From the Final Four in New Orleans to the comeback of Tiger Woods and a new Master’s golf king, it already has been a memorable April in the world of sports.
And it’s about to get even more memorable for New Mexico sports fans.
Today, the N.M. Sports Hall of Fame announced its newest inductees — its Fab Five.
The class features five of the greatest athletes in state history, all of whom excelled in their respective sports while playing huge roles in giving back to their communities.
“This class is all about achievement, character and recognizing some of the greatest New Mexico athletes — some who may have slipped through the cracks over the passage of time, but have left a lasting legacy,” said Theo Barela, president of the N.M. Sports Hall of Fame.
“This is truly a class that represents what our Hall of Fame is all about. Three of the inductees have passed, but their influences are still being felt to this day — and will be for generations to come.”
The late, greats are golf legend Gene Torres, handball ace Manny Smith and softball sensation Lou Pierotti.
They will be inducted along with longtime Aztec wrestling coach Herb Stinson and baseball/softball coach and national officiating standout Bill Gracey.
The class is the first to be inducted to the Sports Hall of Fame since 2019. They will be honored during a banquet at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Aug. 20.
There will also be a charity golf tournament, organized by the NMSHOF, at Santa Ana Golf Club on July 29.
Further details about the events will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We are breaking away from the traditional Sunday evening for the banquet,” Barela said. “The board felt that Saturday allows for a more lively and festive atmosphere and gives attendees a chance to relax and not stress about work the next day.
“Holding the event in August, which was also done last year, helps avoid conflicts with most major sporting events.”
THE FAB FIVE:
HERB STINSON was born in Farmington and went to school at Aztec High, where he played football, ran track and wrestled. He has coached one of the most powerful wrestling programs in the country.
His teams have won 13 state titles, including 10 in an 11-year stretch. The Tigers won the crown this past season.
Herb, who is in his 37th year as Aztec’s head coach, has had 68 individual champions. He also coached wrestling, baseball and football at Bayfield, Colo., from 2000-2012 and has been a classroom teacher for 37 years.
Herb has been inducted into four coaching halls of fame says he is most proud of the tremendous success so many of his wrestlers have had after high school — and the Aztec wrestling facility that was built from donations by his former athletes.
BILL GRACEY has been in New Mexico athletics for more than 40 years as a baseball and softball coach and a basketball official at the high school and collegiate levels.
He was a standout athlete in football and baseball at West Mesa High School, receiving all-district and all-city honors and has been a longtime educator in APS.
In 1971, he was named the school’s athlete of the year.
As a baseball coach, he won a state championship at Cibola High School and went on to coach softball at UNM as an assistant.
Bill has been one of the top collegiate basketball officials in the region for numerous years. From 1982-2014, he officiated at the NCAA Division I level in conferences such the Big 12, Western Athletic Conference, Southwest, Sunbelt, Conference USA, Big Sky, Southland, Big West and Mountain West.
The top baseball player each year at Cibola High is recognized with the “Bill Gracey” award.
EMANUEL “MANNY” SMITH (1929-1995) is the dean of New Mexico handball, having won a record nine straight state titles and 11 straight city crowns when handball was one of the most popular sports in Albuquerque during the 1950s and 1960s.
Smith, a teacher, principal and Master Teacher for Albuquerque Public Schools for nearly 40 years, was also a college basketball player in upstate New York and for the United States Army’s international traveling basketball team during the Korean War. Manny was also a medic during the war.
Manny was one of the most well-known theater actors in the Duke City.
His influence has touched thousands of lives, which was displayed by the standing room only throng at his memorial service at the Del Norte High School performing arts theater in 1995.
LUIGI “LOU” GUSTAVO PIEROTTI (1920-1974) became a national name for his Pierotti’s Clowns softball team that was based in Los Alamos.
Sports Illustrated twice featured Pierotti’s five-man team, which would dominate the competition around the country while wearing clown makeup and performing a variety of hilarious stunts.
A large mosaic monument of Lou and the Clowns stands in front of the public library in Los Alamos.
His Clowns raised more than $200,000 for charity.
Lou, who was born in a rural area just outside of Walsenburg, Colo., was a standout in track, baseball, boxing, golf and bowling.
GENE “THE ROCK” TORRES (1937-2005) is arguably the greatest golf professional in New Mexico history.
Born in Trinidad, Colo., Torres became a self-taught sensation who won the Colorado State High School championship in 1956. Five years later, he became the head golf professional and a professor at New Mexico Highlands — where he would spend the next 43 years mentoring golfers, teaching classes and dominating the state pro circuit.
He won more than 80 pro tournaments around the country, including five New Mexico Opens — and four straight from 1968-71.
In 2004, Gene was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award from the PGA of America.
In 2005, the course at NMHU — one in which Gene could be seen daily doing maintenance on it himself — was named after him.
The five were selected by a board of 23 members with vast amounts of experience in the New Mexico sports world.
The inductees had previously been in a nomination pool — in some cases as far back as 1973 — and were among 24 chosen by the board’s annual revolving nomination committee. The committee narrowed the list to 13 and presented that group to the entire board.
The entire board then researched the 13 finalists for two weeks before a final vote was taken.
The entire process took more than four months.
“The nomination committee really gave due diligence to all the nominees (whose bios can be found on NMSHOF.org),” Barela said. “I am extremely proud of this class, and the fact that some are finally receiving the accolades they have so richly deserved for so many years.”
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