Aberdeen Bobcat Hall of Fame

Ann Swanson

Class of 1963

Attending Aberdeen High School before girls' sports were established, Ann Swanson has made up for lost time in her competitive golf career since.
 
Swanson has won the Washington State Women's Amateur a record of nine times and been a finalist on 17 occasions, also a record. She has captured four Seattle City championships, six Southern Oregon titles and two Oregon Coast championships. In 1989, she won both the state amateur and Seattle City Amateur while wearing a walking cast in recovering from a broken leg.

In 1992, she became the first Northwest woman to win the National Club Championship. She has also competen in the U.S. Amateru, U.S. Women's Open and British Women's Amateur. Although ineligible for interscholastic sports, Swanson was active in the Girls Athletic Association at Aberdeen and shared the Best Athlete Award with Russ Kuhns her senior year.

At Grays Harbor College the following year, she became the first woman to play on a men's community college golf team. She was inducted into the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Hall of Fame in 1992. Her achievements are many, and varied:
--Washington State Women's Amateur champion 9 times and a finalist 18 times: a record
 
--Seattle City Champion 7 times  and a finalist 18 times: a record
 
--Washington State Senior Champion  6 times
 
--Pacific Northwest Senior Champion  2000
 
--Senior Amateur Championship of America-champion     2005
 
--Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame   2007
 
--President of Washington State Women's Golf Association
 
--Winner of 24 major tournaments in the Pacific Northwest
 
--Women's Trans National Golf Association Board of Directors 2007-present
 
--Author of "Celebrating 90 Years of Championship Golf"  2012   (A history of women's golf in Washington State)
 
--Winner of 6 national senior events
 
--Pacific Northwest Senior Team champion   4 times

Still an active competitor, Swanson is serving or has served as the pro shop manager at the Seattle Golf Club, assistant golf coach for the University of Washington, and is the current President of the Washington State Women's Golf Association.

Bob Forbis

Class of 1953

Bob Forbis was the leading scorer on the first Aberdeen team to play in the championship game of a state basketball tournament

A deadly shooter, he was an all-conference center on a Bobcat team that won the Southwest Washington Northern Division championship in 1952. But his basketball career really took off during his senior season.

Averaging 24.2 points per game in conference play and 23.8 per game during the regular season, he repeated as an all-league performer. He also established a school record for single-game accuracy that will likely never be broken, making all 12 of his field goal attempts and both of his free throws in a game against Centralia.

Forbis opened state competition in 1953 by breaking the tournament scoring record with 35 points in a victory over Yakima. Coach George Palo's Bobcats wound up advancing all the way to the championship game, where they dropped a 51-48 heartbreaker to Renton.

Scoring 99 points for four games, Forbis was named to the all-tournament team and was chosen as the tourney's Most Valuable Player.

Bob Hoonan

Class of 1938

Although a football and baseball standout at Aberdeen, Bob Hoonan's greatest fame came after graduation.

A successful businessman, he broadcast Grays Harbor football and basketball games as a hobby for 40 years. Retiring from broadcasting in 1980, Hoonan is generally regarded as the fnest sportscaster in Harbor history. During his broadcasting career, he received awards from the Washington State Secondary School Athletic Administrations Association, The Southwest Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, and the Aberdeen and Hoquiam booster clubs. He was selected as the Ocean Breeze Sportsman of the Year in 1978.

As an athlete, Hoonan received Grays Harbor College's Neil Eddy Memorial Award for baseball and basketball in 1940. He was a member of the University of Washington football and and baseball teams for a season in 1942 and later played baseball in the U.S. Marine Corps. Hoonan served during both World War II and the Korean War. He was also general manager of the Grays Harbor Shamrocks and Merchants semi-pro baseball teams in the late 1940's.

Hoonan operated Bay City Fuel for many years, while raising six children (Bobcats all). Hoonan's passionate radio broadcasts of Aberdeen games are still remembered fondly. Hoonan passed away in 2002. His name is affixed to an annual scholarship presented through the Grays Harbor Community Foundation.

Bob Oar

Class of 1963

Although best known for his football exploits, Bob Oar was also a standout in track and basketball at Aberdeen.

Transferring from North Bend, Ore., following his sophomore year, Oar earned all-league and all-state as a running back in 1962. He was named to the Scholastic Magazine All-American team the same year.

After running fifth at state in the 220-yard dash as a junior, he was a key member of the Bobcats' 1963 state 2A track championship, being a part of a 4x220 relay team that finished second.

Oar also played basketball for two years at Aberdeen and was team captain as a senior.

Following graduation, Oar attended Stanford University. Although knee injuries ended his football career after playing as a freshman, he earned a degree in political science.

Chuck Swanson

Class of 1929

One of Grays Harbor's best-known businessmen as co-owner of Swanson's Supermarkets, Chuck Swanson also excelled as an athlete.

He was an all-Southwest Washington center in football in 1928-29 and recipient of the Perry Clark Trophy the same two years. He was also a standout baseball player at several positions.

