California HS Football HoF
Awards
With each induction class, the voting committee, along with the project partners at the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, CIF, National Football Foundation and Pro Football Hall of Fame will select four award winners to appropriately represent key designations related to the history of high school football in the State of California.
Golden State Award
The Golden State Award is the highest individual award given by the California High School Football Hall of Fame and recognizes an outstanding Californian who has contributed significantly to the sport of football in our country.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Recipient must have achieved success in an industrial, business, financial, educational, professional or related career.
- Recipient must have an unblemished reputation for integrity, ethics, sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship.
- Recipient must have “contributed notably in public service” either as a private citizen or as a government official or both.
Pete Rozelle
former NFL Commissioner
2022
Biography
A graduate of Compton High School (1944), Rozelle served as the Commissioner of the NFL for 30 years, oversaw the creation of Monday Night Football and the merger of the AFL-NFL in 1970. Pete was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame while still commissioner in 1985 and the Pete Rozelle Trophy was established in 1990 by the NFL to honor the Super Bowl MVP.
Statistics
Terry Donahue Leadership Award
Named after the Hall of Fame record-holding coach from UCLA, the Terry Donahue Leadership Award is an individual award given by the California High School Football Hall of Fame that acknowledges and celebrates exemplary leadership by a California native that has a significant and positive impact on advancing the game of football through youth and communities.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Recipient must have an unblemished reputation for integrity, ethics, sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship towards youth, peers and elders.
- Recipient must have “contributed notably without personal gain” in the leadership of young men or women through sports, particularly the game of high school football, within the State of California.
Pete Saco
former CIF Commissioner of the San Joaquin Section
2022
Biography
Saco spent 21 years as the CIF San Joaquin Section Commissioner (1993-2014) and overall 40 years in education. Pete proposed the return of regional and state football championships after a 79-year gap (1928-2005) and proposed the creation of an “Open Division” in state football. Saco served as the state football championships Event Director during the three years games were played at Hornet Stadium at Sac State University. He is a former high school teacher, coach, athletic director and vice principal.
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Impact in Sports Journalism Award
The Impact in Sports Journalism Award is an individual or organizational award given by the California High School Football Hall of Fame that acknowledges those that utilize the reach and positive influence of the journalistic influence to promote and advance the sport of football in the State of California, particularly on the high school level.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Recipient must exhibit journalistic integrity in all media pieces, past or present in the journalism profession, including written, printed, digital and other newer mediums.
- Recipient whose professional actions and commitment have furthered the ideals of athletics, amateur and professional, particularly on the high school level.
- Recipient must have “contributed in a non-partisan manner” to promote the exposure of youth and community sports in the State of California, most notably through the sport of football.
- Recipient must have an unblemished reputation for integrity, ethics, sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship towards youth, peers and elders.
Eric Sondheimer
Prep Sports Editor – Los Angeles Times
2022
Biography
As the Prep Sports Columnist for the Times, Eric has been honored seven times by the California Prep Sportswriters Association for ‘best prep sports column.’ Sondheimer joined the Daily News as Prep Editor in 1980 and spent 18 months as the West Coast Correspondent for the National Sports Daily. Returning to the Daily News from 1991-97, Eric joined the Times in 1997 to cover high school sports. He has covered California high school sports for more than 40 years and is a member of the CIF Los Angeles City Section Hall of Fame (2019).
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Champion of Success Award
The Champion of Success Award is an individual or organizational award given by the California High School Football Hall of Fame that acknowledges an administrator, teacher, volunteer, official, community member or citizen that has demonstrated a commitment to the development, mentorship and advancement of youth and community sports in California, most notably through football.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Recipient may be an administrator, teacher, volunteer, official, community member, or citizen that demonstrated a commitment to the development, mentorship, and advancement of youth and community sports in the State of California, most notably through the sport of football.
- Recipient must have an unblemished reputation for integrity, ethics, sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship.
Dean Crowley
former Commissioner of the CIF Southern Section
2022
Biography
Crowley spent 7 years as the CIF-SS Commissioner (1994-99) and 18 years as the CIF-SS Assistant Commissioner. Overall, Dean contributed 60 years serving the youth of California as an elementary, intermediate, and high school teacher, a high school coach, vice principal and an NCAA referee. As an NCAA referee, he worked several bowl games including the Freedom Bowl. He was the Championships Event Supervisor of the CIF State Bowl games during inception (2006) until a move to Sacramento State in 2014.
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