Antioch’s 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

An All-Pro lineman and a World Series champion are among the 2014 class of inductees into the Antioch Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

Jeremy Newberry, an All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection, and Aaron Miles, who helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series, lead a group of 14 individuals and one team to be honored as the eighth annual Hall of Fame class.

The induction will be celebrated with a dinner, Oct. 11 at Lone Tree Golf and Events Center. The event begins with social hour at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 and the ceremony at 7. Tickets, $65 each, are available from Antioch Sports Legends, P.O. Box 1033, Antioch, CA 94509. For more information, call Eddie Beaudin, 925-383-4979, or Tom Menasco, 925-325-3255.

Newberry, Antioch High, 1995, was All-East Bay and All-Northern California as a senior at Antioch High School after the 1994 season. He went on to be a three-year starter at center at Cal. The 49ers made him a second-round draft pick, and he went onto an 11-year NFL career.

Miles was the East Bay Player of the Year in 1995, batting .520 as he led the Antioch Panthers to a second straight North Coast Section baseball championship. Miles, a three-time All-East Bay selection at second base, played nine seasons in the major leagues. He retired with a .281 career batting average.

The rest of the Class of 2014 includes Manuel Bermudez, baseball; Stacey Johnson, basketball; Christina Conn and Stephen Sanchez, swimming and diving; Mark Butterfield, Mike Lucky and Cal Chaney, football; Dave Kirkpatrick, all-around athlete; Matt Hurd, track and field; John Rebstock, Coach; Brooks Golden, Community Leader; Casey Rhyan, wrestling; and the 1957 Antioch High golf team.

The Sports Legends Hall of Fame celebrates the athletic history of Antioch, from its days as a working town. Its strong allegiance to local sports teams helped produce a rich athletic tradition, nurturing the development of athletes such as Pro Football Hall of Famer Gino Marchetti, NFL All-Pro Duane Putnam, and major league baseball players Gene Rounsaville, Alex Sanchez, Jeff Pico and Miles.

These pro superstars, and 114 other distinguished hometown HOF athletes and eight championship teams, have now been permanently honored in a 2,500 square-foot museum display called the Antioch Sports Legends Hall, presented by the Antioch Historical Society. Legends Hall formally opened Oct. 27, 2007. A group of longtime residents and sports boosters has spent nearly nine years working on these dazzling displays, which features valuable memorabilia from the 1920s to the present, wall and video displays honoring current sports pros and the centerpiece of the exhibit, 15 framed placards with the biographies of the Class of 2014. “Sports Legends” inductees will be displayed Oct. 11. Hometown prep standouts from all high school sports and both genders are represented in a variety of different sports, along with coaches and community sports leaders.

The rest of the class of 2014 includes:

Butterfield (Antioch, 1991) passed for 3,957 yards in three seasons at Antioch, with 28 TDs in his last two seasons, then went on to earn second-team All-Pac-10 at Stanford in 1995. He reached the NFL with the Chicago Bears.

Lucky (Antioch, 1994), an All-State tight end in 1993, caught 53 passes for 1,000 yards and 16 TDs in two years for Antioch and earned a scholarship to Arizona. A two-year starter for the Wildcats, he played four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

Chaney (Antioch, 1954), a two-way lineman, was selected Most Valuable Player of Antioch’s 1953 team, and earned All-Metro and All-Northern California honors, and was later named to the Antioch Ledgers’s All-Time Team from 1950-67.

Bermudez (Antioch, 1995), a pitcher, was 11-1 in 1995 with a career record of 39-9, and was a two-time All-East Bay selection. He went on to pitch 11 seasons in the minor leagues.

Johnson (Antioch, 1991) averaged 27 points a game, 11 times scoring 30 points or more, en route to 1991 East Bay Player of the Year honors. She went on to play for Arizona State and Houston. Conn (Antioch, 1993) won the 1993 NCS diving championship with a record score of 471.20 which stood for 20 years, and was a three-time High School All-America. Sanchez (Antioch, 1991) was a three-time High School All-America in the 500-yard freestyle and twice in the individual medley. His record time in the 1990 NCS individual medley final stood for seven years.

Kirkpatrick (Antioch, 1958) was first-team all-league in football and basketball, was second-team all-league in baseball, and also competed in the hurdles and the long jump for the track team.

Hurd (Antioch, 1996) still holds the school record for the high jump, 6 feet, 8 inches. Rebstock was a legendary fastpitch softball pitcher who later coached for 22 years at Antioch and Deer Valley, winning one NCS softball title.

Golden served the community for 29 years as a teacher, coach and administrator, was elected to the school board and volunteered in the community. Rhyan (Antioch, 1988) took third in the state and led the team with 20 pins during the Panthers’ run to the 1988 CIF State wrestling championship.

The 1957 Antioch High golf team went undefeated, beating seven-time champion Acalanes in the County Championship tournament.

By Sports Legends staff writer Steve Dulas