The Sports Report Hall of Fame, UCLA edition
Those of you who read the Dodgers Dugout newsletter know that for the last few years, we have done a Dodgers Dugout Hall of Fame, asking readers to vote for former Dodgers who they believe should be in this more fan-oriented Hall of Fame. Clayton Kershaw was the most recent inductee.
Which got me thinking (always a dangerous thing), what if we had a Sports Report Hall of Fame, as selected by the readers?
The way it works: Each Thursday over the next few weeks, you will see a list of candidates. A different category each week.
This week, the category is UCLA. You can vote for up to 15 people. You don’t have to vote for 15, you can vote for any number up to and including 15. Your vote should depend on what the person did on and off the field only as a member of the UCLA Bruins. The rest of their career doesn’t count.
The UCLA category (and next week’s USC category) is tricky, because there literally could be 150 names on the ballot, which is way too unwieldy. So, I had to do some judicious paring. I’m sure there’s a name not on here that you think should be. I tried to get a variety of sports and eras on here. The name you have in mind will appear in a future ballot, because this is going to be a yearly vote.
Any records mentioned are at the time that person retired.
Whoever is named on at least 75% of the ballots will be elected. The 10 people receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from future ballots for at least the next two years. A person must be retired to appear on the ballot.
How do you vote? For this week’s ballot, click here. Results will be announced every Tuesday starting next week.
So, without further ado, here is the ballot for the UCLA category.
Gary Adams: Adams is UCLA’s winningest baseball coach with a career record of 984-823-7.
Troy Aikman: Quarterback for the Bruins in 1987-88 posted a 20-4 record as a starter, including victories in the Aloha and Cotton bowls. In 1988, he won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar): Dominated college basketball like no other player. A three-time player of the year who led UCLA to three consecutive NCAA titles from 1967-69.
Arthur Ashe: The 1965 NCAA singles and doubles champion, Ashe helped carry UCLA to the team title that year.
Evelyn Ashford: A three-year letter winner at UCLA (1976-78) who won four national track and field titles and led the Bruins to the 1977 Assn. for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship.
Gary Beban: Quarterback won the Heisman Trophy. Led UCLA to a record of 24-5-2 in three seasons, including a 14-12 upset of top-ranked Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl.
Jennifer Brundage: A four-year letter winner at third base and outfield for the softball team from 1992-95. As a senior in 1995, Brundage won the Honda Award, given to the top college softball player in the nation.
Jim Bush: In 20 seasons at UCLA (1965-84), Bush was as one of the most influential track and field coaches ever. Twenty-three of Bush’s athletes went on to compete in the Olympic Games, winning four gold, five silver and three bronze medals.
Paul Caliguiri: A four-year starter who helped UCLA’s soccer team win its first national title in 1985.
Jimmy Connors: The first freshman to win the NCAA men’s singles tennis title. Connors turned pro after leading his team to the national championship in his only season with the Bruins.
Denise Curry: UCLA’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder in women’s basketball. UCLA retired her jersey number in 1990.
Terry Donahue: Coached the football team for 20 years, finishing with a record of 151-74-8. Led the Bruins to 13 bowl games, including four Rose Bowls, and five Pac-10 championships. His Bruins finished in the top 20 on 12 occasions and the top 10 five times.
Debbie Doom: One of the most dominating pitchers in college softball history, Doom led the Bruins to three national titles in four years from 1982 to 1985.
Kenny Easley: Only the Pac-10’s second three-time consensus All-America selection (the Bruins’ Jerry Robinson was the first).
Ty Edney: Point guard whose 4.8-second, full-court dash and layup gave the Bruins a second-round win over Missouri in the 1995 NCAA tournament and paved the way for the Bruins’ 11th national championship. Edney was a three-time All-Pac-10 player and the winner of the 1995 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s best player under 6 feet tall.
Lisa Fernandez: A record-setting pitcher and third baseman for the Bruins (1990-93). She was a four-time All-American and three-time Honda Award winner. She led UCLA to a pair of national titles and two runner-up finishes.
DeShaun Foster: Completed his Bruins playing career second on the school’s all-time touchdowns list (44) and third on the all-time rushing list (3,194 yards).
Rod Foster: One of just 15 four-year starters in UCLA men’s basketball history, Foster was given the nickname “Rocket Rod” for being one of the quickest players in the nation. He finished with 1,365 points and 240 assists and remains UCLA’s leader in career free-throw percentage (88%).
