Glenn “Pop” S. Warner
Legendary football coach Glenn “Pop” Warner was one of the most innovative of the game’s early collegiate coaches. Warner coached the Carlisle Indians and that team’s superstar, Jim Thorpe. He went from Pittsburgh University to Stanford in 1924. As a sign of his commitment, while completing his Pittsburgh contract, Warner sent assistant Andy Kerr and […]
Ken Venturi
Ken Venturi played his first round of golf at Harding Park at the age of 12. By the time he was 18, he had won the San Francisco City Championship. After graduating from Lincoln High in 1949, Venturi attended San Jose State College. He played on the golf team and twice won the Northern California […]
Mark Spitz
Swimming sensation Mark Spitz, winner of seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, is a graduate of Santa Clara High School and an alumnus of the Santa Clara Swim Club. In 1967, Spitz set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly event. And a year later, at the Mexico City Olympics, he […]
Peter “Pete” Newell
Coach Pete Newell led the University of San Francisco to the NIT title in 1949. Ten years later, he led the University of California at Berkeley to the NCAA Championship. And under his leadership, the United States Basketball Team won the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal. These victories represent a triple crown never before achieved. Newell […]
Helen Hull Jacobs
Tennis great Helen Hull Jacobs, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, set a record when she won the United States Singles title four successive years: 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1935. Her rivalry and intensive contests with Helen Wills Moody was the talk of the tennis world in the 1930s and brought her […]
Buck Shaw
Football’s famed Silver Fox and the San Francisco 49ers’ first head coach, Buck Shaw was an All-America tackle at Notre Dame in 1919, 1920, and 1921. He was head coach at the University of Santa Clara from 1936 to 1942, where he led the Broncos to national prominence, winning the first-ever Sugar Bowl game in […]
Leo Nomellini
All-American in football at the University of Minnesota, Leo Nomellini was the first player selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the team’s original NFL draft. Named top defensive tackle of NFL’s first 50 years, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 and named to Football Foundation Hall of Fame […]
Alice Marble
Alice Marble learned tennis at the age of 13 at the San Francisco Golden Gate Park courts. At age 12, she was the official mascot of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. She also played basketball and track at San Francisco Polytechnic High School. She was the winner of the U.S. Women’s singles title at […]
Johnny “The Pumper” Longden
Johnny Longden rode in and won his first race at Bay Meadows race track in 1935. He was the winner of the first Golden Gate Handicap at Golden Gate Fields in 1947 and won 10 of the first 17 runnings of the Handicap. He won the Triple Crown in 1943 on Count Fleet. In 1978, […]
Don Schollander
A graduate of Santa Clara High School and a member of the 1964 Olympic team, Don Schollander was the first swimmer to win four gold medals. He added a fifth gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Winner of the 100 and 200-meter freestyle, he also swam a leg on the United States […]