EARL AVERILL – Baseball
The Earl of Snohomish, a member of Baseball Hall of Fame, also on the all-time Cleveland Indians team. From his Baseball Hall of Fame bio:
“Averill broke into the majors in 1929 at the relatively late age of 26. He made up for lost time during his rookie year, starting the season as the center fielder and number three batter for the Cleveland Indians.
The compact 5-foot-9, 172-pound Averill quickly proved to be a line-drive machine, pounding out 198 hits that season en route to a .332 batting average, 18 homers, 96 RBI and 110 runs scored.
Averill posted similar numbers in 1930 with 19 homers, 119 RBI and a .339 average, then found his power stroke in 1931 with 32 homers, 143 RBI and 140 runs scored. During his first 10 big league seasons, he averaged 22 home runs, 107 RBI and 114 runs scored a season and hit .323.
Averill was traded to the Tigers on June 14, 1939, and the next year as a bench player he helped Detroit win the American League pennant. He retired after spending part of the 1941 season with the Boston Braves.
For his 13-year career, Averill hit .318 with 238 home runs, 2,019 hits and 1,224 runs scored. He hit over .300 in eight of his 12 full big league seasons, topping out at .378 in 1936 when he led the American League with 232 hits and 15 triples. Averill finished in the top four of the American League Most Valuable Player voting in three seasons and was named to six All-Star teams.”
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975, and he passed away Aug. 16, 1983.
RUSTY CALLOW – Crew
After performing brilliantly on the University of Washington crew in the 1913-15 period, he returned as the Huskies’ rowing coach in 1923 and in four years guided his oarsmen to three national championships and one second-place finish at the Poughkeepsie finals course.
Callow went on to a prominent coaching career at the University of Pennsylvania and Navy. His 1952 Navy varsity eight crew won Olympic gold. Callow was born in Mason County in 1890.
BOB JOHNSON — Baseball
After a relatively late start in professional baseball, his rise was meteoric. Johnson reached the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia A’s in 1933 at age 27, batting .290 with 21 homers and 93 RBI and 103 runs scored. He placed 15th in A.L. MVP voting his rookie year. He went on to play in eight All-Star Games and earned MVP votes in five more seasons. His highest MVP finish was fifth in 1943 with the Washington Senators.
Over his 13-season career, he compiled a batting average of .298, 2,051 hits, and 288 homers. Perhaps his most impressive statistic, however, was driving across 100 or more runs in seven consecutive seasons. After his Major League career ended, he played two seasons with Seattle in the Pacific Coast League and then wrapped up his playing days at age 43 in 1949 with Tacoma in the Western International League.
The Society of American Baseball Research has an extensive bio of Johnson here.
BUTCH MEEKER – Football
A WSU Cougars legend nearly 100 years after his playing days, here’s how his bio in the WSU Hall of Fame describes Meeker:
“The legacy of Herbert “Butch” Meeker continues to live on the WSU campus long after his days in Pullman. Despite his diminutive size, 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds, Meeker was an all-conference first team selection at quarterback for the Cougars in 1925 and was picked to play in the 1927 East-West game at the conclusion of a fantastic career at WSU. He set season and career field records as a drop-kicker and was an outstanding broken-field runner. Cougar mascots were named for him. When Governor Roland H. Hartley presented the students of WSC a live cougar mascot at halftime of the 1927 Homecoming football game, he suggested the name “Butch,” in honor of the WSU football hero of the day. The students quickly adopted the name, which remains to this day. Meeker was active in student affairs and served as vice president of the student body. Following his time in Pullman Meeker played professional football for two seasons with the Providence Steamrollers.”
Meeker attended Lewis and Clark High in Spokane. He appeared in 20 NFL games for Providence.
ARNOLD REIGGER – Shooting
Arnold Reigger’s accuracy with a shotgun earned him induction in the national Trapshooting Hall of Fame in 1975 and nomination for Seattle Sports Star of the Year in 1954.
Arnold earned many wins at local and national levels:
• Washington State Singles Champion in 1949,1950,1955,1959,1960,1964,1965, and 1966
• Washington State Doubles Champion in 1963,1969, and 1970
• Washington State HAA in 1955,1959,1960,1964,1965,1966 and 1967
• Washington State HOA in 1949,1951,1954,1955,1959,1960,1965, and 1966
• Grand Pacific Doubles Champion in 1951,1953,1954, and 1959
• Grand Pacific Singles Champion in 1954 and 1959
• Grand Pacific Handicap Champion in 1954
• Grand Pacific HAA in 1951, 1953 and 1954
• Grand Pacific HOA in 1951 and 1954
• Pacific International Trapshooting Assoc. All-Star Team in 1951, 1955, 1959 and 1960
