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Brian Boitano, Bert Bonanno, Kim Oden, Bud & Ralph Ogden, Mark Spitz
SAN JOSE (August 29, 2007) – Six South Bay sports personalities who made their marks in college and Olympic sports form the 2007 Class of Inductees of the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.
This thirteenth class, which will be inducted in November dinner ceremonies at HP Pavilion, includes:
- Brian Boitano, 1988 Olympic gold medalist in men’s figure skating, won four national championships and two world titles,
- Bert Bonanno, long-time track coach at San Jose City College who produced numerous Olympic athletes, coached the Mexico and Peru national teams and established San Jose as the site of an international track meet that was the most important in the United States,
- Kim Oden, captain of the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic volleyball teams and bronze medalist at the ’92 Games,
- Brothers Bud and Ralph Ogden, who played basketball together at Lincoln High, Santa Clara University and separately in the NBA,
- Mark Spitz of Santa Clara Swim Club, the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Olympics when he set seven world records in the 1972 Munich Games and was named AP Male Athlete of the Year.
The fall event is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, November 14th * presented by Hewlett-Packard, begins with a VIP reception and silent auction followed by the dinner ceremony. Dinner tickets begin at $200 each and may be reserved by calling (408) 288-2936. Sponsorship packages range from $2,500 to $15,000.
The 2007 Class brings to 63 the number of South Bay sports figures in the Hall of Fame, which recognizes each honoree with a bronze plaque mounted in the concourse of HP Pavilion. The annual dinner is an event of the San Jose Sports Authority, San Jose Arena Authority, HP Pavilion Management/San Jose Sharks and the City of San José. The event benefits Special Olympics Silicon Valley Region and high school sports programs.
The San Jose Sports Authority is the sports marketing agency for the City of San José and supports youth and amateur athletics throughout the community as well as bringing premier sports events to the city. Visit our website at www.sjsa.org.
* Date Subject to Change
Inductee biographies
Brian Boitano
Boitano made his mark in Olympic history at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games by winning the “Battle of the Brians” against Canadian rival Brian Orser for the gold medal. He grew up in Sunnyvale and established himself internationally in 1978 by defeating Orser at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. During his competitive career, Boitano, from Sunnyvale, won four national and two world titles before forgoing his Olympic eligibility to skate professionally. However, in 1994, he persuaded the International Skating Union to change its Olympic eligibility requirements and he returned to competition, finishing second at the U.S. championships and competing at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. He is a member of the U.S. and World Figure Skating Halls of Fame.
Bert Bonanno
Bonanno’s 35-year career in coaching and athletic administration began as an assistant to San Jose State track coach Bud Winter where he led the Spartans’ freshman team to two national championships and recruited several of SJSU’s future Olympic track stars, including hammer thrower Ed Burke. At San Jose City College, where he was head track coach and later athletic director, Bonanno’s teams won back-to-back state championships in 1975 and ’76, and the list of Olympians he trained included decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner. In 1970 Bonanno began a track meet that grew into the Bruce Jenner Classic, the most important U.S. stop on the international track and field tour. He brought the USA Track and Field Championships to San Jose twice and coached the national track teams of Mexico and Peru.
Kim Oden
Oden was a three-time all-American and two-time National Player of the Year in women’s volleyball at Stanford. Following her graduation in 1986, she joined the U.S. National Team for seven years during which she was named to the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic Teams. She served as captain of both teams and won a bronze medal with the ’92 team in Barcelona, Spain. She is now an assistant volleyball coach at Stanford.
Bud and Ralph Ogden
The Ogden brothers were sons of Carlos Ogden, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in World War II, and were basketball stars at Lincoln High School and Santa Clara University. Bud, the older brother, still holds SCU’s single-game scoring record of 55 points, and they rank eighth and 14th, respectively, on the Broncos’ career scoring list. They were teammates on the 1968-69 team that climbed as high as third in national polls, went 27-2 and lost to eventual national champion UCLA in the NCAA tournament. Bud Ogden went on to play for the NBA Philadelphia 76ers and Ralph played one season for the Golden State Warriors.
Mark Spitz
Spitz was a Santa Clara Swim Club star in 1960s who came from Sacramento to swim for George Haines. He led Santa Clara High to three consecutive CCS swimming titles (1966-68) and set many national prep freestyle records. He set 25 American records and won 24 AAU titles. Spitz won two gold, one silver and one bronze medal at 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He left the area and led Indiana University to four NCAA championships. He was the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Olympics 1972 when he set Olympic records in each of his events in the 1972 Munich Games. His total of 11 medals ties the Olympic record for a U.S. athlete. Spitz won the 1972 Sullivan Award and AP Male Athlete of the Year award.
Contact:
Carrie Benjamin
Event Coordinator
San Jose Sports Authority
408 / 288-2936
carrie@sjsa.org
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