(Born September 22, 1959) Wally Backman was an All-State baseball player at Aloha High School. He was a first round draft choice in the 1977 free agent draft, the 16th pick overall. He played 14 years in the major leagues starting with the New York Mets in 1980 and finishing up with the Seattle Mariners in 1993. Wally was the starting second baseman for the 1986 World Series Championship New York Mets. He hit for a .333 average in that exciting World Series in which the Mets beat the Boston Red Sox.

In 1985, Wally’s finest year, he let all national league second basemen in fielding with a .989 percentage. He played in 3 National League championship series, two with the Mets in 1986 and Pittsburgh in 1990. He established career marks of 1,102 games, 893 hits, 482 runs scored, 117 stolen bases and a .275 batting average.