Fullerton College honors its Hall of Fame Hornets
Family, friends, and fans filled “The Hornet’s Nest” recently to honor this year’s inductees into the Fullerton College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Seven outstanding athletes, and two national championship teams, were presented their awards by legendary local sports broadcaster, Ed Arnold, who served as the master of ceremonies.
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New members of the 2019 Hornet Hall of Fame class were:
Robert Ferguson (football and track 1949-51)
At Fullerton Union High School in 1948, Bob Ferguson lead the nation in rushing with 1,083 yards. He crossed the street in 1949 to compete at FJC in football and track and field and was a four-time letterman.
In 1950, he was the football team’s co-captain and led the team in scoring and rushing, earning himself First Team All Eastern Conference honors. Ferguson ended his FJC football career with 10 individual school records including: most points scored in a career, and most rushing yards in a career.
On the track and field team, Ferguson was also the team’s leading scorer competing in multiple events including long jump, high jump, pole vault, sprints and relays.
After his FJC days, he attended Pepperdine where he set the national pole vaulting record of 13-feet-9.75-inches. He earned a degree in physical therapy and returned home to Fullerton to set up his practice.
Ed Arnold read the impressive highlights of Ferguson’s sports career to the crowd, then called Ferguson, now 87, to the stage. Ferguson, sitting at the front-and-center table, decided to bypass the stairs on both sides of the stage, and instead, high-stepped it right up onto the center of the stage.
Ferguson, then gave the audience a heartfelt lesson in brevity, “I’ve lived in Fullerton my whole life. I love it. I’m going to live here until I die.” He then stepped off the stage the same way that he’d climbed up.
Gail Freudenberg-Loomis (softball 1973-75)
A Placentia native and Valencia High School graduate, Freudenberg-Loomis played on the 1974 and 1975 Hornet softball teams. Her teams won the SCCIAC Tournament both years, which is the equivalent of winning the state title.
In 1974, she was chosen as the offensive player of the year, and in 1975 was voted most valuable player. She finished her Fullerton College career with a .446 lifetime batting average.
In 1976 she played for the Southern California Gems of the International Women’s Professional Softball Organization.
Kristin Jacobs-Nagel (softball 1987-89)
Her numbers prove that Jacobs-Nagel is without a doubt one of the best pitchers in Fullerton College history. During the 1988-89 seasons, she dominated opposing batters with a minuscule .046 ERA. Thirty years since her last game for the Hornets, she still is the all-time leader in 10 statistical categories, including career winning percentage .833, and career strikeouts 453.
After her Fullerton College days, she returned to Portland, Oregon where she grew up to play for Portland State University. She was a NCAA Division II All-American, and pitched six no-hitters for the Vikings.
Her induction into the Fullerton College Athletic Hall of Fame completes her own personal Hall of Fame trifecta. In 2000, she was inducted into her high school’s Hall of Fame, and in 2006 was inducted into Portland State’s Hall of Fame.
Jim Kruse (water polo 1970-72)
Kruse graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1970 as an All-CIF water polo player. Under the tutelage of Fullerton College’s Hall of Fame water polo coach Ernie Polte, he was a junior college All-American in 1970 and 1971. He left Fullerton College as the all-time leading scorer with 186 career goals, a record that would last for over 20 years.
“Jim was a once-in-a-lifetime player – our franchise player,” Coach Polte once said. “He had a rocket arm and terrified goalkeepers.”
Kruse went on to UCI for the 1972 and 1973 seasons where he earned NCAA All-American honors both years. He was inducted into the U.C.I. Hall of Fame in 1986.
After graduating college, Kruse played on the U.S. National Team, and the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team, that unfortunately didn’t qualify for the Montreal games.
Kruse went on to become a television commentator on ABC and NBC for the next five Olympic Games.
Dave Murphy (track and field 1966-68)
Murphy graduated from Sunny Hills High in 1966 where he was already recognized as one of the top shot putters in the country. He set a California high school state record with a 16 pound shot at 57-feet-10.25-inches, a record that remained unbroken for 51 years.
His freshman year at Fullerton College he became state champion in the shot put. He set school records that have yet to be surpassed.
Murphy accepted a full-ride athletic scholarship to USC, where he earned All-American honors in both the shot put and discuss.
After graduation, he taught and coached for 24 years.
He accepted his Fullerton College Hall of Fame induction award with his grandson, Slater, at the podium with him.
Ted Owens (baseball 1964-66)
During his acceptance speech, fellow inductee Kruse asked the audience, “Is there a sports Hall of Fame in Orange County that doesn’t have an Owens family member in it?”
This year it was Ted Owens’ turn at induction, joining his brothers Brig and Marve who are both already members of Fullerton College’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ted differentiated himself from his gridiron brethren, by instead taking up the grand ol’ game.
A three-year varsity letterman at FUHS, Owens was selected to the All-Orange County Baseball Teams. He played two years for the Hornets hitting .475 in 1966 and winning the Eastern Conference batting title, as well as making the All-Conference Team.
He played two seasons at Cal State L.A. before signing a professional contract with the newly formed Seattle Pilots. Owens played two years of minor league baseball.
After his playing days, he received his bachelors, and worked 34 years for four different cities in their parks and recreation departments.
Many Owens family members were in attendance, and Ted Owens, with emotion in his voice, insisted that they all stand up to be recognized by the crowd.
Chris Smith (basketball 1967-69)
A multi-sport athlete at FUHS, Smith told the attendees that when it came time to make a decision about college, he chose to go to “ATS” (Across The Street) which drew laughter from the crowd.
During his sophomore year playing for the Hornets basketball team, Smith scored 561 points in 35 games. The Hornets went 31-4, 20-0 in conference-play, to win the conference championship, and finished third in the state championship.
Smith was named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Year, and First Team All-State.
He continued playing basketball at the University of Washington, and San Diego State.
After graduating from SDSU, Smith became director of basketball for Sportsworld managing the summer youth basketball camps for the likes of John Wooden, Jerry West and Rick Barry.
Coach Wooden became a lifelong friend and mentor, and Smith both opened and closed his induction acceptance speech with some of the wise words from the legendary coach.
1965 and 1967 football national champions
Approximately two dozen former member of each championship team returned to relive memories and accept their inductions. Bill Chambers, the head trainer of those two teams, accepted the honor on their behalves, and reflected back on Fullerton College’s first two national football championships.
The 1965 team beat Henderson, Texas, 20-15, in the Junior Rose Bowl in front of over 50,000 fans at the Rose Bowl.
The 1967 team went 12-0 to win the Eastern Conference title. They played their championship game at newly built Anaheim Stadium. Players Larry MacDuff and Gary Orcutt earned JC All-American honors, and Coach Sherbeck was named Coach of the Year.
The Fullerton College Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner occurs every other year. To attend the event, nominate a worthy Hornet athlete, or read about past inductees, go to FCHornets.com/hof.
David Jerome, better known as Mr. Bucketlist, is an author and resident of Fullerton. Follow more of his adventures at mrbucketlist.com. Email him at dave@mrbucketlist.com.