A wide range of talent and sports will be represented when Stanford formally inducts nine new members into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 11.
The list of inductees includes Don Griffin (men’s basketball), Mhairi McKay (women’s golf), Jay Mortenson (men’s swimming), Alex Kim (men’s tennis), Don Shaw (volleyball), Stan Spencer (baseball), Trisha Stevens (women’s basketball), Kerri Walsh (women’s volleyball), Bob Whitfield (football).
In addition, the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame will pay special tribute to the late Lloyd McGovern, who was one of the co-founders of the Hall of Fame and served as its first curator when it opened its doors in 1994.
All of the inductees will be honored at a private reception and dinner on Friday, Nov. 11 beginning at 6 p.m. The class will be introduced at halftime of Stanford’s home football game against Oregon the following day.
One of the highest scoring guards in school history, Griffin led the then-Indians in scoring as a sophomore in 1966-67 and again as a senior two years later. A three-year starter for head coach Howie Dallmar, Griffin graduated as Stanford’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,265 points, a total that now ranks 23rd on the school’s all-time scoring list. His career scoring average of 16.1 points per game is tied with all-time great Hank Luisetti for the 10th best mark in school annals.
A native of Glasgow, Scotland, McKay was the first international golfer to be offered in scholarship at Stanford. She was a three-time first team All-America selection for the Cardinal in 1994, ’96 and ’97 and earned second team All-America status as a sophomore in 1995. She was also a three-time first team All-Pac-10 Conference selection and captured medalist honors at the 1997 conference championships. McKay helped the Cardinal to three top-5 finishes at the NCAA Championships before going onto a successful career on the LPGA Tour. She represented Europe in two Solheim Cup competitions in 2002 and ’03 and claimed her first professional victory at the 2003 AAMI Australian Women’s Open.
Mortenson swam on Stanford’s 1986 and ’87 NCAA championship teams and also represented the United States in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, where he was part of the 400 meter medley relay team that captured gold. One of the best in the backstroke and butterfly in school history, Mortenson won both the 100 back and 100 fly at the 1988 NCAA Championships and was also the leadoff on Stanford’s 400 medley relay team that placed first at the 1987 NCAA Championships.
Kim compiled a 133-25 record during his four-year Stanford career from 1997-2001. He played on two NCAA championship teams as a freshman and junior and became Stanford’s 13th NCAA singles champion in 2000. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championships after helping the Cardinal to its 17th national championship. He finished his junior season ranked as the country’s No. 2 singles player after compiling with a 48-7 record, which set a school mark for wins in a single-season. Kim also partnered with Geoff Abrams to form the nation’s top doubles team in 2000, posting a 37-7 overall mark as the duo shared Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. As a senior in 2001, Kim won the singles title at the ITA Individual Indoor Championships and was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the majority of the season and teamed with partner K.J. Hippensteel to form one of the nation’s top doubles teams.
Shaw spent 16 years (1984-99) as head coach of Stanford’s women’s volleyball program, guiding the Cardinal to four NCAA titles (1992, ’94, ’96 and ’97) and 10 conference crowns. His .863 (440-70) career winning percentage still ranks as the best mark in NCAA history. Under his direction, Stanford advanced to 12 Final Fours and eight championship matches in 16 years. He was named the AVCA’s National Coach of the Year in 1991 and was honored by Volleyball Magazine as its National Coach of the Year in 1997. He began his coaching career at Stanford in 1980 as an assistant coach with the women’s program under Fred Sturm and was appointed co-head coach with both the men’s and women’s teams with Sturm in 1984. He took sole direction of the women’s program in 1986 and guided the Cardinal through 14 more successful seasons until retiring from the women’s program in 1999. In 2001, Shaw accepted the head coaching position with the Stanford men’s program, a position he held for six seasons. He was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2008.
Spencer earned first team All-America and All-Pac-10 honors in 1990 after posting a 14-1 record and a 2.73 ERA. He also struck out 145 batters in 141.2 innings or work. His 14 wins are tied for second on Stanford’s all-time single-season victory list while his 145 strikeouts rank as the fourth highest single-season total in school history. As a freshman, Spencer posted a 7-2 record and a 3.19 ERA to help the Cardinal to its second straight College World Series title and was the winning pitcher in the championship game against Arizona State.
Only the second player in NCAA history to receive first team All-America honors in all four seasons as a collegian, Walsh helped the Cardinal to a pair of NCAA titles in 1996 and ’97 and four straight Pac-10 Conference titles during her illustrious collegiate career. She was named the AVCA’s Co-National Player of the Year in 1999 and NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading Stanford to the national title as a freshman in 1996. A two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, Walsh remains a prominent figure in Stanford’s career record book, ranking in the Top 10 in kills, digs, blocks and hitting percentage.
A three-time Olympian, Walsh won back-to-back gold medals in the 2004 and ’08 Olympic Games with beach partner Misty May-Treanor. The duo also captured the SWATCH-FIVB World Championship on three occasions and hold AVP team records for most wins and prize money in a single season. In addition to her two gold medals in beach volleyball, Walsh was a member of the United States’ indoor team in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, where she helped the team to a fourth-place finish.
One of the greatest tackles in school history, Whitfield was a two-time first team All-America selection in 1990 and ’91, in addition to earning first team All-Pac-10 honors. He played every down as a freshman in 1989 and started 34 games in his three-year Stanford career. A first-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 1992, Whitfield enjoyed a 15-year NFL career with Atlanta (1992-2003), Jacksonville (2004) and the New York Giants (2005-06).
A member of Stanford’s 1990 NCAA championship-winning team, Stevens was a two-time first team All-Pac-10 selection. She led the 1990 national champion Cardinal in both scoring (17.6) and field goal percentage (54.9) and also grabbed 5.9 rebounds per game. She made 117 starts over her Stanford career and ranked second on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,649 points at the time of her graduation. She also ranked second in career scoring average (13.5), field goal percentage (53.4) and was third in free throw percentage (79.5). She was a member of USA Basketball’s U-18 National team in 1989 and twice was named to the NCAA All-Regional team.
The Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame also will pay a special tribute to the late Lloyd McGovern, one of its co-founders and original curator. A native of Redwood City, McGovern graduated from Stanford in 1947 and enjoyed a long career in advertising and marketing. He was known as Stanford’s unofficial historian for his encyclopedic knowledge of Cardinal athletic teams and student-athletes from 1920 to the modern day.