Oct. 29, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Join San Diego State legends - both past and present - in welcoming this year's Aztec Hall of Fame Class of 2007 at the induction ceremony set for Friday, Nov. 2, in the Aztec Athletics Center.
Seven individuals will enshrined in the Aztec Hall of Fame, presented by the Wise Foundation, including three former football offensive lineman in Jay Gutowski (1953-56) and father and son duo John (1935, 1937-38) and Steve Duich (1966-67). The trio is joined by baseball players Bob Cluck (1966-67) and Bobby Meacham (1979-81), two-sport standout and beach volleyball legend Mike Dodd (1975-80) and water polo All-American Rachel Scott-Ruano (1995-98).
A reception will begin the festivities on Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony which is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased in advance by Nov. 1, through the Aztec Athletic Foundation at 619-594-6444.
On Saturday, Nov. 3, join the newest Aztec Hall of Fame members at the SDSU-Wyoming football game at Qualcomm Stadium. The pre-game festivities in Aztec Village begin at 4 p.m. followed by the game at 6 p.m. The Aztec Hall of Fame Class will be recognized in a special halftime ceremony. Game tickets are available through the Aztec ticket office at 619-283-SDSU.
The Aztec Hall of Fame, presented by the Wise Foundation, inducted its first members in 1988 and has welcomed a new group of legends every year through 1999. Inductions were put on hold 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 this year's Aztec Hall of Fame inductees:
A two-year letterwinner as a pitcher in 1966 and 1967, Bob Cluck owned the Aztec season strikeout record for 23 years, fanning 115 batters in 1966. Cluck compiled a two-year mark on the mound of 14-9 with a 2.90 earned-run average and 209 strikeouts in just 201.2 innings. His career ERA still ranks ninth in school history, while he is 10th in career strikeouts. The southpaw is one of 30 former Aztec greats to have their uniform numbers listed above right field at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
After college, Cluck found success as a coach and manager in the professional ranks, working for the San Diego Padres from 1982-87, as a director of minor league development (1982-83), Triple-A manager in Las Vegas (1984-85) and minor league pitching instructor (1986-87). He also served as pitching coach for the Houston Astros (1990-93), Oakland Athletics (1994-98) and Detroit Tigers (2003-05) and had stints with the Texas Rangers and Montreal Expos organizations.
The San Diego native currently works as a minor league pitching consultant with the Padres.
Mike Dodd was a two-sport standout at San Diego State in the late 1970s, starring in both basketball (1975-79) and volleyball (1978-80). Dodd was a guard on the Aztec basketball squad, leading the team in field-goal percentage in 1976-77 and averaging 12.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per outing as a senior. He also served as team captain in 1978-79, playing along side the likes of Tony Gwynn, Steve Malovic and Kim Goetz under head coach Tim Vezie.
Although he was selected in the 10th round of the NBA Draft by the San Diego Clippers in 1979, Dodd turned to his first love, beach volleyball, where he would find his greatest success. One of the greatest ever to play the sport, Dodd won 72 domestic titles, had 231 podium placements and 297 "final four" finishes. He won four world beach volleyball championships, one U.S. title and ranks in the top five in beach volleyball history in tournaments played (351), event titles (75) and career earnings ($1,772,970).
Dodd was named the AVP's best defensive player on four occasions, most inspirational player three times and sportsman of the year twice. He capped his career by winning a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the first time the event.
Dodd resides in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and maintains his connections with the sport of beach volleyball as both a coach and television analyst.
The first father and son duo inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame, John "Jake" (1935, 1937-38) and Steve (1966-67) Duich were both standouts on the SDSU offensive line. The late John Duich played three seasons on The Mesa, earning Little All-America honors as an offensive tackle as senior. He was named team captain and MVP of the 1938 squad before playing professionally for the Los Angeles Bulldogs.
Steve Duich followed in his father's footsteps, garnering Little All-America honors as an offensive tackle in 1967. The two-year starter helped guide the Aztecs to a 21-1 record during his stay, anchoring an offensive line that helped SDSU averaged 29.2 points and 355.7 yards of offense in 10 games in 1967. After completing his eligibility, he was a fifth round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers.
The third Aztec offensive lineman in this year's Hall of Fame class, the late Jay Gutowski was a four-year letterwinner for SDSU from 1953-56. He is the Aztecs' only two-time Little All-America honoree, doing so in both 1955 and 1956. Gutowski earned the team's Byron Chase Trophy as the best lineman his final two seasons and later served as an assistant football coach under Don Coryell in 1963 and 1964. He was also an assistant baseball coach under Jim Dietz and served as a faculty member in the physical education department at SDSU for 25 years.
A graduate of La Jolla High School, Gutowski passed away at the age of 75 this past February.
The current first base coach for the San Diego Padres, Bobby Meacham was both an offensive and defensive standout for the Aztecs from 1979-81. He earned team MVP honors and third team All-America accolades as a freshman in 1979. Two years later, he was a second team All-American in 1981, after batting .375 with seven home runs, 51 RBI and 44 stolen bases in 49 attempts. A two-time all-conference pick, he finished his career as SDSU's all-time leader in career runs (214), hits (277) and at-bats (767). He was also second in career stolen bases (116), including a streak of 30 consecutive.
A member of the U.S. all-star team that played in Japan, he was selected to play for the USA in the Pan American games. Meacham was the eighth pick of the 1981 MLB Draft by St. Louis and later played for the New York Yankees.
The first water polo player to be inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame, Rachel Scott-Ruano played for the San Diego State from 1995-98. As a freshman, Scott was named the National Collegiate Goalie of the Year in 1995, and later earned All-America honors in both 1997 (first team) and 1998 (second team). Her teams went a combined 91-42 during her tenure, finishing No. 2 nationally once, No. 3 two times and No. 7 once. Scott scored 94 goals during her career and also contributed 47 assists and 106 steals. She was a first team all-conference pick in 1997 and was a part of the MPSF all-tournament team as a senior.
Scott was an alternate on the 2000 U.S. Olympic squad and was an assistant coach for the national team in 2004