Los Gatos to induct Hall of Famers after a 2-year wait
10 new members will be inducted
The Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame will receive 10 new members this month after a two-year wait.
The ceremony will take place on April 30 at La Rinconada Country Club. For tickets and other information, visit losgatosathletics.com/lghs-athletic-hallof-fame-inductees.
This induction ceremony was scheduled to take place in April of 2020, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was rescheduled for May of 2021, but that also had to be canceled.
“You make these decisions way in advance. We still weren't in a lull COVID-WISE,” said Bill Frey, Los Gatos High School Hall of Fame Committee Chairperson about the decision in 2021. “We decided we were going to wait for a clean or a guaranteed time frame when we could pull this off with a 95-percent chance. … We didn't want to shortchange the inductees with a limited ceremony.”
The inductees span six decades and ten different sports. Here is the list, in order of graduation class:
Dick Raphael, class of 1947
Raphael was a four-sport athlete (football, basketball, track and field, and baseball) and excelled in all of them. He played on five varsity championship teams: two in football, two in basketball and one in track and field. In his senior football season, he was named allsanta Clara Valley Athletic League and was the team Most Valuable Player. Raphael was first-team allleague his senior season in basketball, and finished second in the league in the hop, step and jump (now called the triple jump) in track and field. In baseball, he was a pitcher and middle infielder. Last spring, the 94-year-old Raphael was presented with his award by his classmate Roy Mullins, who drove to Raphael's home in Redding, according to Frey. Raphael died in November.
Ted Abe, class of 1955
Abe excelled in football, baseball, wrestling, and track and field, receiving 14 block letters. In track and field, Abe set an SCVAL record in the broad jump (21 feet, eight inches) and placed first in the league finals in the 75-yard dash. In the North Coast Section II meet, he was second in the 75 dash and fifth in the broad jump, advancing to the North Coast state meet, where he placed fourth in the broad jump. Abe was the captain of the football team his junior season and won the Hedricks Cup as team MVP his senior year. Abe was also awarded the Panighetti Trophy as the outstanding senior athlete in the class of 1955. Abe will be inducted posthumously.
Steve Smith, class of 1971
Smith was an all-league selection in football as a defensive lineman and played four years in college (two at West Valley, two at Saint Mary's). In wrestling, Smith was undefeated as a heavyweight until his second match of the Norcal Finals when he lost in an overtime referee's decision. Since the tournament was single-elimination, he finished the season 19-1 with 10 pins.
Dave Niemiec, class of 1980
In football, Niemiec was selected first-team all-west Valley Athletic League at both running back and linebacker. He won the Streepy Trophy as the team's MVP and also was named Most Inspirational Player. In baseball, Niemiec was an impressive pitcher and hitter, and was twice named the Wildcats' MVP. He was selected first-team allleague his senior year.
Bill Stengele, class of 1993
The three-sport stand
out was a three-year varsity starter in football, where as a center, he was named second-team all-league as a junior and first-team allleague and Mercury News All-santa Clara County his senior season. Stengele was also selected as the outstanding linebacker in the De Anza League his senior year. Stengele wrestled for his first three years in high school, placing third in the league as a sophomore and second as a junior. In track, he starred in throwing events, placing in the top eight at Junior Nationals as a senior and earning a scholarship to the University of Washington.
Allison White Payne, class of 1995
Payne was a three-year all-league volleyball player for the Wildcats. She was selected all-central Coast Section her junior and senior seasons. As a junior, she was a member of the Los Gatos High School volleyball team that won the 1993 Division III state championship. Her senior season, Payne led the Wildcats in kills, digs and also had 120 blocks and was named team MVP. She was a fouryear starter at the University of Oregon, where she was named Freshman of the Year and was all-pac-10 her junior and senior seasons. Payne is a teacher at Blossom Hill Elementary School in Los Gatos, which she attended as a youth.
Amy Salfen Edson, class of 1999
Edson was selected firstteam all-de Anza League for soccer all four years of high school, and was named league MVP her senior year. She was selected first-team all-ccs as a freshman and was an allccs selection three of her four seasons. She was also the CCS Freshman of the Year, as the Wildcats won the CCS Division I championship that season. Edson earned an athletic scholarship to UC Berkeley.
Alex Rollin, class of 2003
As a quarterback, Rollin led the Wildcats football team to an undefeated season and a CCS Division III co-championship his senior year. He passed for 1,728 yards and threw 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions, earning first team all-league honors. His 73.5-percent pass completion percentage in his senior season ranks third in California high school history. During his four years at Los Gatos High School, he never played in a losing football game. In baseball, Rollin was a four-year varsity player. As a junior, he had a .339 batting average and four home runs; on the mound, he had a 9-3 record with 11 complete games as he was named first team allleague and second team allccs. As a senior, Rollin batted .439 with six home runs, 33 RBI and had a 12-3 pitching record. He was again first-team all-league and second-team all-ccs. Rollin went on to play baseball at UC Berkeley.
Caroline Stege, class of 2005
In track, Stege ran the 10th-fastest 400 meters in school history and was a member of the Ccs-champion 1,600 relay team in 2002 that ran the fourthfastest time in school history. Stege ran on leaguechampionship 1,600 relay teams in 2002 through 2004, with all those teams qualifying for the state championships. She also played tennis and field hockey.
Kyle Blair, class of 2007
Blair was dominant on the baseball diamond. As a junior, he was 13-1 on the mound with 144 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings and an astounding earned run average of 0.16 (only two earned runs allowed), as Los Gatos won the CCS Division II title. He also batted .360 with four home runs and 26 RBI. His senior season, Blair was 9-2 on the mound with an ERA of 0.31 and 147 strikeouts. He played on three SCVAL championship teams and twice was named the league MVP. Blair was also a threetime all-ccs player (including CCS Player of the Year in 2007). Blair was also an all-league water polo player, and was named the San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Year for all sports in the 2006-2007 school year. He played collegiately at the University of San Diego and was drafted by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.