2019 Inductees
NORTH HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME: 2019 Induction Class
1957 SYL Varsity Football Champions
Scroll down ⬇️ for Inductee Biographies
2019 Inductee Biographies
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North High should send a nice gift to whoever was in charge of high school boundaries in 1993. A youngster by the name of Colby Lewis was living within a couple of blocks of East High and not far from Highland. But the district put him on a bus and sent him over to North of the River and he became an official 08er and the rest is history.
Colby entered high school at an imposing 5’6” and graduated at 6’1”, 195 pounds. Baseball was his only sport and was coming right along until he hurt his arm in the summer after his junior year. So he had to undergo Tommy John Surgery on his elbow and, as a result, sat out his senior year, except for a couple of late season appearances.
His baseball career in doubt, he enrolled at Bakersfield College and played there two years under coach Tim Painton. By the end of his freshman season, he was hitting 90 mph on the radar gun and things looked encouraging for the following season. After the season he and BC outfielder Andy Padilla started an extensive weight program and Colby had stretched out to 6’4” and 218 lbs. By the time his sophomore season rolled around, he was hitting 95-97 mph on the radar gun and scouts were flocking to the BC games. When the 1999 June MLB Draft came around, Colby was selected by the Texas Rangers in the very first round, No. 38 overall.
From there it was on to an up and down professional career with stops in Texas, Detroit and Oakland, over to Japan and then back to the Rangers, a remarkable 18 year roller coaster ride. He started out in rookie ball in 1999 and by 2002 had made his first MLB appearance with the Rangers, appearing in 15 games and getting his first major league victory. He won 10 games for Texas in 2003, then injuries started to hamper him. Played briefly with the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and with Oakland A’s in 2007 then got the break of his life
He played two years in Japan for Hiroshima, winning a total of 26 games, leading the league in strikeouts both years and finishing 2nd in ERA both years. He also managed to connect for five home runs.
Full of a rebuilt confidence, he returned to the Rangers and became one of their top starters over the next three seasons. The Rangers were now one of the top teams in baseball, losing the World Series to the Giants in 2010. They came within one misplayed fly ball of winning the World Series against the Cardinals the following year, and Colby would have been the winning pitcher in the clinching game six.
In 2013, Colby spent most of the year on the disabled list, but he bounced back in 2014, winning 10 games then had the best year of his career in 2015, going 17-9. Battling through injuries again in 2016, he still managed to win six games and pitch 116 innings. He retired at the end of that season finishing his Major League career with a record of 77-72, pitching in 233 games and over 1,200 innings.
After his first year in pro baseball, he went with a buddy to watch the Lady ‘Gades basketball game. He took quick notice of an impressive looking 6’1” tall BC player, Jenny Elliott. She had been an all-Area basketball star at Centennial High and an all-Conference standout for BC. They were married in 2004 and have two children, Cade and Elizabeth. Colby has an older brother, Zack, who was a golf standout at Highland, and one of his biggest supporters. His proud parents Don and Arla were always there for him also. He had a younger sister Shasta who tragically passed away at the age of 30.
Colby’s elbow surgery was performed by the legendary Frank Jobe and Colby was actually the last Tommy John surgery Dr. Jobe ever performed. And during his final year in the major leagues, Colby was the longest existing Tommy John recipient. Ironically, Colby’s sister Shasta was an outstanding softball player at North and later COS and Fresno State before her elbow blew out and she had to have Tommy John surgery. They are to this day, the only brother/ sister combo to have had the surgery. Frank Jobe was her surgeon also!
Colby is back in Bakersfield with Jenny raising their two kids. Both are heavily involved in the local Ronald McDonald House. He’s also taken an interest in car racing so look out Indy 500. He still works as a consultant to the Rangers and attends spring training and travels to various minor league cities throughout the year. When they have time, I think Jenny still wins the HORSE games in the back yard.
Congrats Colby and we are so glad you aren’t going into the Blades Hall of Fame. We are so proud that you are an 08er for life. Welcome.
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Corrie may be the first North High Athletics Hall of Famer to have to be inducted twice, once for her athletic career at North and once for coaching career at the school.
Corrie has athletic blood lines for sure. Her dad Duane was an outstanding 3-sport athlete in the 70’s and later played football at the University of Cal and was also signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Her younger brother Josh was also a 3-sport athlete at North and played college basketball at Bakersfield College and later Point Loma Nazarene University.
