The California Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and members of sports media who have made a "lasting impression to California sports". It was established in 2006 by Christian Okoye

Christian Okoye

Christian Emeka Okoye , is a Nigerian-American former American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987 to 1992. Nicknamed "The Nigerian Nightmare," Okoye was known for his powerful running style and ability to break tackles. Okoye's six seasons in the NFL saw a league rushing...

, former All-Pro running back for the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

. The California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 Sports Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

 made its first Induction in January 2007.

History

California Sports Hall of Fame has no permanent headquarters yet. After he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Missouri, USA, showcases sports memorabilia of Missouri athletes and interactive displays.-Inductees:-External links:*...

, Christian Okoye approached the late Bill Walsh, Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda

Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...

 and coach John Wooden

John Wooden

John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...

 to help establish a Hall of Fame in California. 19 Sports heroes were then inducted in the inaugural ceremony.

Selection process

Nominations for the Hall of Fame are open to the public. The public send in names and final selection belong the board member and then current members. The Hall of Fame, with assistance from the president and founder, notifies the winning nominees once the voting process has been tabulated. If the winning nominees accept their induction, they must then attend the dinner celebration to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. If a nominee rejects or is unable to attend their induction, the Hall of Fame inducts the next highest vote getter. If a nominee declines their induction for 3 consecutive years without reason, the nominee will not be eligible for the 3 years.

2007

• Reggie Jackson
  Reggie Jackson
  Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
  
  
• Jackie Robinson
  Jackie Robinson
  Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
  
  
• Elgin Baylor
  Elgin Baylor
  Elgin Gay Baylor is a retired Hall of Fame American basketball player and former NBA general manager who played 13 seasons as a forward for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers....
  
  
• Wilt Chamberlain
  Wilt Chamberlain
  Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
  
  
• Magic Johnson
  Magic Johnson
  Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
  
  
• Jerry West
  Jerry West
  Jerry Alan West is a retired American basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His nicknames include "Mr...
  
  
• Tom Flores
  Tom Flores
  Thomas R. "Tom" Flores is a retired American football quarterback and coach. Flores and Mike Ditka are the only two people in the National Football League history to win a Super Bowl as a player, as an assistant coach, and as a head coach...
  
  
• Bill Walsh
• Tommy Lasorda
  Tommy Lasorda
  Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
  
  
• John Wooden
  John Wooden
  John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
  
  
• Eric Dickerson
  Eric Dickerson
  Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
  
  
• Marcus Allen
  Marcus Allen
  Marcus LeMarr Allen is a former American football player and, until recently, was affiliated with CBS as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997...
  
  
• Deacon Jones
  Deacon Jones
  David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him...
  
  
• Jim Plunkett
  Jim Plunkett
  James William "Jim" Plunkett is a former American football quarterback who played college football for Stanford University, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and professionally for three National Football League teams: the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. ...
  
  
• Chick Hearn
  Chick Hearn
  Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the legendary Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, inventing colorful phrases such...
  
  
• Raefer Johnson
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee
  Jackie Joyner-Kersee
  Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...
  
  
• Bob Mathias
  Bob Mathias
  Robert Bruce "Bob" Mathias was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist, actor and United States Congressman representing the state of California.-Early life and athletic career:...
  
  

2008

• Willie Mays
  Willie Mays
  Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
  
  
• Dave Winfield
  Dave Winfield
  David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
  
  
• Cheryl Miller
• Dan Fouts
  Dan Fouts
  Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
  
  
• Vin Scully
  Vin Scully
  Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
  
  
• Donald Quarie
• UCLA Bruins basketball
• De La Salle High School football

2009

• Steve Garvey
  Steve Garvey
  Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
  
  
• Ann Myers-Drysdale
• Rosey Grier
  Rosey Grier
  Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary...
  
  
• Jim Murray
• Mike Powell
• Karch Kirlay

2010

• Bill Walton
  Bill Walton
  William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
  
  
• Jim Hill
• Billie Jean King
  Billie Jean King
  Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
  
  
• Fred Biletnikoff
  Fred Biletnikoff
  Frederick S. "Fred" Biletnikoff is a former American football wide receiver and coach. He spent the majority of his professional playing and coaching days with the Oakland Raiders...
  
  
• Dwight Stones
  Dwight Stones
  Dwight Edwin Stones is an American television commentator and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist and former three-time world record holder in the men's high jump. During his 16-year career, he won 19 national championships. In 1984, Stones became the first athlete to both compete and announce at...
  
  
• Jim Otto
  Jim Otto
  James Edwin Otto is a former Professional Football center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League.-Wausau High School and University of Miami:...
  
  
• Merlin Olsen
  Merlin Olsen
  Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
  
  
• Sinjin Smith
  Sinjin Smith
  Christopher St. John Smith is a professional Beach Volleyball player. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Randy Stoklos....
  
  

External links

• California Sports Hall of Fame