Following graduation, Swanson was captain of Grays Harbor College's first football team in 1930 and then went on to star at the University of Oregon. A letterman for three years at Oregon, he was a starting lineman on the 1933 team that went 9-1 and was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

Swanson later played semi-pro football for the Grays Harbor Athletic Club for five years, and semi-pro baseball for Posey Manufacturing in the Industrial League. Swanson was honored at the 100th playing of the Aberdeen-Hoquiam Football game as honorary team captain, in 2005.

Eddie Smith Jr.

Class of 1971

Eddie Smith was something of a triple threat at Aberdeen, earning three varsity letters apiece in football, basketball, and baseball. H

e was a three year starter at quarterback in football, guiding the Bobcats to a 17-2 record in games he started. He passed for 1,200 yards as a senior in 1970, earning all-league recognition as the Cats completed their only unbeaten, untied season in school history.

Smith was the starting point guard as a junior on the 1970 AHS basketball team that won league and district titles and finished third at state. The following year, he averaged 17 points per game and received all-Black Hills League honors for a Bobcat team that repeated its district championship.

He was also a three year starting infielder in baseball, earning all-league status for two years and being voted the Most Valuable Hitter in the all-state game.

Smith later excelled in baseball and basketball at Grays Harbor College, earning division MVP honors in basketball in 1973 and receiving all-league recognition as a shortstop in baseball. He went on to play baseball at Gonzaga University, hitting .301 for a team that played in the NCAA Tournament in 1974.

A long-time educator at North Thurston High School, he has received league honors as a boys basketball coach and athletic director.

Ernie Stein

Class of 1946

The late Ernie Stein was one of the most prolific athletes in school history, earning 10 varsity letters during the 1940's. He was a three-year letterman in basketball, football and baseball and also lettered for a year in track.

A captain of the Bobcats in football, he was twice selected to the all-Southwest Washington League team. He was also chosen for the Washington Northern Division all-star team in basketball and was nominated for an All-American baseball team.

Stein lettered for four years at the University of Washington, where he played alongside such Husky greats as Hugh McElhenny and Don Heinrich and was pictured on the cover of the UW media guide in 1948.
 
He later earned a tryout with the New York Giants of the National Football League.

George Karamatic

Class of 1934

George "Automatic" Karamatic is widely recognized as one of the greatest football players in Aberdeen High School football history.

A two time all-conference halfback for the Bobcats, he probably earned his greatest fame in college at Gonzaga University. He was a Little All-America first team fullback in both his junior and senior seasons, made the Sports Pictorial All-America club as a junior and the NEA Service All-America team as a senior. George was also a two-time All Coast selection and co-captained the West squad in the 1938 East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. A first round draft choice of the New York Giants in 1938, he was immediately traded to the Washington Redskins where he played one season. He later played pro football in Los Angeles before a knee injury ended his career.

Karamatic was also a track standout for Aberdeen, earning district titles in the shot put and long jump, and also spent a year as student body president.

He retired in 1982 after a long career in education, including stints as a teacher, counselor, coach and principal. He was Head football coach at Kennewick High School for seven seasons. Karamatic passed away in 2008.

Guy Bingham

Class of 1976

A three-sport Standout at Aberdeen High School, Guy Bingham went on to play 14 years in the National Football League.

He was an all-state offensive tackle as a senior, also earning Southwest Washington League Lineman of the Year honors. In basketball, he was an all-Black Hills League center and the league's leading rebounder as a senior in leading the Bobcats to a 20-0 regular season record and the district AAA championship. He completed his prep career by winning a district shot put championship in track.

Guy went on to start four years in the offensive line at the University of Montana, earning all-Big Sky Conference honors as both a tackle and a center. As a junior, he received honorable mention reocognition on the Division I-AA All America Team.

A 10th round draft choice of the New York Jets in 1980, Guy played nine years with the Jets, three with the Atlanta Falcons and two with the Washington Redskins. Although he sarted three games in the offensive line as a rookie, his primary fame came as one of the top long snappers on punts and placekicks in the NFL.

John "Bus" Fairbairn

AHS Swim Coach

The late Bus Fairbairn coached Aberdeen to state boys' swimming championships in 1948 and 1949. A former champion diver, he was employed by the Aberdeen School District for 37 years and took over as head swimming coach in 1944. In his 12 years at the helm, he coached eight individual state titlists and four state championship relay teams. Among his swimmers was Dick Hannula, who built Wilson of Tacoma into a state swimming dynasty.

He was inducted in the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, received a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Service Award in 1970, ans was named Bobcat of the Year in 1971.

Fairbairn's contributions to the community went far beyond coaching. Affiliated with the American Red Cross for more than 50 years, he participated in aquatic schools, taught lifesaving, water safety and canoeing classes and organized canoeing expeditions on local rivers. He also organized the Golden Fins, a girls' synchronized swimming group, and produced water shows at the Miller Natatorium for many years.

