GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2009:

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The past and present of Glendale Community College athletics converged in the college’s J. Walter Smith Student Center on Saturday night in a celebration meant to ensure that the legacy of a group of revered athletes, alumni and administrators remains illuminated well into the future.

The Eighth Annual Glendale College Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet & Induction Ceremony saw former distance running great Jeff Nelson and football standouts George McGowan and Steve Moore inducted for Outstanding Athletic Achievement, while the 1978 women’s volleyball team was inducted as an Outstanding Team.

Former Glendale college and longtime UCLA athletic trainer Tony Spino was honored with the Hall of Fame’s Pillar of Achievement award and Dr. John Davitt, who was lauded on Saturday as one of, if not the most influential person in the history of Glendale college, received the Meritorious Service award for his 40 years of work as an administrator and a leader.

“It’s just a thrill to have these young men come back on the campus and be a part of a hall of fame that we truly feel is one of the highlights of the Glendale college experience,” former Glendale college Football Coach and Men’s Athletic Director Jim Sartoris said while presenting McGowan and Moore with their awards. “You’re extremely deserving. We will never forget you and hopefully, you will never forget us.”

Mutual admiration was a common theme of the evening, as various speakers and the audience lavished praise and appreciation on the honorees, who in return, expressed genuine gratitude and joy at their induction.

“The foundations that we built here in this city and then coming back here tonight with you all, it’s been a gift,” McGowan said. “It’s priceless and I’ll never forget it.”

McGowan and Moore both played football at Glendale High before enjoying All-American careers at Glendale college from 1966-67.

McGowan played on the 1968 University of Kansas Orange Bowl team before playing eight seasons in the Canadian Football League, where he was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2003.

Moore saw his playing career cut short by injuries in college, but began a college coaching career in the early 70s that led to a 10-year stint coaching in the National Football League from 1978-88.

Nelson set three school records in 1981 in the two-mile medley relay, the 5,000 meters and the four-mile relay that still stand. He also held the national high school record for the two-mile run from 1978 to 2008.

Nelson was already inducted into the Glendale college Hall of Fame in 2006, as part of the 1980 men’s state cross-country champion squad, which was inducted as an Outstanding Team.

A two-time state champion in the two-mile at Burbank High, Nelson couldn’t resist getting in a good-natured dig at some of his former Vaqueros teammates on the 1980 state-champion distance medley team, which Nelson anchored.

“Those were all Burroughs guys, who were our crosstown rivals,” Nelson said. “Of course, you’ve gotta have the Burbank guy on the end to do the job right.”

Despite an undersized team, both in stature and in numbers, the 1978 women’s volleyball team, coached by 2006 inductee Dianne Spangler, electrified the student body that year while winning the Western State Conference and making a run to the state championships in San Jose, where they finished fourth.

More than one inductee on Saturday spoke of humble beginnings during their years at Glendale college and the importance of people and experiences there that helped make them who they are.

Moore, who was a newlywed and a new father before graduating high school, talked about the support he received from former Nitros Coach Roy Vujovich, who took him under his wing, provided him with a hand-me-down car and a job, among other things.

He also talked about the support of teammates like McGowan and Vaqueros quarterback Jim Beckenhauer, who adjusted their own training schedules to accommodate Moore’s hours, so that he could continue to play football while raising his family.

Moore said he would be nowhere without the opportunities given to him by people who believed in him and urged those in attendance to reach out and give a young person a chance, whether they play sports or not.

Spino, who was the Vaqueros’ head trainer for the 1971-72 season, had little more than the clothes on his back when he moved to Glendale from his hometown of Morristown, New Jersey in 1969.

He was sleeping on a stack of towels in the Glendale college training room, where he was working as a student trainer, when current Glendale College Foundation board member Bill Gallagher, whose sons played football at the college at the time, took Spino into his home and treated him as one of his own family.

“If anyone deserves this honor, it’s Bill Gallagher,” said Spino as he took the induction medal from around his own neck and ceremoniously presented it back to Gallagher. “That goes to him and his family. They offered me their home and it’s because of them I’m where I am today and I’ve never forgotten it.”

Spino has worked as a trainer in the National Basketball Association, for the 1984 United States Olympic boxing team and at UCLA for over 30 years. He is currently a personal caretaker and assistant for 98-year old legendary Bruins basketball Coach John Wooden.

“My idea of hall of fame is athletes, coaches, teachers and doctors who do a lot of research and save peoples’ lives,” Spino said. “As a trainer, I never even thought about. This is way more than I ever expected.”

In the final presentation of the evening, Davitt, who retired in 2006 after a 21-year tenure as superintendent and president, was honored for his broad scope of accomplishments that includes oversight of the construction of the tennis courts, renovation of the athletic field and creating and expanding the fitness center.

“Glendale college is a family that together has accomplished a lot,” said Davitt, who spearheaded the fundraising for the press box completed in 2006. “It’s not winning and losing that’s most important. It’s the lesson that we gave for life and how well our students were prepared for life when they left.”