Righetti tops list of Hall inductees

By Dick Sparrer

There was no San Jose Sports Hall of Fame when Dave Righetti was making a name for himself locally as a top-notch pitcher at Pioneer High School.

And there was no San Jose Arena when he went on to star on the mound for the Jaguars at San Jose City College.

But there's a Hall of Fame now--located on the main concourse of the arena that's now called the Compaq Center at San Jose. And after Nov. 7, that's where we'll find Righetti ... from now until forever.

Bronze plaques adorn the walls of the arena's concourse level, each one honoring an individual who has brought acclaim to the Santa Clara Valley for his or her efforts.

Righetti will be featured on just such a plaque after his induction into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame next Wednesday. The former Pioneer Mustang, now the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants, is one of five 2001 inductees. Joining Righetti for induction into the coveted hall will be John Ralston, Carroll Williams, Joe Leonard and the late Ernie Nevers.

The five inductees will share the spotlight Wednesday with five other special award winners: High School Athletes of the Year--Antwon Guidry of Leigh and Undine Becker of Mount Pleasant; Amateur Athletes of the Year--Andre Carter of Cal and Danielle Slaton of Santa Clara University; and Special Olympian of the Year--Kelly Anderson of Los Gatos. The Bay Area CyberRays and the San Jose Earthquakes will also receive "exceptional achievement" awards for their championship seasons.

The seventh annual induction ceremony and dinner is already sold out, and more than 800 guests are expected to turn out to honor the five newest inductees who join an impressive list of Hall of Famers.

Peggy Fleming, Bill Walsh, Jim Plunkett, Tommie Smith ... the list of legendary names goes one. And now it will include five more.

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2001 San Jose Sports Hall of Fame inductees