OSU Hall of Fame Inducts Five Individuals, One Team

The inductees will be on hand to greet the public Saturday at 4:30 PM at the Truax Indoor Center, then will be honored at halftime of Saturday night’s football game between Oregon State and Idaho.

OSU All Stars Photo: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS - Four athletes who earned All-America honors, a coach who guided a team to a national championship, and a team that reached No. 1 in the national rankings were inducted into the Oregon State Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Enshrined in ceremonies at Reser Stadium were wrestler Jim Baumgardner, track and field/cross country coach Sam Bell, softball player Erin Capps, baseball player Larry Petersen, runner Dale Story and the 1980-81 men’s basketball team.

“Year-in and year-out, there are many, many reasons to be proud of the athletic program at Oregon State University,” OSU Director of Athletics Bob De Carolis said. “This weekend is a celebration of the accomplishments of thousands of athletes and coaches over the past century. We have among us tonight many of the very best ever to have worn the orange and black, and we’re extremely pleased to add these individuals and this team to a list of outstanding representatives of Oregon State University.”

Baumgardner currently ranks third on OSU’s all-time career victory list in wrestling with 155, and he holds the school single-season record for wins with 52 in 1983. Baumgardner earned All-America honors twice, including finishing second in 1984 in the 190-pound weight class, and he won three individual Pac-10 titles.

Baugmardner was twice selected All-Pacific-10 Conference. During his illustrious career, the Roseburg native helped the Beavers win 88 dual meets, capture two conference titles and finish in the top 15 at the NCAA Championships twice. He also was a standout in the classroom and was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 1984.

Bell was Oregon State’s track and field and cross country coach from 1958-65. His 1961 men’s cross country squad won the national title, the first NCAA team championship for Oregon State, and his 1963 4-by-880 yard relay team set a world record in the California Relays. Coming to OSU after coaching at Cottage Grove High School, Bell coached five individual NCAA champs in track and field, guided OSU to a pair of top-10 finishes at the NCAAs, and had three athletes compete in the Olympics.

Bell was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1992 and the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000. Bell also coached at California and Indiana, and is in the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. Bell coached at the 1976 Olympics and with the 1979 USA World Cup Team.

Capps was Oregon State’s first All-American in softball, with the standout catcher earning that honor in 1983. The Whittier, Calif., native left the program as a four-year letterwinner. At the time of her enshrinement, Capps held the school record for career triples with 18; upon her graduation in 1985, she also held career school records for singles (113), hits (151) and doubles (18), and was second for runs batted in (55).

Capps helped Oregon State to one of its best-ever seasons in 1984 when the team had a 40-17 record. She also helped Oregon State post a 26-3 mark against Oregon during her playing career. In addItion to her All-America honor, Capps received All-Region and All-NorPac accolades.

Larry Petersen lettered in baseball from 1960-62 as an outfielder. The McMinnville native earned All-America honors in 1960, when he batted a Northern Division-best .419 with 19 runs batted in. Petersen was named Oregon State’s Most Valuable Player as a senior. In addition to his All-America honor, Petersen was selected All-District by the American Baseball Coaches Association and All-Northern Division in 1960.

Petersen helped the Beavers to the Northern Division championship as a senior in 1962, when Oregon State earned a trip to the NCAA West Regionals and was ranked No. 13 in the final national poll. During his three seasons on the OSU varsity, the Beavers compiled a 71-25 record.

Story, a four-year letterman from Orange, Calif., won the individual title at the 1961 NCAA Men’s Country Championships, and in the process guided the school to its first-ever NCAA team title. In that national championship race, Story beat six future Olympians as he ran barefoot in 30-degree weather. During his OSU career, Story also earned track and field All-America honors in 1962 in the three-mile run, and he set 13 course or meet records.

In the spring of 1961, Story set a world juniors record for the two-mile run (8:46.9) at the California Relays. Story and his cross country teammates from 1961 were inducted into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Head coach Ralph Miller guided the 1980-81 men’s basketball team to the Pacific-10 title, a No. 1 ranking in the national polls, and 26 straight wins; OSU finished 26-2 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10. Miller earned numerous national awards, while senior center Steve Johnson earned All-America and Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. Senior guards Ray Blume and Mark Radford were named All-Pac-10.

The team included Miller, Johnson, Blume, Radford, William Brew, Lester Conner, Danny Evans, Rob Holbrook, Raymond Lankford, Steve Lankton, Scott McKie, Bill McShane, Charlie Sitton, Jamie Stangel, Brett Starr, Jeff Stoutt, Alan Tait and Jeff Wilson; assistant coaches Jimmy Anderson, Lanny Van Eman and Steve Seidler; trainer Bill Robertson, student manager Ken Schaudt and equipment manager Bill Wojciechowskie.

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