Mark Bruener

Class of 1991

Mark Bruener's football career included noteworthy accomplishments in the high school, college and professional ranks.

A three-year starter at tight end and linebacker, he owns AHS records in receptions, reception yardage, tackles for losses and blocked kicks. He earned all-state recognition on both offense and defense as a senior and was also selected as the Black Hills League Player of the Year. He graduated from Aberdeen with a 3.7 grade point average.

Mark went on to become a three-year starter at the University of Washington, earning all-Pac10 Conference honors twice and Newspaper Enterprise Association All-America recognition in 1993. As a freshman, he caught a touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl to help the unbeaten Huskies claim a share of the national championship. He completed his career as the Huskies' career leader in receptions by a tight end with 90.

A first round draft choice in 1995, he played on the Steelers' 1996 Super Bowl team and was an alternate to the Pro Bowl game in 1998. Bruener played nine seasons with the Steelers, and five with the Houston Texans. He retired from playing in 2008, and now serves as a scout in the Steelers organization.

Mel Ingram

Class of 1923

Mel Ingram is often regarded as the greatest all-around athlete in Grays Harbor history.

The star of Bobcat football victories over Hoquiam in 1921 and '22, Ingram earnd 16 varsity letters at Aberdeen - four each in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was prevented from duplicating that feat at Gonzaga University by a football injury that kept him from playing basketball as a senior.

After leading Gonzaga to a Northwest Conference baseball chapmpionship, Ingram signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and played briefly in the majors before retiring from baseball in 1929.

He then became a successful high school coach in Idaho and Oregon and led Grants Pass High School to four state football championships before retiring in 1969. Now deceased, he is a member of the Oregon Coaches Hall of Fame. The Grants Pass High School football field is named in his honor.

Mike Melinkovich

Class of 1960

One of the greatest linemen in Aberdeen High School history, Mike Melinkovich became one of an elite group of Grays Harbor athletes to play in the National Football League.

Melinkovich was twice an all-Southwest Washington League selection. As a senior, he als received all-state recognition and was included on a high school All-American team. He was also an all-league basketball player at Aberdeen.

After playing at Grays Harbor College and the University of Washington, he was a 17th round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965. He played in 31 NFL games as a defensive end over the next four years, spending two years with the Cardinals and two more with the Detroit Lions.

Steve Soike

Class of 1970

A basketball and baseball star at Aberdeen, Steve Soike is best known as the leading scorer on the 1970 Bobcat basketball team that finished third at state. He was an all-league and all-state forward in basketball, being named Player of the Year as a senior. He also earned high school All-America honors in basketball.

Steve was also regarded as one of the state's top baseball players and hit some of the longest home runs in school history. He was also an honors student at Aberdeen.

Steve played freshman basketball at Oregon State University and was a member of a division-winning frosh team there. Transferring to the University of Puget Sound, he played baseball for the Loggers and was a member of two Western Region playoff teams.

Ted Lea

Class of 1943

At both the high school and junior college level, Ted Lea was regarded as one of the greatest football players of his era.

A three-year letterman in football and basketball at Aberdeen, Lea received all-conference recognition in football and received the coveted John Mashin Award. In 1958 he was a unanimous choice on a high school football all-star team of the past 20 years.

He then spent two years at Grays Harbor College, where he earned all-conference recognition as a sophomore and was the leading vote-getter on the all-conference team. In 1964, he was selected as the quarterback on the all-time Grays Harbor College football team. He also lettered in basketball for the Chokers.

After lettering for two years at Central Washington State College, Lea began a distinguished career as an educator and coach at Auburn High School. Now deceased, he spent 14 years as Auburn High School principal and served six years on the Auburn City Council. A memorial scholarship is still presented in his honor each year at Aberdeen High School.

Vicky Strada

Class of 1992

Cosmopolis native Vicky Strada completed a rare golf triple crown when she won the state 2A girls high school indidividual golf championship as an Aberdeen Senior in 1992. She had previously captured state and Northwest junior championships. Strada also was a letterwinner in volleyball.

Strada later enjoyed a successful college career at Stanford University. She was an athletic and academic all-Pac-10 Conference selection for three years, and was team captain for two.

She turned pro in 1996 and played the Futures Tour-the developmental tour for the Ladies Professional Golf Association- for a number of years. She has also competed in two  United States Women's Opens.

Strada would later go on to law school, and is currently practicing law in Seattle, Washington.

Al Bivens

Coach

Al Bivens’ 33-year coaching career at Aberdeen was highlighted by state track championships in 1963 and 1964.

He coached many of the greatest track athletes in school history, including numerous state champions and national-ranked decathlete Bob Lawson.

A native of Nebraska, Al was a standout track athlete at Hastings College and owned a school record in the 440-yard run that was eventually broken by future University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne.  He also played semi-pro basketball.

A teacher for 42 years, Bivens taught industrial arts at Aberdeen High School and also evening classes at Grays Harbor College.  He retired from education in 1976.