Her words came late in the evening but best summed up the common sentiment expressed by all of the award winners at the second annual induction ceremony for the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Edwards was the last of the 11 award recipients to make an acceptance speech at the induction dinner held April 30 at Villa Ragusa in Campbell, and her words succinctly delivered the message that all of the others said in different ways earlier in the evening—that they all considered themselves lucky to grow up in such a special town and attend Los Gatos High School.

"I'm so proud that I represented you, and I hope that you are proud of me," she said.

Edwards, a 1994 graduate who starred in volleyball, basketball and softball, was the final athlete to receive her award on Saturday since presentations were made in chronological order. Preceding her to the podium were Barbara Baggerly (accepting for her husband, the late John Baggerly Sr., class of 1935), Lee Sonntag (accepting for her husband, the late Hal Sonntag, class of 1940), Pietro "Pete" Denevi (class of 1944), Camden Wall (class of 1959), Dennis Howell (accepting for his brother, the late Ed Howell, class of 1963), Mike Couchee (class of 1976), Bill Steiner (class of 1979), Ken Cooper (class of 1980), Lezlie Jensen Huston (class of 1987) and Mike Fisher (class of 1990).

"You almost can't put into words what a great honor this is, not just for the athletes but for the tremendous support groups we all have," said Fisher, a superstar in football and baseball for the Wildcats.

Cooper agreed that Los Gatos is a special place.

"In this community we live in, we're very fortunate," said Cooper, a standout in football, basketball and baseball. "Living in a very small community creates a great camaraderie with schoolmates and teammates."

"I wanted to play every sport for as long as I could play—that was my love," he added.

Jensen Huston also had a love affair with sports at the school.

"To explain in one word what my track experience was like [at Los Gatos High School]—bliss," she said.

"Hearing the stories of the other great athletes makes me realize what a truly great honor this really is," added Jensen Huston, who set six track and field records at Los Gatos—one that still stands today.

Aquatics superstar Bill Steiner, like so many other award recipients, thanked his parents for their support.

"My parents encouraged my four siblings and I to play a lot of different sports and that helped build our confidence," said Steiner. "Sports were good to me, and I thank my parents for my competitive nature."

Mike Couchee, a baseball and football great, not only thanked his parents, but his also older brothers Kent and Phil.

"They let me hang around with them and play with baseball with them," he said. "It's amazing what you can learn by being the permanent catcher all the time."

With a special nod to his father, Phil Couchee Sr., he added, "Everybody had such a big influence on me—some of them don't even know it."

It was a different tone that came from Dennis Howell. His brother Ed was a sensational football player and wrestler at the school, but he died in 1969 just a month after his 24th birthday.

"I want to thank you for bestowing this wonderful honor on my brother Ed," said Dennis Howell, a 1966 Los Gatos graduate who also starred in football wrestling. "This honor validates the 'Uncle Ed' stories that [his nieces and nephews] have heard."

Of course, there likely would have been no Hall of Fame without the influence of John Baggerly Sr., who lived and breathed Los Gatos High School sports for more than half a century. He was an athlete when he attended the school in the 1930s, but it was as a sports writer that he made his greatest contribution, covering school sports for decades.

"He would have all of the coaches over after games and they would stay until after midnight," said his wife of 59 years, Barbara. "They would stay so late that their wives would call to ask, 'Is the meeting over yet?' "

Denevi, a four sport letterman at the school, said little about his own impressive athletic achievements in his acceptance speech, but instead remembered his old pal, John Baggerly.

"I regret that John couldn't be here tonight, because John was truly 'Mr. Los Gatos,' " said Denevi.

Camden Wall echoed those sentiments.

"I was lucky when I came here in the middle of my freshman year," said Wall, a basketball great who also starred in water polo and track and field. "I was lucky to play for Hal Sonntag, and I was lucky to be a friend of John Baggerly. He always made me up a little better than I was, so you had to play up to it."

Each athlete was recognized on Saturday by a large group of supporters, but the turnout may have been the greatest for Hal Sonntag. Arms shot up all over the room when his wife, Lee, asked for a show of hands from athletes who played for Hal, a five-sport Los Gatos letterman who, like Denevi, would later coach at the school.

"I talked to many of the people on the guest list and asked them for stories about Hal," she said. "But if I shared all of the stories, we'd be here all night.