Gail Goodrich: A star guard on coach John Wooden’s first NCAA champions, Goodrich averaged 21.5 points as a junior, then averaged 24.6 points as a senior to lead the 1965 champions. He was the school’s all-time leading scorer back in the 1960s.
Gaston Green: Named All-American in 1987, Green ended his career as UCLA’s all-time leading rusher with 3,731 yards, most touchdowns (40), most 100-yard games (20) and most points by a player other than a kicker (248).
Florence Griffith-Joyner: Starred on UCLA’s 1982 and ’83 NCAA championship track teams, winning the 1982 200 meters and the 1983 400 meters.
Kim Hamilton: The first Black gymnast to receive a full scholarship to compete at UCLA, Hamilton went on to set a national record that has yet to be duplicated when she won three consecutive NCAA floor exercise titles from 1987-89. She also won the NCAA vault title in 1989.
Walt Hazzard: Helped lead UCLA to its first national championship in 1964, when he earned his second All-America selection and was college basketball’s player of the year. He returned to UCLA as coach for and compiled a record of 77-47 in four years.
Marques Johnson: A starting forward on Wooden’s final national championship team in 1975, Johnson played in three Final Fours and was player of the year in 1977.
Rafer Johnson: President of the student body and a two-sport standout in track and field and basketball. Often called the world’s greatest all-around athlete, he held the world record in the decathlon and won a silver medal in the event from the 1956 Olympics while at UCLA.
Cobi Jones: A soccer walk-on who earned a scholarship and moved into the starting lineup midway through his freshman year. Leader on UCLA’s 1990 NCAA championship squad and twice named first-team All-Far West (1990, 1991). In his senior year, he was selected second-team All-American and set a UCLA record of 18 assists in a season.
Maurice Jones-Drew: By the end of his football career, he had set records in career and single-season all-purpose yards in a season and career, touchdowns in a game, rushing yards in a game and punt returns for touchdowns in a season. He also set an NCAA record that still stands with a punt return average of 28.5 yards in 2005 and went on to earn first-team All-America honors as an all-purpose back/kick returner.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee: A basketball and track star, considered by many to be the greatest female athlete in Bruins history.
Meb Keflezighi: A four-time cross-country All-American and a two-time Pac-10 champion, he won the NCAA championship in 1997 along with NCAA titles in the indoor and outdoor 5,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000 meters.
Karch Kiraly: Led UCLA to three men’s volleyball national championships between 1979 and 1982.
John Lee: Best kicker in school history. Lee was twice selected first-team All-American (’84, ’85) and while setting numerous UCLA and NCAA records during his four years: field goals made in a game (six), season (32) and career (85), field goals attempted in a season (36) and a career (100), points in a season (117) and a career (390) and kicking points in a game (18).
Marcedes Lewis: The only Bruin to win the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end, Lewis finished his UCLA career with 126 receptions.
Don MacLean: A four-year starter on the men’s basketball team and a 1992 All-American who set numerous Bruins records, including for career points.
Cade McNown: During his senior season, McNown was a consensus first-team All-American, finished third in Heisman Trophy voting (after finishing eighth the previous year), won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. McNown set single season UCLA records for passing yards (3,470), touchdown passes (25), and total offense (3,652).
Ann Meyers: The first female athlete to receive a full scholarship at UCLA, Meyers earned seven letters — four in basketball, two in volleyball and one in track and field — in four years with the Bruins. While at UCLA, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal at the 1976 Games. Led the Bruins to the national championship in 1978.
Reggie Miller: Concluded his career as UCLA’s second-leading career scorer with 2,095 points. Despite leaving UCLA almost 40 years ago, he still ranks near the top in almost every career category including points, field-goal percentage, three-pointers, free-throw percentage, steals and games.
Ken Norton Jr.: Led the Bruins in tackles in 1986 and ’87. As a senior in 1987, Norton earned All-America honors, was a finalist for the Butkus Award and was named the team’s defensive MVP. Norton still ranks in the top 10 among UCLA’s career tackle leaders with 339.
Stacey Nuveman: A four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. first-team All-American, a three-time Pac-10 player of the year (1999, 2001, 2002) and the inaugural USA Softball national college player of the year in 2002. She ended her UCLA career as the NCAA all-time leader in home runs (90) and slugging percentage (.945).
