Twentieth AnnualMarin County High School

Athletic Hall of FameInduction Banquet

Saturday, November 3, 2007Embassy Suites Hotel

San Rafael

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Marin Athletic FoundationBoard of Directors Advisory Board

Michael Daly, President Sharon AdamsJoe Ayoob Peter Arrigoni

Kasey Childs Briare Sandy BoydJeff Brusati Mary Jane BurkeGary Burns Joan Capurro

Carney J. Campion Eugene ClahanJudith B. Colton Kit M. ColeWilliam L. Cope Dan Coleman

Carl Cox Peggie DalyGary Frugoli William Daniels

John S. Graham Ken DonaldsonJohn Heilmann Mario GhilottiRick Lafranchi Jim KingVicki McDill Thomas KnopfRichard Nave Walter Kosta

Lori Saia-Odisio Kenneth MacDonaldRobert E. Spain Matt MacPheeNatu Tuatagaloa Terrel Mason

Chris Weber Marie McCarthyPeter Mitchell

EMERITUS Robert TeasdaleMarion Higgins Sharon Valentino

Jamie Williams

Executive Director: Patty Brusati

Hall of FameCommittee

Jeff Brusati George LewisGary Burns Fred MackDon Collins Vicki McDillSkip Corsini Hank Moroski

Steve Farbstein Rich NaveMario Ghilotti Susie Woodall

The purpose of the Marin Athletic Foundation is to support and insure a full rangeof quality sports programs for all students at MCAL high schools. MAF funding sup-ports athletics at Branson, Drake, Marin Catholic, Novato, Redwood, San Marin, SanRafael, Tamalpais, Terra Linda and Tomales. Individual, business and organizationdonations are vital in MAF’s fundraising efforts. Tax-decuctible contributions maybe sent to:

Marin Athletic FoundationP.O. Box 150930

San Rafael, CA 94915(415) 472-1165

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Program6:00 p.m.Reception

7:00 p.m.Grand Entrance of Inductees

7:30 p.m.Dinner

Welcome and IntroductionsMichael Daly

President, MAF Board of Directors

Introduction of InducteesDon Collins, Master of Ceremonies

Presentation of Plaques

The Marin High School Athletic Hall of Fame, established by the Marin Athletic Foundation,recognizes and honors athletes who distinguished themselves in Marin County high schoolsports. It also gives recognition to coaches and others who made significant contributions tohigh school athletics in Marin County. The annual induction banquet is held in the fall.

2007 Inductees20 Year Anniversary — Graduated 1987 or before

Steve D’Ambra – San Rafael – 1974Steve Ghirardo – San Marin – 1976

Maggie Keyes Kraft – Tamalpais – 1976Chad Kreuter – Redwood – 1983Sam Schwartz – Tamalpais – 1986

Chris Weber – Novato – 1983

50 Year Anniversary — Graduated 1957 or beforeCharles Richesin – San Rafael – 1947

CoachesJonas Honick – BransonJohn Treu – San Marin

Special RecognitionTom Untermann

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AcknowledgmentsMarin Athletic Foundation gratefully acknowledges:

Major SponsorRich & Dolly Nave

The Marin Athletic Foundation also extends special thanks to the following:

Dave Albee and Dave Allen of the Marin Independent Journalfor the program preparation

Burns Florist for their donation of the boutineers

Mr. Ed Uriarte of Classic Wines of California

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Steve D’AmbraAthlete — San Rafael 1974

If Steve D’Ambra ever thought of himself as a long shot to be induct-ed into the Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame, he at least had along shot to show for it. One that went swish. In his senior year at SanRafael High, D’Ambra led the Bulldogs into the prestigiousTournament of Champions at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. In a gameagainst Hayward, he sank a three-quarter court length shot to end thethird quarter. “I drained it from the other free throw line. It was prob-ably the shot of my career,” said D’Ambra, now a salesman and fatherof two teenage boys in Lincoln near Sacramento. “I can’t believe a guy(opposing player) actually tried to block it.” D’Ambra was a three-sport star at San Rafael High. In 1974, he played fullback in the annu-al Marin-Sonoma all-star football game and he was named to the all-tournament team in the basketball TOC, which he considers his careerhighlight — it put him in the company of Bill Russell, Bill Cartwrightand Phil Chenier as all-tournament selections. The Bulldogs lost inthe consolation finals that year, led by co-captains D’Ambra and

