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51st Arizona Sports Hall of Fame ceremony: Getting to know the inductees

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51st Arizona Sports Hall of Fame ceremony: Getting to know the inductees

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The next set of Arizona sports figures is being honored by the Arizona Sports & Entertainment Commission. This week, the 2023 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame class was inducted. The state has a deep and rich sports history with past members including Frank Kush, Misty Hyman, Jerry Colangelo and Charles Barkley. 

The 51st Arizona Sports Hall of Fame class features seven members: Abi Abdirahman, Rich Dozer, Terry Francona, Richard Jefferson, Jerry Kindall, Charli Turner Thorne and Bobby Winkles.

The group was honored at Scottsdale Plaza Resort on April 13. Get to know this year’s class ahead of the ceremony.

Abdi Abdirahman

Age: 47 years old.

Sport: cross country, track and field.

Schools/teams: Tucson High School (1995); Pima Community College (1997): University of Arizona (1998).

Accomplishments: NJCAA cross country champion (1996, 1997); Pac-10 5,000 meter and 10,000-meter conference champion (1998); Pac-10 cross country male athlete of the year (1998); four-time U.S. champion in the 10,000 meters (2001, 2005, 2007, 2008); made 5 Olympics (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2020); oldest runner to ever make an Olympic team (43 years old).

Rich Dozer

Age: 62 years old.

Sport: basketball, baseball.

Schools/teams: Phoenix Suns (1987-1995); Arizona Diamondbacks (1995-2006).

Accomplishments: Was the vice president and chief operating officer of the Phoenix Suns as the team rose to prominence; also was the president of Talking Stick Arena, now Footprint Center (1989-1995); served as the inaugural team president of the Arizona Diamondbacks (1995-2006), including the team’s only World Series win (2001).

Terry Francona

Age: 64 years old.

Sport: Baseball.

Schools/teams: As a player: University of Arizona (1979-1980); Montreal Expos (1981-1985); Chicago Cubs (1986); Cincinnati Reds (1987); Cleveland Indians (1988); Milwaukee Brewers (1989-1990). As a manager: Philadelphia Phillies (1997-2000); Boston Red Sox (2004-2011); Cleveland Guardians (2013-2023).

Accomplishments: As a player: Pac-10 MVP, first-team All-American, helped lead Arizona to the NCAA championship, Most Outstanding Player College World Series, Golden Spikes Award (1980); member of College Baseball Hall of Fame (2011). As a manager: two-time World Series champion (2004, 2007), including Boston’s historic 3-0 comeback win against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

Richard Jefferson

Age: 43 years old.

Sport: Basketball.

Schools/teams: University of Arizona (1998-2001); New Jersey Nets (2001-2009); San Antonio Spurs (2009-2011); Toronto Raptors (2011-2012); Golden State Warriors (2012-2013): Utah Jazz (2013-2014); Dallas Mavericks (2014-2015); Cleveland Cavaliers (2015-2017); Denver Nuggets (2017-2018).

Accomplishments: Played under Lute Olson at Arizona, making a run to the NCAA championship game (2001); first-round NBA draft pick (2001); NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2001-2002); NBA Finals champion (2016); current ESPN NBA analyst.

Jerry Kindall

Age: 82 years old (died on Dec. 24, 2017).

Sport: Baseball

Schools/teams: As a player: University of Minnesota (1954-1956); Chicago Cubs (1956-1961); Cleveland Indians (1962-1964); Minnesota Twins (1964-1965). As a coach: University of Arizona (1973-1996).

Accomplishments: As a player: Won NCAA title at Minnesota (1956); played in 742 MLB games (1965). As a coach: at Arizona for 23 years, winning three national championships, including the school’s first-ever team title in 1976; coached 34 first-team All-Americans, with 71 Wildcats earning all-conference recognition; 209 players under Kindall signed professional baseball contracts, including 32 who went on to play in the MLB; the all-time wins leader at the school with an 860-579-7 record; first person to ever win a College World Series title as both a player and a head coach; member of College Baseball Hall of Fame (2007).

Charli Turner Thorne

Age: 58 years old.

Sport: Basketball.

Schools/teams: As a player: Stanford (1985-1988). As a coach: NAU (1993-1996); Arizona State University (1996-2022).

Accomplishments: Coached at ASU for 25 seasons; second-most wins ever by a Pac-12 coach; 14 NCAA tournament appearances, including a school-record six consecutive appearances; three Pac-12 championships; two-time Pac-12 coach of the year (2001, 2016); the all-time wins leader at the school (488-294); overall record of 528-334; head coach of Team USA at the 2007 Women’s World University Games (gold medal); former president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Bobby Winkles

Age: 90 years old (died April 17, 2020).

Sport: Baseball.

Schools/teams: ASU (1959-1971); California Angels (1973-1974); Oakland Athletics (1974-1975); San Francisco Giants (1976-1977); Oakland Athletics (1977-1978); Chicago White Sox (1979-1985); Montreal Expos (1986-1988).

Accomplishments: Coached at ASU for 13 seasons; the first varsity baseball coach in ASU history; won three College World Series (1965, 1967, 1969); two-time NCAA coach of the year (1965, 1969); three-time Sporting News coach of the year (1965, 1967, 1969); coached 16 first-team All-Americans, 20 ASU Hall of Famers, and 39 All-WAC honorees; also coached 45 MLB draft picks, including 12 first-round selections and 21 players who made it to the MLB; overall record at ASU of 524-173; charter member of College Baseball Hall of Fame (2006); former MLB executive.

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