Looking to keep SHHS Athlete Hall of Fame on solid ground

Preserving history can be just as important as creating it.

Just a little over a month has come and gone since the death Upvalley icon Jim Hunt, who passed away at the age of 72 on June 27, 2017.

The Napa Valley as a whole mourned his loss but also took solace as the family, specifically daughters Kim and Robin, hosted a Celebration of Life at Calistoga High on July 22. The event featured numerous speakers who celebrated what Hunt stood for as a person, coach, teacher and father.

Hunt graduated from St. Helena High in 1962. He was a three-sport star for the Saints who went on to play football at the University of California-Berkeley. Hunt coached football and taught history at Calistoga High from 1978-1984, compiling a 43-19-1 record including a CIF North Coast Section Class B title in 1978. Hunt later had the same two roles at Rancho Cotate and spent his retirement years doing research by compiling record books for St. Helena and Calistoga High.

Hunt was the chairman and founder for the St. Helena High Athletic Hall of Fame, which was established in 2013. That relationship was a perfect storm if there ever was one. In the late 2000s, St. Helena enjoyed a spike in female athletic success with names like Maddy Densberger, Missy Particelli, Jamie Marshall and Kate Wignall, to name a few, spearheading the achievements.

In the early-to-mid 2010s, the success spike shifted to the boys with the Brink brothers (Joey and Danny), Richard Hoppe, Charles Bertoli, Jack Preston, Jimmy Figueroa and Gannon Laidlaw, to name a few, leading the way.

That success kicked Hunt’s record book compiling into fifth gear and led to conversations about possibly forming the SHHS Athletic Hall of Fame, which eventually came to fruition. No more than a week after Hunt’s Celebration of Life, I find myself thinking, “Who will replace Hunt as the Upvalley historian? Who will take the reigns as St. Helena High Athletic Hall of Fame chairman?”

The latter will be much easier to find than the former. Hunt’s work as a historian deserves king size points. However, good luck finding someone that will spend so much time at the library researching the County of Napa could have charged him rent. The good news according to St. Helena High athletic director Tom Hoppe is that the St. Helena record books are up to date. The plus side that diligence is that if a student-athlete or team is remotely close to breaking a record, it just involves turning a few pages along with copying and pasting names. .

As for Hall of Fame, that part of the equation is in good hands for the time being, thanks to both Mike Werle and Hoppe, St. Helena High graduates of 1959 and 1977 respectively. In a recent email from Werle and phone call from Hoppe, both confirmed that they have been in contact with all of the present inductees and have provided information on the process. Hoppe and Werle will be accepting invitations to the Athletic Hall of Fame dinner, which is slated for Oct. 28, at the Native Sons Hall in St. Helena.

The 2017 inductees will be Attilio “Toch” Ghiringhelli (Class of 1936), Del Britton (Class of 1957), Andy Vanderschoot (Class of 1965), Kirk Mulligan (Class of 1968), Rich Lomelli (Class of 1978) and Tobe Wolf (coach).

Werle added that the neither the event nor the process of induction will undergo any major change. There are three categories someone can be inducted: athlete, coach and contributor. Without overwhelming with too much information, an athlete needed to have graduated from St. Helena High and be at least ten years removed from high school while a coach needed to have have at least five years at St. Helena High. Regardless of category, the nominee needed to have conducted themselves in ways that represented the community in a positive manner. People can nominate an inductee and present their case (included but not limited to individual achievements) to the board of directors, which decides who gets inducted.  

When yours truly was a sports reporter covering St. Helena and Calistoga from 2004-2014, I openly lobbied for both schools to start an Athletic Hall of Fame so as to recognize history. What amazed me most about Hunt’s research in terms of compiling record books and history was the sheer determination. In addition, St. Helena and Calistoga High School have been around for over 100 years, which means there were pockets of time where there was little to no information available because newspapers did not always cover school events.

Keeping the Athletic Hall of Fame prospering, however, is vitally important. Werle is taking the point position that Hunt assumed for this year, thereafter who knows. Besides Werle and Hoppe, the Board of Directors are Artie Carr, Bob Fellion, Donna McCornack, Andy Navone, Jenny Hernandez, Jane Cuneo York and Judy Michel. With Carr, Fellion, McCornack and Navone alone that group features many bright minds that are rich with St. Helena history. Werle also added that the committee may add a couple of additional members in the future.

The Athletic Hall of Fame formation has been great in that it has recognized history. Granted, the past success does not win games for the current student-athletes but it helps maintain the connection from generations past.

Here’s hoping the St. Helena High Athletic Hall of Fame continues to live long and prosper as Hunt looks down from the sky.