Byron Stewart, who went on to become an actor who portrayed Warren “Cool” Coolidge in the short-livedbut highly acclaimed TV show “The White Shadow.” The athletic inspiration for D’Ambra came from JeffreyScott Duncan, an upperclassmen at SRHS, who was recruited to play football at Ohio State and UCLAbeforechoosing Cal. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1974 at the age of 20. D’Ambra followed Duncan’sfootsteps as an outstanding athlete — he was named the recipient of SRHS’ senior athlete award in 1974 —and D’Ambra proved to be quite a leader, too. He was chosen captain of the Bulldogs football, basketballand baseball teams before he went to College of Marin to play football and basketball. “He led mostly byexample. He was one of those quiet leaders,” said San Rafael basketball coach Bret Tovani. “He had no fear.”

Steve GhirardoAthlete — San Marin 1976

Handling a ball always seemed to be Steve Ghirardo’s forte at SanMarin High.

He was the No. 1 singles player in tennis when he was the team cap-tain and MVP his junior and senior seasons . He was the point guard,captain, MVP and all-MCAL on the Mustangs basketball team his lasttwo years. And, when he decided to play soccer one year, Ghirardocontrolled the ball so well that he was an all-league player.

However, it was a time when Ghirardo got rid of the ball fast that hemost remembers. He was San Marin’s starting quarterback in 1975when the Mustangs, with a 3-0 record, played the 3-0 RedwoodGiants in Larkspur. Ghirardo really wanted to beat Redwood in foot-ball because he’d been unable to beat the Giants in any of the otherteam sports he played at San Marin. Yet, with about 20 seconds toplay, the Mustangs trailed 13-7. Ghirardo called a trick play — a dou-ble pass — in the huddle. He took the snap and quickly fired a backward pass toward the right sideline toteammate Bill Parmenter, who then threw a forward pass way downfield to teammate Tim Wilson, whocaught it in stride running left to right to complete an improbable “Remember The Titans” 80-yard touch-down play. “It was unbelievable,” said Ghirardo, now a public accountant and father of four in Novato. “Ihad the easy part.” The Mustangs fans went crazy in the stands. One of them fell and broke his arm. TheMustangs players went berserk, but Ghirardo had the presence of mind to remind teammate Barry Leslie,San Marin’s kicker, that he still had to boot the winning extra point. Ghirardo was good at making split-sec-ond decisions and long-lasting ones. In his senior year, he and nine other SMHS players, past and present,combined to play basketball continuously for a then Guinness record 61 hours and one minutes to raisemoney for new football bleachers.

Some would say Ghirardo’s induction into the Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame is long overdue, too.

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Maggie Keyes KraftAthlete — Tamalpais 1976

That ’70s show that Maggie Keyes Kraft, her sister Kate and her friendLinda Broderick Gill starred in was a hit. They helped put girls dis-tance running on the map in the MCAL. It has earned Maggie induc-tion into this year’s Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame, but sheinsists it was a team effort. In her sophomore at Tam High, Keyes ranher fastest time of the year in the 880 at the North Coast Section meetspecifically to push her sister’s rival so her sister, a senior, would winthe NCS mile versus the rival later and claim the only qualifying spotfor the state meet. “It took so much energy to make that happen,”Keyes said. In her junior year, Keyes qualified for the state track meetand placed third in the mile. Her time of 5 minutes, 2.2 seconds brokeher sister Kate’s school record. In her senior year, Keyes battled a lin-gering illness most of the season, yet managed to place third in themile at the NCS meet. But she was so confident that Broderick wouldwin the mile that year that she bought her flowers in advance to handto her after she won. The two of them also helped Tam win MCAL

and NCS cross country titles in 1973-75 and pave the way for girls distance running in the county.

“Kate was really the pioneer,” Maggie said. “This (Marin HOF induction) is a big way to honor her, too.”Keyes went on to star at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, placing first in the 1,500 meters at the AIAW nationalchampionships in 1980. She met her future husband, Greg, at Cal Poly. He is now head track and field coachat Arizona State and he and Maggie, a teaching and reading specialist, have two sons. This year, BroderickGill nominated Keyes Kraft for induction into the Marin Hall of Fame. “Linda was a cavalier for me gettingin,” Keyes Kraft said. “I was like ‘Linda!’ I was happy for her, too.”