But Corrie doesn’t have to take a back seat to the rest of the family when it comes to accomplishments on the athletic fields. She played varsity soccer three years, JV volleyball two years and started on the varsity softball team all four years. She was named All-League and All-Area in both her junior and senior years in both soccer and softball. In addition, she was named All-Area MVP in softball as a senior and was named North High’s top female athlete in 1995.
More awards followed when she was named the Sam Lynn Award winner as the area’s top female athlete and was a 1995 Louisville Slugger All-American selection. Hard to believe there was anything else to win.
But there was more to come as she accepted a full scholarship to Florida State University. She was a four-year starter for the Lady Seminoles, playing the infield and was even asked to perform some pitching duties one year and won 6 games. The team won the ACC Championship all four years. She was named ACC Player of the Week several times for tournament play. She was All-ACC and Eastern Regional All-Star Selection. In addition, she won the team’s Outstanding Offensive Player Award and at one point set the school’s single record for doubles.
So, after graduation from Florida State with a degree in Sports Management, she made her way back to Bakersfield and North High. She finished her education by getting a teaching credential at Masters degree through Point Loma Nazarene.
Then the fun really began. In 2001 she started her teaching and coaching career at North, taking over the softball program. The Lady Stars had very few wins over the previous seasons and Corrie turned it around and created a winning tradition. In her 18 seasons as Varsity coach, the team had 20 or more wins in 12 of the 18 seasons and has never had a losing record. In 2019 she will reach 400 wins and her total wins and winning percentage is the highest in the history of the school.
In 2005, the Lady Stars fell just short of winning the Valley Championship, losing to Hanford 4-3. But the following year, they avenged that loss with a 1-0 win over that same Hanford team. That remains North’s only Valley Championship team in softball.
One of her greatest memories of North High was making the varsity softball team as a freshman and playing alongside Kori Ermigarat and playing for coach Randy Roberts. Her greatest coaching memory was beating a Centennial softball team led by the great Megan Langenfield (UCLA, NCAA Championship series MVP) and a Stockdale team led by Mackenzie Oaks (Fresno State All-Star) and ending the year as Valley Champs.
Corrie married a North High grad Corey Gannaway in 2004, who by the way was the boys’ varsity basketball head coach for a couple of years. They have two children, Lila and Griffin.
Corrie and her brother Josh along with father Duane are the only family trio in the history of North High to be Sam Lynn Award winners. So those young Gannaways better step it up. Your family set the bar pretty high. Congrats Corrie, great athletic career, great coaching career. Welcome to the North High Athletics Hall of Fame.
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Rand and McNally may have been in contact with Heidi Robertson when they started producing maps. Jumping around from grammar school to grammar school in places as far east as Texas, she had to grow up in a hurry. She helped her single Mom raise the family of two brothers and two sisters and, luckily for North High, landed her in Oildale.
Robertson came to North High being engaged in sports and academics from the age of 5. This multi-sport athlete and honor roll student in no way resembles someone who played football in the streets, shirtless and wearing cut-off jeans, with her brothers until she was 9 years old.
There is however, one look that her coaches and teammates know well. “She is very intense,” coaches have been quoted as saying. She was often misunderstood because she could get so focused. Living in a single-parent family with four other siblings — the youngest having cerebral palsy — and her mother working until early hours of the morning as a bartender; things were never easy. There was never much money, but always lots of responsibility.
Being the oldest female in the home, Heidi had to get all the kids up and out the door in time for school. After school and practice, she came home, got dinner on the table and had to make sure it was done before mom left for work.
She played volleyball, basketball, softball and track & field at North High. She loved her coaches and teammates and loved expressing what was inside of her through athletics. In the four years being at North, Heidi was awarded numerous athletic awards, while contributing to the school winning multiple SYL Championships, Valley Championships, and State Championship appearances in all four sports. Heidi was recognized on several All-SYL and All-Area Teams, and numerous All-Tournament Teams and has received more than a dozen district scholar-athlete awards.
After graduation, she was invited to run on the international circuit for USA Track & Field in 1990 and 1991 under the legendary coaches Bob Kersee and Ed Jacoby. She later migrated back to California and became a multi-sport athlete at Cal State Fullerton. For three years, she was All-Conference in both volleyball and softball and was awarded Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year four times. Heidi was inducted into the Orange County Hall before her graduation in 1995 and was the first Division I three-sport athlete since female sports were inaugurated into the NCAA. In her final softball season, Heidi became an All-American outfielder ,hitting .844 in the tournament with eight stolen bases and 16 RBIs.
