Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame welcomes latest class at fancy, new home inside SMC
The Fresno County Hall of Fame celebrated its Class of 2022 in a unique way Wednesday evening by holding the enshrinement at its new home.
After years of fundraising, planning and broken dreams, the Hall has a permanent spot in the southwest corner of the Save Mart Center.
“We’re very, very excited to finally have a home that we can call for the Hall of Fame,” said Walt Byrd, a former Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame president. “Just a real positive thing for this community.”
But the new home for the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame isn’t just plaques and bio recaps of its Hall of Fame members.
The Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame committee raised approximately $1.5 million over the past seven years to provide a “top of the line” presentation through the use of modern technology, which includes touch-screen displays.
The Class of ‘22, which was inducted before an estimated audience of about 500 people, included Marian Battles (volleyball), the late Mac Foster (boxing), Connie Gooch (basketball), Kathleen McCarthy (golf), Ron Scott (baseball) and two teams, 1974-76 Hoover High girls basketball and the 1955 Fresno Cardinals minor-league baseball team.
“I’m so grateful, thankful, honored, pleased,” Gooch said.
Class of 2022
Marian Battles
She coached high school girls volleyball for 35 years, making stops at Kerman, Yosemite and Buchanan during a formative time for the sport. When Battles retired in 2012 she was the second-winningest coach in Central Section history.
Chantal Paschetta White, a former Buchanan star who succeeded Battles as Bears coach, said in 2016, “How did she do this for so long? She always did everything with class. She expected the most out of us, and she really pushed us. She didn’t settle for anything less, and that’s exactly why we were so successful.”
Mac Foster
Foster, a Washington Union High School graduate and Vietnam War veteran, won his first 24 pro fights via knockout to rise to the world’s No. 1 heavyweight contender in 1970.
In Foster’s 2010 obituary, former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry said, “If you met Mac, you’d never know he was a boxer. He was a gentle soul, a great patriot who loved his country, and he had such a good, peaceful heart.”
Connie Gooch
The standout on Hoover High teams that are also part of the Class of ‘22, Gooch in 1975 was the first woman from Fresno to receive a full college basketball scholarship. She played at UNLV, Fresno City and Fresno State.
Kathleen McCarthy
The San Joaquin Memorial High graduate was a collegiate All-American at Stanford, runner-up at the 1986 U.S. Amateur and an LPGA veteran. She still holds the women’s course record at San Joaquin Country Club.
Ron Scott
He retired as Fresno City College coach after last season with 1,100 wins, most in California community college history, and one state championship.
Hoover High girls basketball 1974-76
The Patriots won the first Central Section title in the sport plus the next two, losing only three games in three seasons.
Fresno Cardinals 1955
With a record of 104-43, the Cardinals are the only team in California League history to win 100 games in a season.
