June 25, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State University's Department of Athletics will honor a new group of legends this fall with the induction of its 2004 class into the Aztec Hall of Fame, presented by the Wise Foundation.
The newest Aztecs to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame include former Aztec baseball player and current New York Yankee Travis Lee, former assistant and head football coach Claude Gilbert, former linebacker Mike Douglass, former women's track and field star Carrie McLaughlin, former Aztec quarterback, assistant football coach and long-time NFL coach Rod Dowhower, and the man known as the "Voice of the Aztecs", Ron Reina.
The new class will be inducted on Hall of Fame Weekend, Nov. 19th and 20. The official induction will take place Friday evening prior to the UC Santa Barbara-San Diego State men's basketball game. The new class will be recognized at halftime of that game and again the following day when the Aztec football squad hosts UNLV in the regular-season finale.
The Aztec Hall of Fame, presented by the Wise Foundation, inducted its first class in 1988 and enshrined a new group of legends every year through 1999. Inductions were interrupted for two years while work was completed on the Aztec Athletics Center, which is the first permanent home of the Hall of Fame.
The following is a quick look at the new Hall of Famers.
Carrie McLaughlin (Stathus) became San Diego State's first three-time All-American in women's track and field when she earned those honors in the heptathlon (1981, 1982 and 1983). She held the San Diego State record in that event for 18 years (5,620 points) and still has the fourth best high jump in school history and the third best long jump by an Aztec. She is a teacher and coach at Steel Canyon High School.
Mike Douglass had a standout two-year career (1976-77) in the Aztec red and black. He ended his career as San Diego State's all-time leader in quarterback sacks with 26 in just 22 career games. He once recorded six quarterback sacks (in a win over UTEP) in a single game. He may be one of SDSU's most under-appreciated athletes as he played on Montezuma Mesa during a two-year period in which San Diego State was without a conference affiliation. He is still second all-time at SDSU in quarterback sacks, behind Kabeer Gbaja Biamila and easily is the leader among two-year players at SDSU. Douglass helped lead San Diego State to a 20-2 mark during his two seasons on campus.
Rod Dowhower was one of the first great quarterbacks at San Diego State (1963 and 1964). He led SDSU to a record of 15-6 in his two seasons as a starter and is still sixth all-time at SDSU with 33 career touchdown passes. He served as an assistant coach to Don Coryell from 1966 to 1972 and was the only former Aztec, prior to Tom Craft, to serve as a head coach at a major college (Stanford). He worked for eight NFL teams over 21 years and served as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Claude Gilbert's affiliation with San Diego State dates back to 1967 when he coached on Montezuma Mesa under Don Coryell. He was on Coryell's staff from 1967 to 1972 during the most successful era in SDSU football history. When Coryell left San Diego State for the NFL, Gilbert took over as head coach from 1973 to 1980 and became the second winningest coach in Aztec history, behind only Coryell. His record was 61-26-2. He returned to the school in 1995 and served as defensive coordinator until his retirement following the 1999 season.
Travis Lee ranks among San Diego State baseball's all-time top 10 in nine categories. He was a freshman All-American and went on to earn All-America honors his final two seasons in the red and black. He was a two-time member of the U.S. National Team and an Olympian. Lee capped his collegiate career by winning the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the nation's top amateur player. He became the second overall pick in the 1996 major-league draft when he was selected by the Minnesota Twins. He is currently a member of the New York Yankees.
Ron Reina served as the "Voice of the Aztecs" from 1969 through 1986 on four different radio stations. His final football broadcast was the 1986 Holiday Bowl featuring San Diego State and Iowa. He became synonymous with Aztec Athletics and, in fact, worked in the athletic department assisting with promotions for a time. Reina can still be heard on Montezuma Mesa, where he is the official voice of the Aztec Hall of Fame, featured in video kiosks in the Aztec Athletics Center.