After college, Heidi served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Florida. During her time in Gainesville, Florida won nine National Championships, had more than 53 All- Americans and more than 28 athletes who signed multi-million dollar contracts with the NFL, NBA, WBA, and International Volleyball Federation, as well as multiple Olympians.
Robertson’s short time as a Gator was due in part by being drafted a second time by Women’s Professional Fast Pitch (WPF). Heidi became a prominent player of the two-time champion Orlando Wahoos. While playing in the WPF, Heidi earned a master's degree in exercise science and was then hired as director of strength and conditioning for Olympic Sports at the University of Kentucky. After five years at Kentucky, Heidi became the driver for sled number three for Women’s USA Bobsled & Skeleton in the 2006 Olympics. Unfortunately, an abdominal injury during practice one week before the Olympics denied her an opportunity to pilot the sled in Cortina, Italy.
Since 2006, Heidi has been a strength and conditioning coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates, worked with three Cy Young Award winners, had players from eight World Series Champions, more than 100 NFL athletes and countless college and high school athletes.
She’s married to ex-professional baseball player Barry Johnson, who toiled for 15 years in the minor leagues.
Heidi was recently hired by the Houston Texans of the NFL and is rapidly becoming one of the tops in her field.
Ironically, she works side-by-side with one of her former North High teammates Joellen Jeffrey, who owns an impressive volleyball complex in Houston. Joellen was inducted into North’s Athletics Hall of Fame last year.
Congratulation Heidi. What a career, what a legacy you left at North and now doing more of the same amazing things each year with all your endeavors. The 08er crowd is so proud of you. Welcome home.
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You could look back through the annals of North High and it would be hard to find anyone, male or female, more well rounded than Janel Lana Vega. Not only was she a 3-sport star for the Lady Stars, she was also a standout at Bakersfield College. But that was only part of her incredible success story.
She played volleyball, basketball and softball all four years at North and accumulated enough awards and honors to fill up a trophy case. She played varsity volleyball as a junior and senior, and varsity basketball and softball three years. In all three sports she was named MVP and best defensive player. In addition, she was named all-State in all three sports in both her junior and senior years, a first in school history.
While playing basketball at North, she was part of the first ever Kern County team to win a Valley Championship in 1989 coached by the legendary Curt DeRossett.
After graduation from Bakersfield College she continued on to Cal State Northridge, playing basketball on a partial scholarship as a junior. That was turned into a full scholarship for her senior season and she was named team captain and voted best defensive player. Northridge was an independent during that time and traveled all over the US. She played one year for the CSUN softball team and they finished 2nd in the State playoffs.
She graduated with a degree in Kinesiology in 1994. Her first job was teaching at an elementary school in the LA area and was also a private personal trainer at various gyms. In 1995 she was accepted into the LA Police Academy and graduated in June of 1996 as a full-time police officer.
In 1997, she represented the LAPD in the California Police Olympics as a female body builder and won two gold medals at the California Police Summer Games. She also received the honor of participating in a photo shoot for Physical Magazine as a top cop, representing the LAPD.
Throughout her career she found herself missing teaching. So, during her fourth year as an LAPD officer, she took a test and was promoted to Field Training Officer (FTO). She trains new police officers that graduate from the Academy, teaching them safety, tactics, reports, policies and procedures. She rides around every day with a brand-new officer, keeping them safe as well as the public safe from crime and helping those in need of police services.
In addition, she works with officers helping them with their workout programs, eating habits and diet questions. Throughout her career she has worked with various units including gangs, vice and detectives. She has also appeared in the TV Show “LAPD, Life on the Beat.” Janel has been used as an extra and a technical advisor for another police show “The Shield.”.
Now a single mom, she has a 12-year old son, Christopher Maya, who’s involved with soccer, wrestling, jujutsu and basketball. It may be a while before he wants to compete against his mom in any of those sports. What a lady, what a career. Another 08er doing some outstanding things with her life. Congrats Janel, welcome to the North High Athletics Hall of Fame.
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Jeff Miller, another 08er who made his mark on the athletic field, in the classroom and in his post sports life. Raised in Oildale, he attended Highland and Wingland elementary schools and Standard Jr. High before entering North High in 1982.
