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San Jose Sports Hall of Fame: Mike Holmgren, Kerri Walsh Jennings among inductees


Kerri Walsh Jennings tells a story during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sports Hall of Fame has inducted some excellent classes over its 29 years. But it’s hard to match the star power of the 2024 group.

On Wednesday night, the Hall of Fame will induct late Stanford mega-donor John Arrillaga, world champion boxer Robert Guerrero, Super Bowl champion Mike Holmgren and Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings in its latest class.

For each inductee – and for those who represent Arrillaga’s legacy – this honor stands out among the many they have attained in their legendary careers.

“It’s always like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice,’ and you kind of want to dismiss it a little bit. But it’s very special,” Walsh Jennings said. “It’s significant, because the legacy of this Hall of Fame is incredibly special, and everyone that’s in it has done amazing things. My class alone is very special. So it means a lot. It’s very, very humbling. It makes me want to go and do more and better, but it really ultimately makes me so proud.”

Walsh Jennings, an Archbishop Mitty alum and four-time state champion, recently relocated her family to San Jose so her kids could attend high school at Mitty. The three-time Olympic champion noted that the Bay Area’s unique sports culture was a perfect fit for her young family.

“Excellence is the undercurrent in making dreams come true,” she said. “I grew up as a kid in the ‘80s here, and the Niners were champions constantly. The Giants and the Warriors, and Santa Clara and Stanford, my parents took us to all these things. It was in my DNA.”

Kerri Walsh Jennings tells a story during the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame media day at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

Much of Stanford’s success was spearheaded by Arrillaga, where Walsh Jennings was a four-time first-team All-American. Arrillaga’s influence and generous donations have permeated Stanford’s campus for decades, enabling the Cardinal to substantially upgrade their athletic facilities and become a force to be reckoned with on the national level.

“John was very recognized at Stanford. He was very recognized in Palo Alto, and that was kind of his playground, per se,” said Ray Purpur, Stanford’s deputy athletics director and a longtime friend of Arrillaga. “For him to be recognized throughout the whole county where he built his business and where he was relatively unknown, to now come and honor him at this point, the family is very excited.”

Arrillaga, who died in 2022, established his fortune largely in Silicon Valley, where he acquired and developed commercial real estate ahead of the tech boom. His influence was felt greatest at Stanford, where he was a basketball All-American in the 1950s, but he was involved with other Bay Area universities as well.

“He had office space and land all over the Santa Clara Valley,” Purpur said. “That’s where he made his fortune. He’s been a sponsor of this event for 30 years. He’s done philanthropy at San Jose State …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment

      

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