Sept. 20, 2002

EUGENE, Ore. - A former director of athletics who laid the foundation for the university's current success of its athletics department, one of Oregon's best defensive linemen in school history, a men's basketball school record holder as well as a former Olympian and four-time track and cross country All-American head a class of eight inductees into the University of Oregon's Athletic Hall of Fame. Oregon's newest Hall of Fame members will be honored as part of the weekend festivities surrounding the Ducks' Sept. 21 football game vs. Portland State.

Seven men and one woman who span 10 decades of the university's athletic heritage will join an elite group of 120 individuals and 13 select teams as part of the 11th class to be honored for their past athletic achievements and contributions toward the excellence and unprecedented success enjoyed by today's department of intercollegiate athletics. Activities will center around a banquet tonight in the Len Casanova Athletic Center where the honorees will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame, a Moshofsky Center appearance during Saturday's pre-game festivities to greet the general public as well as an introduction during halftime of the 12:30 p.m. football game between Oregon and Portland State.

No single individual can be credited more for the formation of the university's Athletic Hall of Fame than Bill Byrne, who served as Oregon's sixth athletics director from 1984-92 and was a major force behind the department's revitalization and the realization of the Casanova Center. As a result, the Hall of Champions, which houses the Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame, was dedicated in Byrne's honor in 1992.

Joining the current University of Nebraska athletics director's induction are former football coach Hugo Bezdek (1906, 1913-17), 1958 Rose Bowl MVP Jack Crabtree (1955-57), All-America defensive tackle Vince Goldsmith (1977-80), school record holder and former world-class distance runner Bill McChesney (1978-80, 1982), Oregon women's athletics pioneer Karen Meats (1964-68), longtime athletic trainer Bob Officer (1931-42, 1950-67), and three-time Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball all-league honoree Blair Rasmussen (1982-85).

2002 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Hugo Bezdek, Football Coach (1906, 1913-17)

The only coach to ever lead three different teams to the Rose Bowl (Oregon, Mare Island Marines and Penn State), he guided the Ducks to their only Rose Bowl win (14-0 over Pennsylvania) following the 1916 season. Accumulating a 30-10-4 record in six seasons at Oregon, he owned the school's best winning percentage of all time (.727) until recently surpassed by current head coach Mike Bellotti. Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1884, he was a fullback at the University of Chicago under Amos Alonzo Stagg before beginning his first Oregon coaching stint in 1906, returning to Chicago to begin medical school one year later. He was lured back into coaching in 1908 at the University of Arkansas, accumulating a 29-13-1 ledger in five seasons before returning to Eugene in 1913. While also working as a major league baseball scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was elevated to manager of the National League club in 1917, staying there until 1919 and combining for a 166-187 record in three seasons while managing the likes of Honus Wagner and Casey Stengel. He remained on the East Coast following the 1917 football season, serving as athletics director and football coach at Penn State (1918-29) while sporting a 65-30-11 mark. Completing his collegiate coaching tenure with a 124-53-16 record (.684), he remained as the Nittany Lions' AD until 1937 when he became the coach the NFL's Cleveland Rams for less than two seasons. He died on Sept. 19, 1952.

Bill Byrne, Athletics Director (1982-92)

Migrating to Oregon as associate athletics director in 1982 following three years at San Diego State, he left a legacy as a tremendous fund raiser as well as providing the resources for the Ducks to become successful on and off the field. He helped establish fund-raising offices in Portland and southern Oregon before being promoted to director of athletics as one of the nation's youngest Division I ADs (39) in 1984. During his eight-year tenure, the energetic innovator oversaw a department budget which increased from $5.2 million to almost $13 million, spearheaded facility improvements of Autzen Stadium and Hayward Field, lobbied the state legislature for financial assistance for intercollegiate athletics at each of the state universities, helped provide the guidance for the formation of the department's in-house Oregon Sports Network radio and television networks, and successfully risked committing to 14,000 Independence Bowl tickets in 1989 to end a 26-year post-season drought and help pave the way for 10 bowl appearances in the last 13 years. However no accomplishment was more vital to the rejuvenation of the university's athletics department than the completion of the $12 million Len Casanova Athletic Center in 1991. The dramatic facilities improvement coincided with the good fortunes on the field laid the foundation for the department's unprecedented success which was unthinkable before his arrival.

Jack Crabtree, Football (1955-57)

When the Southern California native arrived at Oregon from San Bernardino Junior College in 1955, little did he realize his collegiate career would end in such grand fashion close to home. Sharing the quarterback duties his first two seasons (completing 27 of 52 passes for 318 yards), the 1957 honorable mention all-conference quarterback came close to willing the Ducks to one of the biggest upsets in Rose Bowl history his senior year. Finishing his final regular season completing 55 of 99 passes for 624 yards and five touchdowns, he threw for 135 yards against No. 1-ranked Ohio State before a final incomplete pass allowed the Buckeyes to escape with a 10-7 victory. However, he was so impressive in front of the national audience, he became only the third player in the game's 44 years to be chosen player of the game from the losing team. Chosen in the 12th round of the 1958 NFL draft by Philadelphia, he spent short stints on AFL rosters at Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 following two years in the Army. He was elected to the State of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1982 and was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1998.

