RICK RIZZS

 

By Marc Blau

Special to Sports Paper

Led by Seattle Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs and Seattle Seahawks broadcaster Steve Raible, seven individuals have been voted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame as the 2019 class.

The other inductees are Washington State University and Detroit Lions placekicker Jason Hanson, former National Basketball Association referee Bernie Fryer, longtime Gonzaga University basketball coach Dan Fitzgerald, and two Olympic gold medalists—1972 Munich Olympian Sugar Ray Seales and Megan (Quann) Jendrick, a double gold medalist in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

An Illinois native, Rick Rizzs joined the Mariners broadcast crew in 1983 and his only absence was from 1992-94 when he was a broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers. Rizzs did both TV and radio for the Mariners for years but switched exclusively to radio in 2007 and became lead announcer in 2010 when Dave Niehaus died. His signature calls include “Goodbye Baseball” and “Happy Totals” (for postgame wrap-up of M’s victories.)

KIRO-TV’s main news anchor since 1993, Steve Raible has been on Seahawks broadcasts since retiring from NFL before the 1982 season and joining the late Pete Gross in the booth. A play-by-play announcer since 2004, “Raibs” played six years as wide receiver for the Seahawks after being drafted in the second round from Georgia Tech, where he played in the “Rudy game” against Notre Dame. Steve is a winner of five regional Emmys in his TV career.

A Mead High School and Washington State product, Jason Hanson retired from the National Football League after 2012 season. He spent 21 seasons with the Detroit Lions and became the first player to play 300 games with the same NFL franchise. He made a record 52 field goals from at least 50 yards and retired as third on the career scoring list at 2,150 points and third in field goals with 495. He’s the only player with 2,000 points for one franchise.

A Port Angeles High School grad, Bernie Fryer was a high school All-American in football and basketball his junior and senior seasons. He played guard at BYU where he was an All-WAC First Team selection from 1970-72. He played one year each for Phoenix and Portland in the NBA and then spent 28 years as an official in the NBA where he worked 12 NBA Finals games and the 1998 NBA All-Star game.

Dan Fitzgerald was the head coach at Gonzaga University for 15 seasons between 1978 and 1997 and compiled an overall record of 252-171. He led the Bulldogs to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 1995 after leading them to their first post-season tournament, then NIT in 1994. Fitzgerald also spent 19 years as the athletic director at GU and is credited for forming the foundation for the Gonzaga program that has made 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances.

Tacoma native Sugar Ray Seales was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics at 139 lbs. He was the National AAU Light Welterweight Champion in 1971 and the National Golden Gloves champion at 139 lbs in 1972.  He was also a contender for the Middleweight title during the late 70s and early 80s.

Megan Quann Jendrick of Puyallup won an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke in Sydney as a 16-year-old and won another gold medal as a relay member.  Eight years later she captured a silver medal as part of the 4 x 100 meter medley relay.  Jendrick set 27 U.S. records and four world records in her swimming career and was a ten-time national champion and a 15-time U.S. Masters national record-holder.

The addition of the seven-member Class of 2019 brings the total to 222 individuals in the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. The organization was founded in 1960 by longtime Tacoma-based sports broadcaster Clay Huntington. A panel of sports media from throughout the state makes the selections. Information about all hall of fame members is available atwww.washingtonsportshof.com.