Chad KreuterAthlete — Redwood 1983

The athletic career of Redwood High three-sport standoutChad Kreuter changed course in 1982 on a football recruitingvisit to Memorial Stadium where he saw Bears quarterbackGale Gilbert repeatedly sacked. That was enough to convinceKreuter to play baseball at Pepperdine University.“I justremember (Gilbert) getting hammered that week and I’m won-dering, ‘I’m going to go (to Cal) as quarterback and that’s the(offensive) line that’s going to protect me?,’” Kreuter said,chuckling. “Football was my first love but, at one point, I real-ized the longevity in baseball will let me play a lifetime.”

Kreuter, a switch-hitting catcher, played for seven differentteams in his 16-year major-league career. Last year he replacedhis father-in-law, Mike Gillespie, as head coach at theUniversity of Southern California. However, it was the influ-ence of Kreuter’s coaches at Redwood — Jess Payan, AlEndriss and Larry Gray — that helped mold the character, discipline and preparation thatKreuter has carried as a player and coach. Kreuter played three years on the varsity baseball teamat Redwood, but 1982 sticks out. The Giants, defending North Coast Section champs, had to sharethe MCAL title. Redwood accepted an at-large bid and played all the way to the NCS title gameagain, validating Kreuter’s team as, in his words, “The Redwood baseball machine.” Now,Kreuter’s career has come full circle. He will be inducted into the Marin Athletic Foundation Hallof Fame in body and spirit (though he must remain at USC for a crucial weekend of recruiting),but he’s already represented in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The L.A. Dodgers cap he had stolen bya fan in Wrigley Field on May 16, 2000 wound up in Cooperstown. Kreuter went into the standsto get it back and it’s a good thing he didn’t tackle that fan. “He was a strong safety (in football),too, and he hit like a ton of bricks,” said current Redwood baseball coach Gino Pomilia, a lifelongfriend of the Kreuter family. “He had the temperament to be a football player.”

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Charlie RichesinAthlete — San Rafael 1947

In his senior year at San Rafael High, Charlie Richesin showed hisdedication to his school and its athletic teams. His parents moved toTurlock, but he chose to remain in San Rafael and live secretly duringthe 1946-47 school year in a one-bedroom, one-bath place (with nokitchen privileges) by himself, while his coach and school athleticdirector, Paul Miller, served as his guardian. Each day, Richesinwould either walk or hail a taxi to get where he needed to go and hewould have meals at an eatery at Lincoln and Fourth Street. “Theydidn’t have McDonald’s at that time,” Richesin said. “I sacrificed a lotto stay in San Rafael but it paid off.” Richesin played basketball, wasa triple-threat halfback on the football team and he was the most valu-able athlete on the Bulldogs track team. He could fly. As a 17-year-oldjunior, Richesin became the first high school runner ever to win theDipsea in 1946. As a senior, he ran a 4:32.5 mile, a school record thatstood for 28 years. He won the mile twice in the North Bay Leaguemeet, was second twice in the North Coast Section meet and was fifth

in the mile at the state meet in Los Angeles in 1946, but the school didn’t have enough funds to send himback to the state meet in 1947. Nevertheless, Richesin was a good enough athlete that the legendary coachAmos Alonzo Stagg recruited him to play football and run track at Stockton Junior College. Richesin didn’tmake it as a punter, but he made up for it in track. Richesin set the school record in the 2-mile (10 minutes,7 seconds) in 1948 and broke his own record in the event in 1949 when the college was renamed College ofthe Pacific. The school was eventually renamed University of the Pacific. Richesin, now 79 and residing atthe VA hospital in Yountville, also competed in three United States Olympic trials. In 1948 and 1952, heraced in long distance events in Berkeley. In 1956, he switched to the modern pentathlon and finished fifth.He has four children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Sam SchwartzAthlete — Tamalpasis 1986