He made his mark in football and track and field, and even tried his hand at basketball as a senior. He was part of North High’s 1983 SYL Championship team and was named All-Area lineman in football as a senior. In track and field, he was named all-State in 1986 and competed in the State meet in the shot put. He also won the prestigious Sam Lynn Award that year. Academics would also play a big part in his career as he finished near the top of his class.
From there on to Bakersfield College where he was part of the 1988 JC National Championship team coached by Carl Bowser. He was also named JC All-American that year. Then in 2003 he was inducted into the Bakersfield College football Hall of Fame.
Many of the Nation’s top coaches were taking notice and Barry Switzer from the University of Oklahoma won the recruiting battle as he signed to play for the Sooners. During his time at OU he was named Academic All-Conference and given the Toyota Leadership Award from CBS Sports. In addition, he received the Don Key award which recognizes an outstanding senior football player for qualities both on the field and in the classroom. He graduated with a degree in business management.
While Jeff was at the University of Oklahoma, he met his wife Dana. After graduating they married and returned to Bakersfield where their first daughter was born. He worked a couple of years in the family oilfield business before moving back to Oklahoma where they had two more daughters. There he worked as a strength and conditioning coach for a rehab hospital in Oklahoma City.
But his real desire was to work as a firefighter and he got that job in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He’s been there 20 years now and is currently a Deputy Chief of Operations.
He credits his success to great coaches and mentors at North High like Jack O’Brien and Stan Ingram. His best memories from North include relationships with friends like Vic Pierce, Dave Miller, Buddy Mitacek and Scott Harrison.
But the best part of his life is his wife Dana and daughters Taylor, Josey and Sarah.
Not a bad life for a true Oildale “Okie” who wound up in Oklahoma and married an “Okie.” Congrats Jeff on being inducted into the North High Athletics Hall of Fame.
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Jim Parks was born into basketball. His father, Jim Parks, played basketball at Pepperdine University and California State University, Los Angeles and went on to have a long and successful career as a basketball Head Coach at the college and professional levels. His family moved every few years for new coaching opportunities, which included professional leagues in Holland and Austria. When Jim was seven and eight years old, he and his sister Michelle attended public schools in each country and became fluent in both Dutch and German, oftentimes translating for their parents. As fate would have it, basketball eventually led his father to coach at California State University, Bakersfield and Jim to North High School.
Jim was blessed to have two great coaches in his life: his father, a California Community College Hall of Fame coach and Gary Sedam, a North High School Hall of Fame coach. Jim and Gary arrived at North the same school year, 1985-1986. Jim started for the varsity basketball team as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was AII-SYL Rookie of the Year. As a junior, he was first Team AII SYL. As a senior, he was 1st Team All-Area, AII-SYL and Team MVP. He scored in double figures in all 26 games and shot 50% from the field and 40% from the three-point line. He also led Kern County in scoring, averaging 21 points per game. In 1989, Jim became North High School’s All-Time leading scorer with 1,490 points.
In addition to four years of varsity basketball, Jim played junior varsity football as a freshman, varsity golf as a junior and varsity baseball as a senior. He was Senior Class President and three time member of the National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation.
After high school, Jim played basketball for two years at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA. He then transferred and finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Business & Marketing at California State University, Long Beach. After graduation, his father was coaching professionally in Germany, so Jim seized the opportunity to join him. Jim practiced with his father’s professional club team, played as the designated foreigner on the club’s Second Division team and was Head Coach of the local high school varsity basketball team. Since he was fluent in German as a boy, he was hoping to rekindle the language he thought was long forgotten. However, everyone he met spoke English this time around.
After the basketball season in Germany, Jim returned to Bakersfield. Having been greatly influenced by his father, he considered a career as a teacher and basketball coach. However, he ultimately decided to go into pharmaceutical sales and has been in the industry for over 20 years in San Diego and Bakersfield.
Jim has been married to his wife Melanie for 17 years and has a nine-year-old daughter named Mahaila. He has enjoyed coaching Mahaila’s 2nd and 3rd grade NOR basketball teams the past two years.
Jim is humbled and honored to be inducted into the NHS Hall of Fame and would like to thank his parents, Jim and Marie and sister, Michelle, for all their support.
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When North High opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 1953, an ordinary looking 5’ 8” young boy walked on campus for his freshman year. Little did anyone know that Ron Neff would grow to be 6’7” and become an outstanding basketball player not only at North but in college at Fresno State.
