Athletes I encountered in Modesto:
Nick Eddy: My high school track coach freshman and sophomore years. Played on 2 national championship football teams for Notre Dame - 1964 and 1966. Finished 3rd in the Heisman voting in '66. Played for the Lions for several seasons.
Kenny Roberts Jr.: Same year as me in high school. We played on the J.V. basketball team together as freshmen. He was so skinny he would use elbow pads as knee pads. Inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2017.
Suzy Powell: A grade or two behind me in elementary school and junior high. She was tall, but I had no idea she was such an athlete. She holds the U.S. record for women's discus. Competed in the Olympics in 1996, 2000, and 2008.
Chris Pritchett: A year ahead of my sister in high school. He was the starting QB on the football team and a starter on the basketball team. I saw him sink a half-court shot at the buzzer to send the Section Championship game into OT, before winning it. But his best sport was baseball. He had one of the best BAs in the Pac 10 while at UCLA and then got cups of coffee in MLB in 1996, 1998, and 1999 with the Angels, and 2000 with the Phillies.
Tisha Venturini: I saw her play soccer against my high school. She won a World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal with the national team and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2024.
Very cool. Especially that your track coach was former NFL and a National Champ.
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