Imagine this: You’re a 16-year-old sophomore at Tam High andyou find yourself standing on the starting blocks next to someof the best swimmers in the world at the United States Olympictrials in Indianapolis. “It was the one swim of my life, the oneI did the best,” said Sam Schwartz, recalling his 1984 experi-ence with the Indian Valley Aquatic Club and 11th-place finishwith a time of 1 minute, 4.63 seconds in the 100-meter breast-stroke. “It was my final heat and I was in a heat with all myheroes. It was like I was just happy to be there and I almostmade the finals.” The next year, Schwartz led Tam to a NorthCoast Section championship by winning three events, includ-ing the 200 medley relay. His winning time (56:19) in the 100breaststroke remained an NCS meet record for 21 years andthat personal record earned him a title as national mythicalchampion in that event through Swimming World magazine. Afour-time high school All-American swimmer, Schwartz wasrecruited to Stanford where, in his freshman year, the Cardinal won the 1987 NCAA champi-onship and he swam between backstroker Jay Mortenson and butterfly champion Pablo Moraleson the winning 400 medley relay team that, at the time, clocked the fourth fastest time in thesport’s history in the event.In 1988, Schwartz again competed in the U.S. Olympic trials and, in 1989, he set a record in the100 breaststroke at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. Soon after his individual swimming careerevolved into a career to help others. Now married and living in Everett, Wash., Schwartz is asocial worker working with combat-related trauma/post traumatic stress disorder patientsreferred to him from Alaska to Montana. He handles an impatient 14-17 day unit at Seattle’s VAHospital. “I never had an aspiration to join the military,” said Schwartz, whose father Allenserved in General George Patton’s Third Army in World War II, “but I was always interested inhow war effects people.”

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Chris WeberAthlete — Novato 1983

A friend of Chris Weber recently showed him a Novato Highvarsity football program from 1980 that included a photo ofWeber, then a sophomore, making a tackle with Hornets team-mate Willie Stubblefield. Weber was in awe again. “It remind-ed me of how they seemed like men to me,” Weber said of theupperclassmen. “I was basically scared to death of all thoseguys.” Now Weber is a man among men in the Marin AthleticFoundation Hall of Fame. He has invited three of his “heroes”and past Marin HOF inductees — Charles Scott, Jerry Goff andformer Stanford football teammate Brad Muster — to join himat his induction ceremony. “It’s an honor to be thought of as anathlete of their caliber,” said Weber, now a loan broker in Marinwith a wife and two children. “Honest to God, I was just hop-ing I’m worthy (of induction).” Weber played on the varsityfootball and basketball teams at NHS in his sophomore year.He became so good in basketball that Cal eventually sent a bas-

ketball coach and school legend Joe Kapp to a game to watch and help recruit him. Weber becameteam captain and MVP for the Hornets football team by his senior year when he was named theMCAL’s co-lineman of the year. Weber then accepted a full-ride scholarship to play football withMuster, his rival at San Marin High, at Stanford. While the more-heralded Muster redshirted hisfreshman year, Weber played linebacker and on a special teams with the Cardinal his first year.Weber wound up playing for Stanford in the Gator Bowl in 1986 (when he led the team in tack-les for losses) and he played in Japan at a college all-star game that featured then MiamiHurricanes All-American quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Weber had tryouts with the SeattleSeahawks and Oakland Raiders but never played in the NFL. “That was never my dream,” Webersaid. “A dream of mine was playing basketball for Cal but that ended at 6-foot-4, as a center inthe MCAL.”

Jonas HonickCoach — Branson

For a man whose boys basketball teams have won back-to-backstate Division V championships and amassed a record of 178-28 the past six seasons, Jonas Honick of Branson is as quiet asa mouse. And as nervous. When he received the notificationletter about his induction into the Marin Athletic FoundationHall of Fame over the summer, he kept it a secret. “I didn’t tellanybody. I kept it under a pile for a long time until my wife(Donna) came across it,” Honick said. “The truth is I’m notdealing with it well and how big a deal it is. I’m almost in a lit-tle bit of denial. It brings a lot of attention to me and I’m a lit-tle uncomfortable with that. It all happened too fast.” Honick,Branson’s coach since 1980, believes his teams became success-ful once the school left the Bay Counties League in 2001 andjoined the MCAL, which challenged his players to improvetheir commitment, competitiveness and skills. The result: TheBulls have won four MCAL titles, three consecutive NorCalchampionships and their last 28 games. “Jonas has pushed MCAL basketball to a higher levelbecause of his coaching and discipline techniques. His players have respect for the game,” saidCarl Cox, a Marin Athletic Foundation member who nominated Honick. It’s been so much of ateam effort that Honick has invited as many as 40 guests to the induction banquet including for-mer players, team parents and even team managers. But it’s not just championships that Honickcounts. He had one team that yielded three students who attended Boston College and two oth-ers that went to Harvard and Princeton, respectively. On another team, four players wound upenrolling at Stanford. “To be able to have the luxury to coach kids like that. That stands out,”Honick said. That includes his own son, Isaiah, a Bulls guard who graduated from Branson this