Ed O’Bannon: Three-year basketball starter led the Bruins to a record 32 victories and the 1995 NCAA championship. That season, O’Bannon’s won the John Wooden Award as college basketball’s player of the year.
Jonathan Ogden: A four-year starter at offensive tackle from 1992-95. As a junior, Ogden was named All Pac-10 and third-team All-American. As a senior, Ogden was named the Outland Trophy winner as the top interior lineman in the nation, a unanimous first-team All-American, first-team All-Pac-10, the Morris Trophy winner, the UPI lineman of the year, the Lombardi Trophy runner-up and shared UCLA offensive MVP honors. He was the cornerstone of an offensive line that led to the Bruins’ highest rushing average since 1967 at 4.7 yards per carry.
Tommy Prothro: UCLA career included a stint as an assistant coach (1949-54) and a six-year run as head coach (1965-70). He was named coach of the year after the 1965 season, in which his 8-2-1 team beat the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans in the Rose Bowl.
Jackie Robinson: The first UCLA athlete to letter in four sports. In addition to baseball, Robinson was an NCAA long-jump champion, a scoring leader in basketball and a halfback in football.
Jerry Robinson: Linebacker who was the Pac-10’s first three-time consensus All-America selection from 1976-78 and helped the Bruins to three bowl appearances.
Red Sanders: During nine years as football coach (1949-57), Sanders compiled a record of 66-19-1. His teams won three consecutive Pacific Coast Conference championships (1953-55) and in 1954 he coached the Bruins to their only unbeaten and untied season and the national championship.
Al Scates: An outstanding player for the UCLA volleyball team from 1961-63, then coached the team from 1963 to 2012. He coached the Bruins to a record 19 NCAA titles. He retired in 2012 with a record of 1,239-290, is the only coach to win four consecutive NCAA men’s volleyball titles (1981-84) and coached three undefeated seasons (1979, 1982 and 1984).
JJ Stokes: A record-breaking wide receiver for the Bruins, when he left UCLA he was the career leader with 154 receptions for 2,469 yards and 28 touchdowns, as well as season leader with 82 catches for 1,181 yards. In 1993, he was a consensus All-American, Pac-10 offensive player of the year and team offensive MVP.
Wendell Tyler: Among the school’s all-time leading rushers with 3,181 yards, and his career average of 6.04 yards per carry still ranks second. Also set school records for a season in rushing yards (1,388) and yards per carry (6.7 average), in 1975.
Bill Walton: Led UCLA to an 86-4 record and a pair of national championships in his three-year varsity career (1972-74). A three-time Academic All-American.
Kenny Washington: UCLA football’s first All-America selection, Washington was an exciting halfback who led the nation in total offense in 1939.
Bob Waterfield: Led the Bruins to their first victory over USC in football and their first Rose Bowl invitation in 1942. A triple threat who could run, pass and kick, as well as play defense.
Russell Westbrook: Helped UCLA advance to NCAA Final Fours in 2007 and 2008. During two years in Westwood, the Bruins compiled a 65-10 record and won Pac-10 titles both years.
Sidney Wicks: UCLA’s leading scorer and rebounder in 1970 and 1971, his junior and senior seasons. The Bruins won the national championship both years.
Keith (Jamaal) Wilkes: A forward on UCLA basketball’s national champions in 1972 and 1973, Wilkes was a two-time All-American and a three-time Academic All-American.
Natalie Williams: The first woman to earn first-team All-America honors in basketball and volleyball in the same year (1992-93). A four-year starter (1989-92) and three-time first-team All-American in volleyball, Williams was twice the recipient of the Honda Award given to the most outstanding women’s athlete in college volleyball. Led the Bruins to consecutive NCAA championships in 1990 and 1991. Also starred for four years in basketball and was twice named first-team All-American, Williams was a three-time all-conference performer and was conference player of the year in 1994.
John Wooden: The most successful coach in the history of college basketball, Wooden led UCLA to 10 national championships in 27 seasons (1949-75), including seven in a row.
To vote, click here. You can vote for up to 15. Those named on at least 75% of ballots are elected.
I have reopened balloting for the other three categories we have presented so far.
To vote in the Dodgers/Angels ballot, click here.
To vote in the Lakers/Clippers ballot, click here.
To vote in the Rams/Chargers/Raiders ballot, click here.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.