Awards banquet to be held May 3
The 11th Laney College “Wall of Fame” awards dinner will be held Sunday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in the Physical Education Building starting at 6 p.m.
Five former Laney football players will be inducted on Sunday.
Their names will be added to the more than 60 names that are already chiseled on the granite plaque that resides on the south wall on the first floor of the Laney College Student Center.
“It should be a great event,” said Wall of Fame organizer and retired Laney football coach Stan Peters.
“There is a lot of Laney football history that is going to be there.”
Those honored Sunday are Qadry Anderson (quarterback, 1993–94), George Banks (defensive line, 1994–95), Justin Arrington (offensive line, 2000–01), Frank Summers (running back, 2005–06), and Jay Uchiumi (coach, 1978–2011).
The idea for the Wall of Fame was conceived in the mid-1990s and came to fruition when former Laney College linebacker Ken Harvey donated $10,000 for the cost of the plaque.
Harvey, who was born and raised in Texas, attended Cal after playing at Laney and was the 12th pick of the 1988 NFL Draft. Phoenix selected him and Harvey played for the Cardinals from 1988–1993.
He then played for Washington from 1994–1999.
He was a four-time All-Pro Selection and was a 2014 nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Award banquets have been held approximately every two years and more names had been added to the list, which is divided into decades.
Peters (a “Wall” inductee himself) has been working on the event for months to ensure a full house for the event.
Not just athletes have their names on ll;” coaches and support staff are also honored, including former team doctor Thomas Schmitz and longtime statistician Tom Bowie.
The “Wall of Fame” is not the only exhibit that highlights Laney College football.
Peters, retiring in 2005, spent a couple of years documenting the history of Laney College football.
Peters used old news paper clips, statistics and press releases to document the year-by-year odyssey of the Eagles.
The result is a 48-volume set that resides on the top floor of the P.E. building.
BASEBALL
The Eagles dropped two of three games to Los Medanos the week of May 14–18 and were eliminated from playoff consideration.
Laney finished the season with a 19–17 record, the Eagles’ fourth straight season over .500, and had a 10–11 record in the Bay Valley Conference.
Laney qualified for the Northern California Regional in 2012 by winning the BVC championship and went to the NorCals in 2013 as an at-large team after finishing second in conference play.