Raised in Oildale on Roberts Lane, he attended Beardsley Elementary and entered North High and tried his hand at football, basketball and baseball. As time went on and he started to grow, the football and obviously basketball coaches took a big interest in him. However, he broke his hand playing football as a junior and the basketball coach gave him an ultimatum, football or basketball. Wisely, Ron chose basketball.
As part of the first full graduating class at North in 1957, his next move was to head to Bakersfield College. The BC coaching staff put him on a rigorous training program and by the time his sophomore year rolled around he had grown to 6’9’, 220 pounds! Neff was not only a good athlete, but a good student, majoring in engineering. In his second year at BC, the ‘Gades basketball team got off to a great start but Ron became ineligible due to an academic infraction, having to do with the number of chemistry units he was taking, ending his BC career.
Ron attended Fresno City College for a year to earn credits to transfer, but then moved back to Bakersfield in the summer of 1960 to take a job building houses. In the fall of 1960, the Central California Athletic Club Harvesters, an AAU team, came calling with an offer which included a job. With his new bride Annie at his side, he headed back to the Fresno area and traveled the region with the Harvesters, honing his game. In 1961, Ron received an engineering offer from the County of Kern. But Fresno State coach Harry Miller had other ideas and offered him a scholarship to play for the Bulldogs.
Ron led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division Semi-Finals in 1962 and in 1963, they made it to the NCAA Division Finals. He became one of the most dominant scorers and rebounders in league history, setting school single game records for scoring (40) and rebounding (30). He shot 52 percent from the floor and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Ron was chosen to the All-Tournament team and named MVP of the 1962 NCAA Division Semifinal Tournament.
In 1963, he struggled with foot pain and was diagnosed with metarsalgia, a painful injury to the ball of the foot. Getting injections to get him through each game, he still managed to average 29 points a game and lead the Bulldogs to the regional finals again. He was also named All-Tournament. At the division finals in Evansville, Indiana, injections were banned, forcing him to play in excruciating pain. In the first game against South Dakota State, he scored 21 points in the first half and the Bulldogs were in the lead. However, he could not play in the second half and the team lost.
With tryout offers from the St. Louis Hawks and Detroit Pistons in front of him, Ron decided to give up basketball and he and wife Minnie moved back to Bakersfield to begin a successful insurance career. They have raised two daughters, both of whom attended North High and played basketball.
Ron walked into North High rather short but walked out the doors and into life like a Giant. Congrats Ron, great career and a proud 08er.
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When we think about what a well-rounded student-athlete should look like, you wouldn’t have had to look much further than Tim Hewes if you knew him from high school. He was born in Bakersfield and raised in Oildale. He attended North Beardsley, Beardsley and Beardsley Jr. High then entered North High in 1961.
From there it was not only athletic achievements, but academic as well. He played four years of football (2 on the varsity), basketball one year and played baseball all four years, 3 of which were on the varsity. As a junior, he was a member of the Stars’ football team that captured the SYL Title. As a senior, he was selected all-SYL 2nd team lineman.
Baseball is where he really shined, playing 3 years on the varsity as a catcher, being named all-SYL as a senior. He credits some legendary North high coaches for his success, most notably Lloyd Williams, Bob Russell and Sam Barton.
From there on to Bakersfield College where he played for the legendary coach Gerry Collis and made all-Conference catcher as a freshman and the scouts were taking notice. He was drafted by the Angels in the MLB Free Agent draft that June but turned it down to attend Biola University on a baseball scholarship. He would play just one year at Biola and was named all-NAIA District 4 squad. This time the Angels selected him in the 3rd round of the secondary phase and he decided to take them up on their offer.
He played four years in the Angels’ organization making it all the way to Class Double-A El Paso. Playing for San Jose in the California League in 1969 he made the league’s All-Star team. That fall he returned to Biola to finish his B.A. in psychology. He retired from baseball after that season and then graduated from Biola in 1972.
He then went to work at San Gabriel Christian School, teaching and coaching several sports. Then in 1974 he moved to San Jose, Costa Rica studying Spanish for 1 year and played basketball in the Costa Rica National Basketball League. That was followed by 3 years living in Guadalajara, Mexico where he coached baseball at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara and was advisor to the athletic department. In 1977 he returned to Bakersfield to pursue a master’s degree in psychology at CSUB and graduated in 1980.
