Spokane Resident Joins Oregon Hall
Jim O’Rourke of Spokane has been inducted into the Oregon Hall of Fame as a part of the 1958 Drain Black Sox, the only team from Oregon to ever win the National Baseball Congress Championship.
The team, which finished the season 54-4, went undefeated in the tournament, winning seven games. O’Rourke played center field and was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.
He graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in Walla Walla in 1955 and Santa Clara University in 1959, where he was a two-time California Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-Star. He was also inducted to the university’s hall of fame. O’Rourke played with the St. Louis Cardinals organization through the 1962 season.
This year’s other inductees to the Oregon Hall of Fame are Nike co-founder Phil Knight; former Trail Blazers star Maurice Lucas; former Oregon State university football player and coach Bobb McKittrick, who was later a longtime NFL coach; former NFL player and Eugene, Ore., native Todd Christensen and masters swimming star Lavelle Stoinoff.
Golf
Marty Nauert of Liberty Lake GC defeated Jonathan Lo of Semiahmoo G&CC 5 and 3 in the final of the sixth flight at the PNGA Junior Boys Golf Championship on Friday at Beach Grove GC in Delta, British Columbia.
Rowing
James Rawson has joined the Gonzaga University men’s rowing program as an assistant coach. Rawson replaces former GU assistant coach Chris Grothkopp and will coach the men’s novice team.
Rawson rowed at the University of Washington from 1993-1997. He was a member of the Huskies 1997 National Championship team under coach Bob Ernst. Prior to rowing at UW, Rawson rowed at Lakeside High School in Seattle helping his team capture the 1993 National High School rowing championship.
Following graduation from Washington in 1997, Rawson began his coaching career at Lakeside High overseeing the boys and girls junior varsity teams. In the fall of 1998 he was named the head coach at Holy Names Academy in Seattle.
Rawson also serves as a staff coach at the Lake Union Crew Boat House.
Running
Jackie Van Allen of Spokane finished 12th in her division, women 35-39, in the USATF Half-Marathon Championship in Parkersburg, W.Va., on Saturday. Van Allen’s time of 1 hour, 32 minutes, 38 seconds, placed her 253rd overall in the field of 965.
Soccer
Gonzaga University has announced the addition of Josh Fouts and Mike Thompson as members of the Bulldogs men’s soccer coaching staff. Fouts will work with the Gonzaga goalkeepers while Thompson will work with the Bulldogs forwards and midfielders and be in charge of the junior varsity.
Fouts returns to Gonzaga as a coach after playing three seasons for the Zags from 1996-98. During his three seasons in goal for Gonzaga, Fouts rewrote the record book, finishing his career with a 0.83 goals against average. He was a three-time All-West Coast Conference second team selection and helped lead Gonzaga to back-to-back WCC co-titles during 1997 and 1998.
Tennis
The North Park Racquet Club men’s 4.0 team won its division at the USA League Tennis Pacific Northwest Sectional Championships last weekend. The team will represent the USTA/Pacific Northwest Section in the USA League Tennis National Championships at San Diego Sept. 21-24.
North Park defeated the Seattle Tennis Center 3-2 in the final.
North Park team members are Bret Stein, Kenneth Clement, Matt Schaffer, Jeong Lee, Frank Martin, Greg Wellens, Mark Smith, Richard Splichal, Al Morgan, William Randal, Eric Brown and David Dillingham.