confirm their attendance.
Here's a look at this year's inductees:
• Marv Chamberlain (Class of 1970): A three-sport star at Mark Morris who earned all-state honors in baseball. After his prep career, Chamberlain went on to become captain of the Washington State University baseball team and earned first-team All-American honors in 1974.
In 1975, Chamberlain was honored as the Lower Columbia Area Sportsman of the Year.
• Julie Grummel (Class of 1981): A two-time Class AA state singles champion in 1979 and '80, Grummel went on to tennis success as an All-American at the University of California-Berkeley in 1983, teaming with Barrie Bullmore to win the doubles portion of the Women's Independent College Doubles Championship in Ojai Valley, Calif.
• Jill Smith (Class of 1986): The 5-foot-8, 150-pound Smith earned honorable mention accolades on the 1985 USA Today All-USA high school girls track team for throwing the javelin. After winning the Class AA state championships in 1986, Smith placed fifth in the 1987 Pac-10 Conference Championships and eighth in the NCAA National Championships while competing at the University of Oregon.
In 1988, Smith won the NCAA Championships with a heave of 183-feet-8 that also earned her All-American honors. She later reached the finals of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Championships, where she placed 11th.
• Rick Sweet (Class of 1971): A three-sport prep athlete who later played collegiate baseball at Lower Columbia College and Gonzaga University, before inking a professional baseball contract with the San Diego Padres after he was selected in the third round of the 1975 Major League draft. Sweet played parts of three seasons with San Diego, Seattle and the New York Mets before retiring after the 1983 season.
Sweet's managerial career reads like a road map of the world, with stops in Bellingham, Wausau, Wis., Osceloa, Fla., Jackson, Miss., Venezuela, Tucson, Ariz., Binghampton, N.Y., Harrisburg, Pa., Ottawa, Portland, Erie, Pa., and, most recently, Louisville, Ky.
Last season, Sweet became the 12th active minor-league manager to achieve 1,000 victories. He has a 1,044-1,036 record in 17 campaigns, including a 457-400 record at the Triple-A level.
• Bob Hansen (coach and teacher): In 17 seasons with the Mark Morris baseball team, "Hanner" compiled a 425-96 record that included a Class AA state championship in 1973, a runner-up finish in '74 and a third-place finish in his final game in '75.
Hansen retired from teaching in 1982 and died on Jan. 17, 1991.
• Jackie Evenson (coach and teacher): In her 30 years of teaching at Mark Morris, Evenson guided girls tennis and golf teams to state championships. Evenson's tutelage helped Mary Kate Morgan to a sixth-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament in 2003, and a second-place finish by Robyn Schulz in the AA state tourney in 1996.
Evenson also coached fellow MM Hall of Fame tennis player Julie Grummel to state titles in 1979 and '80. In addition, Evenson is also an accomplished amateur golfer with success in numerous Pacific Northwest tournaments.
• 1973 AA state championship baseball team: Mark Morris won the first AA state championship held under the newly-formed championship format. Coach Bob Hansen's roster included Tom Chamberlain, Mike Baker, Kelly Smith, Bud Black and Jay Jallo.
Black went on to a productive Major League career and is currently the pitching coach for the Anaheim Angels. After having success at Oregon State University, Chamberlain went on to become the pitching coach at Lower Columbia College and Washington State University. Smith went on to play at Washington State and in the San Francisco Giants' minor-league system, and is currently the baseball coach at LCC.
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