By Marco A. Lopez CSUS Student-Athlete Resource Center, Academic Mentor/Tutor
“Live the Dream and put in the time because it’s a short distance between the dream and actuality,” preached the Cincinnati Reds Manager Dusty Baker as he addressed a crowd of fans honoring his induction into the First Annual Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame at Thunder Valley Casino Resort.
Along with Baker (MLB), Sacramento honored Kevin Johnson (NBA), Summer Sanders (Swimming Olympic Gold Medalist) Tony “The Tiger” López (Pro Boxing), and Bill Cartwright, (NBA) who was unable to attend due to coaching obligations over seas. Selected from a list of 56 athletes with Sacramento based roots; voters chose the inductees through online ballots that saw fifty-three hundred votes during a span of 4 weeks late in 2012.
Event organizer TC Martin (also from Sacramento but who currently works out of Wisconsin with the Green Bay Packers), praised all of the supporters on an evening that saw Fox 40 Sports Director Jim Crandell light up the night with his distinct presenting style.
Kevin Johnson was the first one to get inducted, as he was quick to recognize that he was the only individual on stage without a championship. To this he boasted, “I may not have a championship, but I am the first to get inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame.”
Drawing cheers from the crowd, the current Sacramento Mayor and Oak Park native drove his point home by reminding those in attendance about the importance of sports. Stating, “Sports has a way of giving back to you more than you have given before. Through working hard and playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played you can even make it to the White House by doing what you do.”
Swimmer Summer Sanders illuminated her coach’ simple motto “No Deposit, No Return” as she fought tears during her time at the podium. Strolling back through memory lane, she shared the realities of her sport by saying, “That was the brutal and beautiful part of my sport. If you did not put in the work, if you didn’t show up you weren’t going to swim faster at the end of the season. You weren’t going to blame anybody but yourself…its that simple.” During the process she praised her hometown by saying, “I was extremely lucky to be surrounded by a supportive community.”
Dusty Baker, once the skipper of the San Francisco Giants took no time praising himself or his accomplishments. In true manager fashion he deflected the attention by acknowledging all of the other inductees. “I take away from this event all of the hard work that was on stage tonight….there’s a lot of hours of work and dedication on display.”
TC Martin’ Entertainment Company reiterated the sentiments felt by all of the inductees. “I am thankful that I had the support of the these athletes. The moment that I talked to these guys everyone signed on board….I am thankful that they are behind my vision…I am thankful for the people of Sacramento for supporting the vision, we are going to grow this thing; this is the first step.”
A beaming Martin, was most thankful about the response given not by the fans but by the sentiments expressed from the inductees.
“What you saw and what you heard tonight are their true feelings… the emotion from all of them, the heartfelt-ness that they all have and how passionate they are about their hometown. I did not have to twist any ones’ arm to be here and they stepped forward.”
To this we say congratulations to the first of many Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame Inductees, and close by quoting Dusty Baker who ended the evening by saying:
“It seems like a long time but live your dreams and believe it,” Amen!