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John TreuCoach — San Marin

There are two things John Treu just loved when he coached football atSan Marin High: Victories in the fall and vacations in the summer. Thevacations are easier now that he is retired and living in CapistranoBeach, but the victories were hard to come by at first. After coachingin France, Italy and Japan, Treu arrived at San Marin as an assistantcoach when the school opened in Novato and lost 27 of its first 30games. But when Treu took over as head coach in 1974, the footballprogram took off. “You can’t be 3-27 and all of a sudden go 8-1-1 (in1974) and not have a losing season for 20 years but he did,” said TomZechlin, who replaced Treu as the Mustangs head coach in 1983. “Itwas because of this man. He had incredible character. He didn’tbelieve it was possible for them to lose if they played hard and didn’tmake mistakes.” The success San Marin had on the football field car-ried over, too. “John Treu changed the athletic climate at San Marin,”said Mustangs baseball coach Mark Whitburn. Treu’s teams won fourMCAL championships and were in North Coast Section title games

four times from 1974-82 when San Marin compiled a 19-game winning streak. The Mustangs won the NCSchampionship in 1981 with an 11-1 record with a pair of future NFL players, Brad Muster and Mike Wise.In fact, during an 11-year period with Treu and Zechlin as head coaches, San Marin produced seven play-ers who went on to play in the NFL. Yet, despite churning out top college and pro players, Treu’s philoso-phy was simple and no secret. When he coached U.S. military students overseas for the Department ofDefense, Treu never relied on scouting reports because upcoming opponents were too far away. He reliedinstead on team discipline and basic fundamentals. “He’d spend more time than most teams making surethat they were totally prepared,” Zechlin said. “His main phrase was: We will not make mistakes.”

year as a two-time state champion. “You put all this time in with other kids while your kid isgrowing up,” Honick said. “Having team success at the same time as my son is having success isvery special.”

Tom UntermannSpecial Recognition — San Rafael

When the envelope arrived in the mail from the Marin AthleticFoundation informing Tom Untermann that he had been votedinto its Hall of Fame, he didn’t open it.

“The strange part is I figured they wanted more money (dona-tions),” Untermann said, laughing. “My wife (Merrie) openedit a couple of weeks later. I was shocked.”

Untermann graduated from San Rafael High in 1965 and wenton to play basketball at UC Davis. But the reason Untermannis being inducted in the Marin Athletic Hall of Fame is becauseof baseball, even though he never played the sport at SanRafael High. He was the spiritual and financial driving forcebehind building a new baseball field there. Untermann’s sons,Chris and Kurt, used to play baseball on the old diamond,which was so dirty and rocky that SRHS coach Keith Fraserused to have his team practice and play 1.5 miles away at Albert Park. Untermann volunteeredfor years to help Fraser build a new field on campus and Fraser finally took him up on the offer.“It ended up being a big project,” said Untermann, owner of West End Nursery. “We basicallyhad no money. No nothing.” He had many friends in the community that were willing to help,however. He had a friend, an excavator, show up the first day they decided to dig up the old dia-mond. On the day sod was delivered to install in the infield, Untermann figured he had 50-to-60people, including Bulldogs baseball players, to lay it. The old backstop was torn down and a new

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one constructed along with fences and grandstands. Untermann estimates it took 3-4 years tocomplete the project but he refuses to estimate how much of the money to do it came out of hisown pocket. He wanted to name the field in honor of Fraser, but, seeing he was the inspirationbehind it, maybe it would be a good idea to name it Untermann Field someday. “It was fun,”Untermann said. “The (team) effort it took makes you feel good about the community.”

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