HISTORY:

In 1992 , a group of longtime Mesans, all members of the Mesa Historical Society, saw a need for acknowledging the importance of a long tradition of sports excellence in this city. They formed a committee, drawing upon the expertise and memories of sports lovers, sports writers and a few old warhorses. This group dug through the mythology, the folklore, and the records to compile a list of outstanding athletes who not only outstanding on the playing fields of Mesa, but who went on to excel in college or in professional sports. They had lists of all-state teams, the championship teams, and the past records. They admitted ten members and one coach the first year, setting a pattern for future votes. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, 1992, they inducted the first group of honorees to the Mesa City Sports Hall of Fame. To do this, they enlisted the participation of Tribune Newspapers and Cox Communications as co-sponsors. A room at the Mesa Historical Museum was dedicated to the program, and they began to collect memorabilia of importance to Mesa. It has become one of the most popular displays at the Museum.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS:

A feature of the annual induction, the Breakfast of Champions, was initiated by accident. That first year, committee chairman Curt Dana and emcee Don Millett met at the hotel with three or four of the honorees who had come from out of town. They all had such a great time indulging in "remember when" that they incorporated the breakfast into the Hall of Fame induction. Breakfast in the Museum Auditorium is open to all Hall of Famers and their partners annually, which makes it an ever increasing popular affair.

VIDEO LIBRARY:

During the afternoon of Induction Monday, each new inductee is interviewed by Skip Bryant, sportswriter, sports history guru and Mesa High graduate. The interviews are video taped and edited, so that the museum has an ongoing oral history file of the athletes.

DONATIONS:

In 1997 the Hohokams, a Mesa civic and sports development group, joined in sponsoring the Hall of Fame with a generous donation and participation in the committee. A silent auction has been used for other fund raising purposes. Donations can be made to the organization by contacting the Mesa District Athletic Department at 480-472-0250.

CRITERIA:

From the beginning, the committee decided to honor outstanding coaches and championship teams from Mesa schools, usually on the decade anniversary of their championship, they also set ten years after graduation as the earliest time for Hall of Fame election. Naturally, they initially emphasized the pioneers of Mesa sports because the ranks of those people who remember these athletes are thinning.

Both committee membership and criteria for election have never been publicized, although the identities are not shrouded in secrecy, and the criteria are usually apparent in the presentation. The citations are engraved on plaques which hang in the Hall of Fame room at the Museum. The room is open to the public during museum hours, 10 AM until 4 PM Tuesday through Saturday from October until June.