(d. 1969) “Mr. Baseball” Rocky Benevento, the legendary Portland Beaver groundskeeper, was the frame that held Beaver Baseball together for almost four decades (1927-1966), His love of baseball fueled fans’ support for the game and admiration and respect for Rocky. Rocky never missed hospital visits (fans and players), boarded new players at his home, let..Read More
(Oct. 31, 1914 – Dec. 16, 2009) Joe Loprinzi left his mark on the state as a fitness and weightlifting coach and athletic guru enough so that the Multnomah Athletic Club named a wing after him. Born in Portland in 1914, Loprinzi grew up in an athletic family that included three brothers. As a 9-year-old,..Read More
From a waffle iron and the trunk of a car, Nike is one of Oregon’s – and America’s – most inspirational business success stories. The company began in 1964 when former University of Oregon runner Phil Knight and Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman put in $500 each to form Blue Ribbon Sports. Knight,..Read More
Founded in 1891, “The MAC” has become Oregon’s and one of the nation’s most storied athletic clubs, and has shaped the course of the state’s sports world for more than a century. The club was incorporated on February 28, 1891 through the efforts of 26 amateur sports athletes and enthusiasts, led by photographer Arthur B…Read More
(Jul. 27, 1887 – Sep. 4, 1974) Robert Hudson used his business skill and drive to support golf to the benefit of not only the state, but also the golf world during the era surrounding World War II. Born in 1887, Hudson began working in a grocery at age 14 and became the store’s sales..Read More
John Eggers (Jul. 18, 1922 – Jul. 31, 1992) served as sports information director at Oregon State University for more than 31 years, and helped create a pattern for how to represent and market college athletics through in-house news writing. His efforts helped significantly with Terry Baker receiving the Heisman Trophy in 1962. Eggers grew..Read More
(May 13, 1924 – Jun 10, 2020) Among the Oregonians who’ve been involved with the promotion and development of professional events and teams in Oregon, Harry Glickman stands alone for his work in founding, developing and then maintaining the state’s most successful events and teams, including the Portland Trail Blazers. He is regarded as “The..Read More
It takes a tough mother to run a thriving business these days. Fortunately, Columbia Sportswear has one of those, with a son who is a pretty good wing man himself. Gert (March 6, 1924 – November 3, 2019) and Tim Boyle (born 1949) have made civic engagement and giving a huge part of the Columbia..Read More
There really is a man who “wrote the book” on how to be a public address announcer at a sporting event. His name is Don Essig (b. Nov 18, 1938) and he has truly been the “voice” of University of Oregon sporting events since 1967. The book itself is a nifty bit of self-publishing from..Read More
A successful track and basketball athlete in high school in White Salmon, Washington, Liz Downing (b. Nov 6, 1958) moved into the athletic arena at Lewis & Clark College while earning degrees in communications and business. Having suffered a little burnout from competitive running after high school, the team sports of basketball, softball and soccer..Read More