Eureka High Hall of Famers

It's become clear that H-DNL "history" is defined as the period of time members of the area's working media and the current group of really avid fans can remember. So, sadly, "history" seems to start in about 1991 -- it's rare that we read anything about athletes who actually made history in the H-DNL.

So, credit the folks who started the Eureka High School sports hall of fame for reaching out to lots of different folks from lots of different backgrounds -- and a variety of age groups -- because they came up with a near perfect list of initial inductees into the EHS shrine.

Coach Jay Willard and former Olympic sprinter Elta Cartwright were no-brainers. They pre-date me. Olympic sprinter and a guy who had such impact that the gymnasium and the walkway to the football are both named after him? Ideal selections.

There are generations of people who don't know how amazingly gifted Rob Harrison was, in three sports, in the 1980s. The people who bicker about which modern-day football running backs are bound for college have no idea how truly unique Harrison was carrying the ball. And, obviously, few no he was a state-level wrestler, hurdler and jumper.

It figures that even fewer people know what a fantastic athlete John Burman was in the 1960s. He was a state-level sprinter who really left an indelible mark on the North Coast by leading Humboldt State to a win in the 1968 Camellia Bowl against Fresno State. Yes...Humboldt played Fresno State and beat Fresno State -- and it wasn't really that close.

Rich Mayo was a multi-sport star who wound up starting at quarterback for the Air Force Academy team that played in the Cotton Bowl. I remember being a kid ripping through an older friend's old "Sport" magazines and stumbling onto mention of "Air Force quarterback Rich Mayo, from Eureka, Calif." I had no idea it was even possible to go from Eureka to mention in sport magazine, let alone big-time college football stardom. It's cool he can be inducted along with Ralph Mayo.

Katrina Bindel was the best female athlete I saw in my 1,001 years on the North Coast. She won state track and field medals when it was really rare for H-DNL athletes to even get to the state meet. She was on course to become, most insiders thought, a star in the international heptathlon competition. Then, an injury sidelined her in the early 1990s. She was magnificent.

Billy Olson is the former Eureka High baseball pitcher who, in my opinion, is the most overlooked of any truly fantastic former Logger athlete. The guy was a flame-throwing lefthanded pitcher who was virtually, almost literally, unhittable in the late 1960s. He went directly from pitching in high school to being the Humboldt Crabs' ace -- back when the Crabs were playing the elite semi-pro teams, filled with stars from major colleges. And...Olson handled those Alaska summer college teams just fine at an age when, honestly, most pitchers would've quaked at the thought of facing stars from Southern Cal, UCLA, Stanford, etc.

It's not exactly an accident that Olson hasn't spent 40 years having his baseball accomplishments recounted every spring and summer. I tracked him down to do an interview once in the 1990s. It wasn't like I ever forgot the guy, but I just never knew where to look for him. You know how some guys slip really easily into talking about their accomplishments? It wasn't at all easy for Olson to talk about being, I think, the best pitcher in H-DNL history. He was clearly more comfortable listening to me tell him things I remembered seeing him do on the field. (Yeah...I was interviewing my "hero" and I was nearly 40 years old.)

His wife, I believe, pulled out a small scrapbook with some stories about Olson's baseball heyday. I was struck by how he clearly was remembering some of those games and teammates and opponents for the first time in years. I was also struck by him being that humble even when I admitted from the start that I brought my sons along on the interview just so they could meet the guy I'd spent so much time telling them about.

And ... now ... I'm rambling on like a school boy about Billy Olson again. Hey...he was really, really good and not a pitcher who's come along in the 40 years since came close to being as dominant as he was before he injured his pitching arm. (Well, St. Bernard grad Greg Shanahan was amazing, too, he was a righthander who wound up pitching for the L.A. Dodgers. He and Olson had a couple epic matchups I remember reading about.)

How much of a fan am I of Olson? Hmmm? My youngest son's a tall, lanky 12-year-old pitcher...he's a lefty. Pretty good, too. He asked me who my favorite lefty pitcher was and I said, "You...of course." Then, I swear, I paused and said, "Well, actually a guy named Billy Olson's my favorite lefty of all-time, so you're No. 2 ... but ..."
and from there, a 12-year-old heard all the Billy Olson stories that simply must remaining a vivid part of H-DNL history.

I hope Olson and the others can all take part in the homecoming ceremony. They have places in H-DNL history that, I fear, is becoming increasingly lost.

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Ted's Opinion: People gripe and moan that athletes are forced to pick one sport, or one position, far too early in life. So, I nominate for the EHS Hall of Fame -- Joe Denbo, Class of 1974, and Cardedrick Foreman, Class of 1998.

Denbo played three years of varsity quarterback at Eureka for some good teams -- played some receiver, too. He played two seasons of varsity basketball -- and was darn good. His three years as a varsity baseball outfielder were productive and prooved that great athletes can do as many sports as they could handle. Even in 1971-1974...there weren't many 8-time varsity letterman who started in three sports. Joe deserves an honor for a time we miss greatly.

Foreman was a football star who played receiver as a freshman, defensive back as a junior (with a little running back tossed in -- because he was the most elusive runner on the team)...then he capped his career by converting to quarterback as a senior. That's unheard of and...get this...Foreman was really exceptionally gifted at all those positions for truly outstanding EHS teams. He deserves a Hall of Fame nomination...and, here it is...