PASADENA, Calif. (March 19, 2014) – The Caltech Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation is proud to announce the inaugural class for induction into its Hall of Honor.
Ten individuals and one team comprise the first class that will be honored during a ceremony on Sunday, May 18 at 12:00 pm on the Beckman Mall. The event is part of the Caltech Alumni Association’s annual Alumni Weekend & Seminar Day. The 2014 class consists of Fred Anson '54, C. Alan Beagle '70, Phil Conley '56, Glenn Graham '26, Lynn Hildemann '80, Fred Newman '59, Celia Peterson '81, Dick Van Kirk '58, Angie Bealko '96, and Tom Gutman, Head Coach, Wrestling ('66-'78) and Football ('68-'79). The team honored is the 1969-1970 Wrestling team.
Fred Anson '54
Basketball
Anson, arguably the best basketball player in Caltech's men's basketball history, scored 1199 career points, a standard that stood as a school record for 43 years and is the fifth most ever by a Beaver player. Fred was the captain of the 1954 SCIAC Championship team that went 14-7. He led the league in scoring all three years that he was eligible to play on the Varsity, as freshmen were ineligible. Honored as a three-time first team selection, Anson averaged 20.7 points his sophomore, junior and senior years. If not for his paper route as a youth, having Caltech alum JB Forester as his physics teacher at Mark Keppel High, and earning one of six LA Times Scholarships that allowed him to attend Caltech, Anson would never have made his way to campus. Upon graduating from Caltech, Anson earned a graduate degree in Chemistry at Harvard, and returned to Caltech in 1957 joining the Chemistry faculty and eventually becoming the Division Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from 1984-1994.
C. Alan Beagle '70
Wrestling, Football
C. Alan Beagle was a two-sport athlete, competing in Wrestling and Football for the Beavers. He won the NAIA District III Regional Championship at 190 lbs. his senior year and was a two-time SCIAC champion in wrestling. He captained the 1970 team that won the league championship with an undefeated dual meet record and first place in the league tournament, winning four first places and five second places in weight classes. One of three Caltech wrestlers who went undefeated in 1970, Beagle finished the season with an impressive 13-0 mark, including winning the previously mentioned championship despite having an injured leg. He also earned football all-conference honors as a defensive player during the 1969 season, the first season that Caltech football moved to being a club sport, playing against other SCIAC schools junior varsity teams. After graduating from Caltech, Beagle went on to obtain his law degree from the University of Maine and continues to practice law in Portland, Maine.
Phil Conley '56
Track & Field, Football, Basketball
Phil Conley excelled at Caltech as a member of the Track & Field, Football, and Basketball teams. An NCAA champion, and three-time SCIAC champion in javelin, Conley earned a total of eight All-SCIAC honors across the traditional tri-sports and served as captain of each team in his senior year. Immediately following his graduation, Conley went on to represent the United States and Caltech at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. At that year's summer Games, Conley qualified for the Final Round at the Olympic competition with a throw of 68.50 meters, then recorded a 69.74 mark for his farthest throw at the Games, briefly ranking 9th before finishing the competition in 10th position.
He continued competing well after that summer, earning a silver medal in the 1959 Pan American Games and recording a career-best throw of 79.30 meters in 1964, before finally hanging up his competitive spikes and earning an MBA from Harvard. While he continued to compete in masters meets, Conley also served as an assistant coach at Stanford.
Glenn Graham '26
Track & Field
Glenn Graham starred as a Track & Field athlete for the Beavers as well as the United States. He was a central part of the 1925 Beavers team that was unbeaten in their five dual meets, and then captained the 1926 team that tied with Occidental for the SCIAC Championship. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Graham earned the silver medal in the pole vault for the US squad, clearing 3.95 meters, or 12 feet 11.51 inches and finishing second to fellow American Lee Barnes who won gold. Graham lost in a jump off to Barnes, an 18-year-old Californian. Glenn's son, Jim, made the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team, also as a pole vaulter, but relinquished his spot to Bob Gutowski who was showing better form as the Games approached. Gutowski won silver at the 1956 Games.
Lynn Hildemann '80
Swim & Dive, Volleyball
Hildemann led the Beavers Swim & Dive program from 1977-1980, winning the SCIAC one- and three-meter title a combined six times, finishing second on both boards in 1980. She competed at the AIAW National Championships and earned all-conference honors on 10 separate occasions during her time in the pool (six in diving, four in swimming). She was also a starter on the first Caltech volleyball team in 1979. After receiving her BS, MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering from Caltech, Lynn became a professor and division chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford.
Fred Newman '59
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer
An all-SCIAC selection at least one-time in each of the four sports he played, Newman earned all-conference honors eight times, including six, first-team selections. After graduating from Caltech he earned numerous World Records for his shooting ability, making the most free-throws, 20,371 (out of 22,049 taken or 92.39%) in a 24-hour period from September 29-30, 1990. This record remains in place. Additionally, he made 209 consecutive 3-point baskets at the age of 60 in 1996 and nailed 88 consecutive free throws while blind folded. Newman, who went on to become a computer programmer and former Caltech Men's Assistant basketball coach, was an early student of fellow inductee Fred Anson at the Institute.
Celia Peterson '81
Cross Country, Track & Field
Peterson won the 1977 SCIAC cross country championship and finished second in the 1978 conference final. She still holds the school marathon record, finishing the Three Rivers marathon in Indiana in a US female 18-year-old age group record time of 2:41:48. In '78, it was one of the all-time top ten times in the world for female runners. Her 3000-meter time from 1978 is still the second-best mark all-time at Caltech. The SCIAC honors her with an annual award presented to a senior cross-country runner who exemplifies great character, sportsmanship, and athletic ability.
Dick Van Kirk '58
Basketball, Football, Track & Field
Named all-conference performer eight times in three sports. Still holds the school record for long jump. At graduation was honored with the Frederick W. Hinrichs award for most outstanding member of the senior class. Dick had a long and successful career in manufacturing and management consulting. He was employed at Proctor & Gamble, Ernst & Young and served as the Vice President of Technology for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1984. In 1992, he co-wrote the book The Complete Guide to Special Event Management and in 1995, Dick became President and CEO of Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC).
Angie Bealko '96
Basketball, Volleyball
Awarded the Pioneer Award, as a student-athlete who proved to be a catalyst for change within Caltech Athletics, Bealko played on the men’s basketball team before starting the women’s basketball club program. The creation of the club team played a major role in the creation of the NCAA program the Institute has today. She was also a four-year member of the volleyball program, leading the team in assists and setting a new career record for this stat in each year played from '92 through '95. After graduating from Caltech with a BS in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, Bealko received an MBA from Harvard. She has been a strategic consultant for various firms, with a demonstrated emphasis on supporting public education.
1969-70 Wrestling
Proven excellence in their sport and standing out as one of the best teams in their participation period, the Team Award was given to this group of grapplers. Of their many accomplishments, this team won the SCIAC title outright and featured four wrestlers who captured the league title at their respective weight class and five who finished as runner-up. Six individuals completed the year at the NAIA District tournament with a top four finish.
Tom Gutman
Head Coach, Wrestling and Football
Demonstrating positive impact on students and the community, Gutman was honored for his dedication as an educator and role model in receiving the Coach Award. Head coach for the wrestling program from 1966-1978, his program won three SCIAC Championships and had 14 different individuals win league titles in their weight class. He also led the football program from 1968 to 1979. Gutman was well known for his tireless commitment and mentoring of each of the student-athletes he coached.
Any community members interested in attending this first-time event can visit: https://events.alumni.caltech.edu/