Vince Goldsmith, Football (1977-80)

The defensive tackle overcame his 5-11, 230-pound stature to earn first-team all-conference honors on two occasions while becoming school's only defensive lineman ever to receive the Morris Trophy as the league's top lineman his senior year. The 1980 second-team Associated Press All-American recorded 13 tackles in his collegiate debut while starting his first game as a true freshman. His most productive year took place as a sophomore, when he tallied 87 tackles (62 unassisted) and 14 tackles for losses. He completed his collegiate career recording 281 tackles, including 34 behind the line of scrimmage, to be added to the Eugene Register-Guard's all-time team. The Tacoma, Wash., high school stalwart also excelled as a two-sport standout on the collegiate level as well as the nation's No. 1-ranked prep shot putter and NCAA meet qualifier still sits sixth on the Ducks' all-time list (63-10 1/4). Following the completion of his Oregon career, he enjoyed a 10-year tenure in the Canadian Football League with Saskatchewan, Calgary, Toronto and Hamilton, earning the league's award as the most outstanding rookie in 1981.

Bill McChesney Jr., Track/Cross Country (1978-80, 1982)

The comparisons were inevitable, especially when the former South Eugene High School product broke Steve Prefontaine's state meet record at 3,200 yards by 12 seconds (8:50). But the four-time NCAA All-American and 1980 Olympian was able to create a legacy of his own. Still holding the school record at 5,000 (13:14.80) and 10,000 meters (27:50.82), the American collegiate record holder ranked atop the nation's 5,000-meter list and fourth in the world in 1981, in addition to posting the world's ninth-fastest 10,000 time (27:47.25). Yet it was his junior year which grabbed the attention of the sport's enthusiasts a year earlier, recovering from a heel injury to finish third in the Pac-10 and NCAA 5,000 before duplicating that same finish in the Olympic Trials in Eugene. Later that same summer, he became America's second-fastest standout ever in the 5,000 and sixth-best 10,000 standout of all time while running in Europe. Competing in four NCAA cross country meets during his collegiate tenure, he aided the Ducks to their fourth NCAA cross country title as a freshman in 1977 as well as runner-up finishes in 1978 and '79. The 33-year-old distance standout died in a traffic accident on the Oregon coast in 1992.

Karen Meats, Women's Field Hockey, Softball, Track & Field, Volleyball (1964-68)

In an age when women's athletics were not part of mainstream collegiate athletics departments, this all-around athlete was recognized as the outstanding senior by the school's Women's Recreation Association in 1968. Excelling the most in the sport of softball, this two-year team captain was a standout pitcher and outfielder for four seasons who further enhanced her skills as a summer league fast pitch pitcher. She earned second-team All-America Amateur Softball Association honors in 1966 and was inducted into the Oregon State Softball Association Hall of Fame in 1990. As a center forward for the school's field hockey team, the scoring leader and team captain's success didn't end with her college graduation as she was named to Pacific Northwest sectional all-star teams on five occasions. She played volleyball for the six-time USVBA "A" regional champions from 1965-70 and was a participant in four USVBA national tournaments as a 1968 all-region selection. As an all-around track & field standout, her proficiency in the javelin took center stage while also competing in the high jump, long jump and 440-yard relay.

Bob Officer, Athletic Trainer (1931-42, 1950-67)

Hired by Bill Hayward as an assistant trainer in 1931, "Two Gun" Officer assumed the role as the school's head trainer for all sports from 1937 through 1967 with the exception of a seven-year hiatus for a stint in the Navy (1942-49). In the days prior collegiate programs employing large coaching staffs, he often served as a counselor, psychologist, friend and a father to athletes who often viewed him as being more influential than their own coaches. The level of respect he held within the athletics department was epitomized when the football team established an annual award in his name in 1970 to recognize the player who makes the greatest contribution to the team's success despite physical adversity.

Blair Rasmussen, Men's Basketball (1982-85)

Few big men have played such a dominant role in Oregon history as the Auburn, Wash., native who was a three-time Pacific-10 Conference all-league choice and team MVP. Completing his collegiate career as one of only five players in school history to rank among top-five in career scoring (4th, 1,554 pts.) and rebounding (10th, 673 reb.), the Ducks' single-game (8 vs. Davidson, 1984), season (42, 1983-84) and career (116) blocked shots leader ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in scoring his senior year (16.1 avg.) while averaging a league-best 18.4 points in conference play. Scoring a career-high 37 points as a sophomore vs. Washington State, the seven-foot center recorded the third-best single-game field goal percentage (.540) in the Ducks' history during the 1982-83 season. He was honored as an all-District 14 selection following his senior year. One aspect that was never questioned was his durability as he started all 114 games as a collegian. Following the completion of his Oregon career, he was the 15th player taken in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft by Denver before completing an eight-year NBA career in Atlanta. He enjoyed his finest year as a professional during 1987-88, starting the final 43 games of the season and averaging 12.7 points per game to lead the Nuggets to the Midwest Division title.