Carmen Policy

When Carmen Policy said, “Winning with class,” it was not a slogan. It was a moral imperative. Under his guidance, along with Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Bill Walsh, the San Francisco 49ers became the model of an enlightened, winning sports franchise. Carmen was a sports phenomenon, a lawyer, a brilliant negotiator, a skilled reader of […]

Kerri Walsh Jennings

The most decorated and famous beach volleyball player in the sport’s history may conjure up images of Southern California beaches, but Kerri Walsh Jennings’ roots are firmly planted in the Bay Area. When she was in high school, her family moved from Scott’s Valley to San Jose, and she attended Archbishop Mitty High, where she […]

Matt Williams

The career was spectacular. Matt Williams was a five-time All-Star, a Gold Glove infielder, a home run champion. But, oh, what might have been. “If Matt Williams played out injury-free,” said the late Al Rosen, who as Giants general manager picked Williams third overall in the 1986 draft, “he’d be the greatest third baseman of […]

Russell Baze

There has never been a Bay Area athlete who has dominated his sport as completely and consistently as jockey Russell Baze. He retired as the world’s winningest rider with 12,842 victories from 53,578 mounts, recording 3,311more victories than Laffit Pincay Jr., the second-winningest jockey in American Thoroughbred racing history. On the local level, he won […]

Bill Cartwright

A three-time All-American and five-time NBA champion, Bill Cartwright’s roots can be traced back to a farming community outside of Sacramento, where he and his six sisters spent summer days chopping sugar beets and hoeing weeds under the sweltering sun.  A native of Lodi, Ca. Cartwright was a two-time state player of the year at […]