ELGIN BAYLOR – Basketball
From his Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame bio:
“Known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Elgin Baylor led the 1958 Seattle University men’s basketball team to the NCAA title game, earning Most Outstanding Player honors even though Kentucky won that championship contest. He scored 60 points on Jan. 30, 1958, against Portland, one of 11 school records he still holds.”
Baylor was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958.
From his NBA Legends profile at NBA.com:
“Strong and graceful at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Baylor averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds during his 14-year career with the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers. In 134 playoff games, he averaged 27.0 points and 12.9 rebounds.
From 1960-61 through 1962-63 he averaged 34.8, 38.3, and 34.0 points, respectively. He led the Lakers to the NBA Finals eight times, was a 10-time All-NBA First Team selection, and played in 11 NBA All-Star Games.
At one time Baylor owned records for most points in a game, in a playoff game, and in one half of a playoff game. In 1962-63, he became the first NBA player to finish in the top five in four different statistical categories — scoring, rebounding, assists, and free-throw percentage.”
ORIN E. “BABE” HOLLINGBERY – Coach (Football)
Many have tried but none have emulated his 17-year career as Washington State University football coach, servitude highlighted by a dozen victories over the University of Washington. In addition to guiding the Cougars to all sorts of victories, he guided Mel Hein and Turk Edwards to All-American rating.
From his WSU sports hall of fame bio:
“Orin E. “Babe” Hollingbery was the head coach of Washington State football for 17 seasons, 1926-42. During that span, his teams won 62.5 percent of their games, best among Cougar mentors who coached at least five seasons. Hollingbery’s squads were nationally ranked in four of his final-seven seasons (Associated Press rankings began in 1936). Under his guidance, the Cougars were undefeated at home from 1926-34 and participated in the Rose Bowl following a 9-0-0 regular season in 1930. Hollingbery organized the first East-West Shrine Game and was served the all-star event for 45 years, as head coach, and director of coach and athlete selections.”
FRED HUTCHINSON – Baseball
Fred Hutchinson won 25 games as an 18-year-old for the Seattle Rainiers in 1938 and was in the Major Leagues pitching for the Detroit Tigers the following season. Out of Seattle’s Franklin High School, Hutchinson was named by The Sporting News as the minor league player of the year for 1938. His success led the Tigers to win a bidding war by offering the Rainiers $50,000 and four players for Hutch. His time on the mound for Detroit was interrupted by four years of military service during World War II. He returned and pitched for the Tigers, eventually becoming a player-manager in 1952. Hutch won a career-high 18 games in 1947 and was an All-Star in 1951. His career pitching record was 95-71.
He managed the Tigers for three seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals for another three (N.L. Manager of the Year in 1957) and the Cincinnati Reds for six, including their 1961 National League pennant season.
Hutchinson died from lung cancer in 1964. He was revered, not just in Seattle but across the Majors. Sportswriters created the Hutch Award to recognize perseverance in the face of adversity. The first winner was Mickey Mantle. The award luncheon raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for the renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, founded in Hutch’s name and opened by his brother, Bill, in 1975 with Joe DiMaggio and President Ford as guests.
JACK MEDICA – Swimming
In 1932, as a senior at Seattle’s Lincoln High, Jack Medica was asked to be a member of the American 800-meter relay team at the Olympics in Los Angeles. It was just an introduction to elite swimming competition. For the next four years, he was a standout at the University of Washington. At UW, Medica won nine national collegiate championships including the 220, 440, and 1500-meter freestyles three years in a row, and held eleven world records for various strokes and distances. Then it was time fo the 1936 Olympics where Medica won the gold medal in the 400 meters and the silver medal in 1500 meters.
He competed all over the world until World War II and then became a successful coach. In 1944, Medica took over as coach of the University of Pennsylvania varsity swim team, remaining as a full-time coach and trainer until 1958. He continued to teach physical education until his retirement in 1976, becoming one of the most respected teachers and coaches at Penn. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an “Honor Swimmer” in 1966.