In 1983 he went back into professional baseball as an associate scout for the Padres. After working two years as a part-time scout for the Expos he then hooked on with the Blue Jays as a part-time scout. From 1990-2002 he worked as a Free Agent Draft Advisor for the Blue Jays and during that time the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Championships in 1992-1993. It was during that time that he also became director of the Employee Assistance Program, so he was a busy guy.
From 2004-2011 he joined the Milwaukee Brewers as the Director of Assistance Program, working with players and families with off the field and performance issues.
Tim’s not the only outstanding athlete in the family, his brother Troy was a standout in both football and baseball in the early days of North High. His younger nephew Pat was an outstanding catcher for the Stars’ baseball team and signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing as high as Double-A .
In 1986 Tim married South High grad Doris and they now live in Costa Rica full time. Tim had two children, Joshua and Angela, by a previous marriage. Both attended North High. Doris also has two children, Anna and Erik. Between them they have 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
By the way, Tim was also a drum major at Beardsley in the 7th and 8th grade and then he began marching around the world through baseball. He made coaching stops for the Blue Jays in such places as Japan, Korea, China and Australia. Not a bad life for a true 08er. Congrats Tim on an amazing career.
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Another in the long line of outstanding athletes who attended North High when the school opened, Troy Hewes made his mark in football and baseball. Born in Bakersfield and raised an 08er, the family lived on Sycamore Drive and El Tejon and he attended Beardsley Grammar School from kindergarten through 8th grade.
As part of the first four-year graduation class in 1957, Troy was a big part of the school’s first championship teams in both football and baseball. He played JV football as a freshman and sophomore and the team won the SSL Championship both years. He moved up and played on the varsity team as a junior and senior.
Baseball is where he excelled, starting on varsity at shortstop as a senior and being one of the leading hitters on the team. After graduation, he headed for Bakersfield College and played baseball both years. More importantly he met Janice Underhill, his future wife.
He also played football and in 1958 was part of the Potato Bowl Champion Renegades, defeating Riverside 7-0 before a full house at Memorial Stadium.
As a sophomore on the baseball team, playing 1st base for the legendary coach Gerry Collis, he hit .282 and caught the attention of Cal State LA. So on to the Diablos where as a junior he was the starting catcher and hit .348, leading the team to a 30-11 record.
His senior season at Cal State LA was marred by injuries, limiting his playing time. Still the Chicago Cubs organization approached him but now married to Janice and with twin boys Troy and Andy, he headed back to Bakersfield to start a career in construction.
In 1964 they welcomed their 3rd son Patrick and went to work for Grey Construction. In 1968 their 4th son Jason arrived and before long he and good friend Ernie Smith formed their own construction business, Hewes and Smith Builders.
Every summer for the next few years, Hewes and Smith baseball teams were a common part of the North of the River baseball leagues. Troy also continued to coach and was responsible for the development of several of North’s outstanding baseball talent in the 80’s and 90’s. And he still found time to play in the Kern County League into his 40’s.
Troy taught all four of his sons the building trade and later became Troy Hewes and Sons Construction. He and Janice were blessed with not only the four boys, but nine grandchildren: Savannah, Riley, Randy, Joseph, Jared, Caleb, Sydney, Rikki and Cody. Troy returned to coaching again when the grandkids started to play baseball.
More than anything, he enjoyed taking Janice and the grandchildren to his mountain cabin in Pine Flat, fishing and hunting.
He was active at North High being a member of the Big N club. His younger brother Tim, a long-time player and member of the professional baseball scene as a player, coach, scout and family counselor, is also being inducted tonight. Son Pat was an outstanding baseball player for the Stars and later made it as high as Double-A with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Tragically in December of 2004, Troy lost Janice, his wife of 44 years, to cancer. He retired shortly after that then moved to Goleta where he passed away on May 23, 2015.
Welcome to the Hall of Fame Troy. The entire Hewes family has made a very impressive mark on North High. You are not here in body but we know you are here in spirit. Congratulations.
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The Cagle family moved to Oildale from Oklahoma just in time for the big earthquake of 1952. Wayne attended Standard School where he played football, basketball and baseball. He start- ed North High in 1965, and, after being noticed in his freshman PE class by Coach Sam Barton, Wayne began working out with the wrestling team. He went on to win the Freshman Tournament that year at 125 pounds.
As a sophomore, Wayne was voted Most Inspirational Player for the B class football team and also lettered in JV wrestling and baseball that year. Starting at middle linebacker on the varsity football team his junior year, Wayne was instrumental in his team going 8-1 with the only loss to BHS. He again lettered in wrestling as a junior under Coach Win Bootman.
