A capacity crowd was on hand as 15 individuals and two teams were inducted into the Seattle University Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 24, at the Fr. Francis A. Logan, S.J. Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Award Ceremony at the Campion Tower Ballroom, the first Seattle University Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony in 28 years.
Three of the individuals were inducted posthumously. Al Brightman, the basketball and baseball coach who brought the O’Brien twins to , was represented by his son Ed Brightman, while long-time statistician Bob Klug was represented by his cousin Mary Heckel and John Logan spoke for his uncle Fr. Francis Logan.
Due to his participation in the Senior PGA Championship, Jeff Coston was unable to attend the ceremony, but his son Kyle, a basketball player at Portland State, took his place to offer their gratitude. Charlie Brown, one of the members of the 1957-58 basketball team that reached the NCAA finals, also did not attend, but sent along a video that was played during the event.
One person Kyle Coston mentioned was Bill Meyer, Jeff Coston’s coach at Seattle University who was also a standout player in his own right. Meyer, SU’s Athlete of the Year in 1964, led the golf team to six conference team titles and seven conference individual champions in nine years as head coach.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunities that I had and have because of Seattle University. I learned a lot of life lessons at SU. Golf is a lot like life, but sometimes golf is a lot more complicated,” said Meyer.
For three of the individuals, it was a very special night, as the teams they participated on were also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Soccer players Jason Palmer and Kurt Swanson joined their teammates on stage when the 1997 men’s soccer team that won the NAIA national championships was honored. Tennis player Brian Parrott spoke twice, first as an individual inductee, then as the representative of the 1968 tennis team that finished eighth at the NCAA Division I Championships, each time expressing his support for the school’s return to Division I.
“The spirit of the school goes with you as you move through life for years and years,” Parrott said. “Seattle University is on the right track going back to Division I and I want to do everything I can to help.”
It was also a night of reunions, as teammates such as women’s basketball players Michele Hackett and Lisa Hill and women’s soccer players Ingrid Gunnestad Patnode and Julie Holmes Woodward talked about old times and enjoyed each other’s induction. Another set of teammates inducted on the same night were John Kelly and Ernie Pastornicky, standout baseball pitchers from the 1950s, with Pastornicky ready to pitch again.
“Get me a ball and point me to home plate, I know what I can do there, I can still knock them dead,” Pastornicky said. “When I put on that uniform nobody could beat us and I knew I was representing one of the finest universities in the world. I didn’t think this university could do any more when they gave me the inspiration award (in 1954), but then they give me this honor.”
The next event involving the Hall of Fame is the Legends of First Hill Dinner, to take place Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Campion Tower Ballroom. The 1957-58 men’s basketball team will be honored as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of its run to the NCAA title game against Kentucky. Also on that night, all current Hall of Famers will be recognized and the greatest teams in Seattle University history will be revealed.