The First Fest Countdown
DAYS HOURS MINUTES
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Tommie Smith and John Carlos from San Jose State
nominated by Joshua DeVincenzi Melander nomination: Tommie Smith and John Carlos from San Jose State were the first Olympians to take a Civil Rights stand with the infamous "Black Power" salute, as the African-American sprinters received their gold and bronze medals respectively, at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. |
| sports “firsts” submissions | |
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San Jose CyberRays - 1st WUSA Champions
nominated by Joshua Russell nomination: August 25, 2001: San Jose CyberRays, playing in the FIRST women’s professional soccer league, the WUSA, defeat Atlanta Beat 4-2 on penalties to win the inaugural WUSA championship |
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Neil Parry
nominated by Tim Burke nomination: San Jose State Football player Neil Parry played with a partially amputated leg in the January 2004 East-West Shrine game. He was also co-captain of the West team. |
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Ray Norton
nominated by Urla Hill nomination: Under San Jose State head track coach Bud Winter, Norton became known as the World's Fastest Human during the 1959 and '60 seasons. Norton described himself as only an "average sprinter" coming out of high school. Upon his arrival at SJSC, however, Winter would use his psychological background to train Norton -- as he had trained Naval pilots during World War II -- to have no fear going into competition. Norton once told Winter that his grandfather was so fast, he would chase and catch rabbits. The next day when Norton arrived at practice, Winter had arranged for a photographer, as well as another athlete to ride a bike to which a flag was attached. Upon the flag appeared a rabbit. (See attached photo.) |
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Julius Menendez
nominated by Urla Hill nomination: A former San Jose State College coach, Menendez is the only man to have coached two sports at the Olympic level: boxing in 1960 and soccer in 1976. His 1960 team featured the young, brash Cassius Clay. Menendez, who was belittled upon his arrival in San Jose because he spoke English poorly, holds a B.A. in English from SJSC and a master's in Education from Stanford University. |
Tommie Smith and John Carlos from San Jose State
nominated by Joshua DeVincenzi Melander nomination: Tommie Smith and John Carlos from San Jose State were the first Olympians to take a Civil Rights stand with the infamous "Black Power" salute, as the African-American sprinters received their gold and bronze medals respectively, at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. |
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Rudy Galindo
nominated by David Mollinedo nomination: First Mexican-American U.S. Skating Champion. |
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Kristy Yamaguchi
nominated by David Mollinedo nomination: First Japanese American to win Olympic Skating Gold. |
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Rob Artigo
nominated by Melissa Artigo nomination: In 1984, Rob Artigo was the first Silicon Valley BMX Freestyle Rider to compete in a sanctioned Skate Park Contest. The King of The Skate Parks Competitions are defunct now but they were the catalysts behind the X-Games now seen on TV. Other Bay Area bike riders would go on to great freestyle fame but they all followed Rob Artigo. |
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Ryan Nyquist
nominated by Meredith Russell nomination: After winning his first X Games gold medal in the Summer of 2000, Los Gatos native Ryan Nyquist has continued to dominate the sport of BMX biking. His first competition began when he was 16 and since then he has over 100 career medals and accomplishments beginning in 1997 as the ABA King of Dirt to the 2008 Dirt Jumper of the Year, BMX Plus and numerous gold medals and an ESPN ESPY Award in 2004 for the Best Action Sport Athlete to boot. 40 total medals |
Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation
nominated by Don Gagliardi nomination: Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit formed in 1997 comprised of San Jose Earthquakes fans dedicated to building community through soccer, is the FIRST and only all-volunteer, fan-based philanthropy in American sports. |
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Raquel M. Ornelas
nominated by Raquel Ornelas nomination: I graduated from high school in 1975 and went to Santa Clara University where I continued my involvement in sports. Back then, women were just being given the opportunity to engage in sports above the intramural level. I was introduced to the sport of Crew my freshman year and fell in love with it. Even though the women got the leftover or broken down equipment we kept with it and our program became stronger. I am proud to say that I was the first woman to row all 4 years at Santa Clara University. GO BRONCOS !!! |
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