Wayne was co-captain of the Varsity football team his senior year playing both offense and defense every game. Because of that, he earned the team’s MVP award, and was named to the All City team as a linebacker. He was also co-captain of the varsity wrestling team under Coach Gary Kuster.
After graduating from North in 1969, Wayne went on to BC where he played fullback for the undefeated and Metro Champ Renegades. Their only loss that year came in the State semi-finals to Fullerton JC. Coach Gerry Collis’ nickname for Wayne was “Nails” because he was “tough as nails”.
Following a successful football season, Wayne earned the 190 lb. spot on the wrestling team compiling an impressive record of 17-5 with 7 pins and a third-place finish in regionals and fifth in State. The team as a whole went undefeated in dual matches and was second in regionals and second in State.
Wayne began his sophomore year at BC as starting fullback, but suffered a knee injury in the second game of the season. After surgery for torn cartilage and only missing three games, Wayne played out the year and the ‘Gades again went undefeated in the Metro Conference. He was named Most Inspirational Player and earned a full scholarship to Division 1 school, Idaho State University.
At Idaho State, Wayne played as a back-up fullback and, later, as starting linebacker, earning him Defensive Player of the game three times. He graduated from Idaho State with a BA in Education.
Wayne married his junior high and high school sweetheart, Bobette, in 1970. After Idaho, they moved back to Oildale and Wayne joined the Kern County Fire Department in 1974, promoted to Engineer in ‘75 and Captain in ‘77. He was named Firefighter of the year in 1994 and retired in 2004 after 30 years of service.
Wayne and Bobette have two sons, Chris and Jake, who also played football all four years at North. Both sons are currently Kern County Firefighters. Chris is a Captain in the Arson Bureau, and Jake is a Captain with a local station. Jake has a wildland firefighting background and is part of an Interagency Management team. He is highly regarded throughout the western states, teaching and fighting fires as far away as Indonesia.
Wayne and Bobette are enjoying retirement on 160 acres north of Bakersfield riding cutting horses and dabbling in the cattle business. Wayne’s current passion is skeet shooting where he has won many titles including California State Champion.
Congrats Wayne on an outstanding career, a true 08er for life.
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Coached by the legendary Turk Eliades, the 1957 football team was certainly one of the best ever at North High. They finished the season with an 8-1 record and became the first team in school history to win the SYL Championship. They had previously won a Valley Championship in 1954 while a member of the South Sequoia League.
Loaded with talent, they steam- rolled through the season and set the bar high for all future teams. They had key wins over valley powerhouses Arvin, Taft and Delano. But the biggest win for the season was the crushing victory over East Bakersfield at Memorial Stadium.
The following week, the Stars were not quite ready for Bakersfield High and were handed their only loss of the season, 21-0, in a bitter defeat. The last week of the season, North won the league championship in a hard-fought win over a very good Taft team at North. Football is a funny game. That same night, East beat the Drillers to salvage their season.
North was led by all-league performers, Bob Ezell, Vance Fisher, Vern Burke, Jim Rice, Jeff Tuculet and Gene Smart. Many from that team went on to have solid college careers. Jim Anderson was only a sophomore on this team and went on to star at Cal Berkeley. Rice had an outstanding career at Fresno State. Ezell was an outstanding assistant coach for Foothill High for many years.
Vernon Burke set national pass receiving records at Oregon State then went on to play five seasons in the NFL with the 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. Vance Fisher starred at University of Nevada Reno. Another key player, Jerry Collins actually went back to college at age 42 and played in Visalia at College of the Sequoias.
Incredibly, ten players and three coaches from that team are already in the North High Athletics Hall of Fame. Among them Burke, Smart, Rice, Anderson, Ezell, Fisher, Lloyd Mosley, Keith Montgomery, Terry Hill and Darrell Rich. Coaches Eliades, Aubrey Allen and Sam Barton are all in the Hall of Fame as well.
Many players went on to have successful careers in education and business. This was a very tight group and many have remained in touch with each other over the many years.
Stand tall boys, there may not be another group like yours. Congratulations.
Colby Lewis, Corrie Williams, Dusty Rhodes, Heidi Robertson, Janel Vega, Jeff Miller, Jim Parks, Ron Neff, Tim Hewes, Troy Hewes, Wayne Cagle, 1957 Football Team
