This year’s Hall ceremony takes place on Saturday, May 2, beginning at 11 a.m. on campus at Sexson Auditorium. The first Hall class ceremony since 2023 is free to the public and will also be live streamed.
“We’re in the 101st year of athletics that began at then Pasadena Junior College in 1925 and this 2026 class embodies the glorious tradition of great athletes, coaches and teams that our college has produced for more than a century,” said PCC Hall of Fame committee chairman Robert Lewis.
Lewis, the college’s sports information specialist and covered the exploits of PCC athletics teams since 1991, added, “While every Hall of Fame class is special, this particular one is like a who’s who of those that I have chronicled as athletes, former and current co-workers, and alumni who have stayed in touch with PCC over the years. One inductee, the late Bill Sandstrom, greeted me on my first day on the job. It’s an honor to see these great individuals and teams take their rightful place in our Hall.”
PCC Hall of Fame plaques are adorned on the walls of the first floor of PCC’s GM Athletics Building. With the 2026 class, the total of inductees reach 125 individuals and 11 teams. The newest class will have their plaques unveiled at the May 2 ceremony.
Previous inductees include Lakers Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Cooper, record-breaking NFL running back Jerome Harrison, and of course the immortal 20th century great and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who was part of the first PCC Hall of Fame class in 1961.
Here is the ’26 PCC HOF class in chronological order:
1966 PCC Football Team
The ’66 Lancers captured the Western State Conference championship with an 8-0-1 record under head coach Don Hunt. The team was known for a strong defense and shut out LA Pierce, Santa Barbara and Compton while holding four other opponents to just a combined 37 points. The defense was paced by two PCC Hall of Famers and JC All-Americans in hard-tackling, sack master Curtis Seagrove and blanket defensive back Skip Robinson. The offense was solid too as it scored 55 points in a win over East LA and scored 34 or more in five victories, led by running back/team MVP Loren Shumer. PCC made it to the Junior Rose Bowl as its undefeated run ended in a loss to Henderson, Texas that decided the national title. The ’66 Lancers proved to be the best PCC football team of the decade.
1967 PCC Men’s Cross Country Team
The ’67 Lancers men’s cross country were one of several great teams at the PCC campus in the late 1960s. The harrier squad made history under first-year head coach Larry Knuth in winning the school’s first and only state team championship in the sport. The Pasadena contingent were Western State Conference dual meet and finals champs, then took third at the SoCal Championships. At the state meet over a 4-mile course at Fresno’s Woodward Park. The squad placed five of the first 43 runners out of a 200-man field as Jesse Gomez scored a team-best fifth and Bill Scruggs grabbed sixth overall. Scott Chisam (16th), Kurt Lawson (23rd) and Fritz Menninger (43rd) completed the title win with 71 points to defeat runner-up Fullerton at 78. The Lancers were 27-0 in triangular meet competition.
Bill Sandstrom, Athletic Director/Football Coach, 1968-1991
For parts of four decades, Sandstrom was an icon in PCC Athletics. He served as Athletic Director/P.E. chair from 1974 to 1991. Under his watch, Lancers teams won five state championships, each now members of the PCC Hall of Fame. Ten coaches and 23 athletes under his AD hat are also part of the HOF. He served as head coach for PCC football over six seasons in three different stints and is best known for directing the 1972 Lancers to a tie a school record with 12 wins. That squad won the JC Grid-Wire national championship with a perfect 10-0 regular season and the Metro Conference title. PCC won two playoff games before their undefeated year ended in a Potato Bowl loss v. Fresno. Bill sent 116 of his players to universities. Sandstrom passed away in 2017 at the age of 77.
Sylvester Youngblood, 1969-1970, Football
A great in a long line of many standout PCC running backs, Youngblood put on a show in the 1970 football season. He rushed for at the time a school-record 1,441 yards in just nine games played. In a win v. Santa Monica, he set a still-standing state record by carrying the ball 52 times for also a state single-game record 305 yards. Ironically, his brother Albert broke the yards record a year later with 316. Sylvester was a First Team All-American and he is one of just four PCC backs to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career. He went on to play at Cal Berkeley.
1976 PCC Men’s Swim Team
The first of three straight PCC state champions, the ’76 Lancers men’s swim team was a national JC title squad that included three members that would participate at the ’76 Olympic Games. Under the direction of PCC Court of Champions head coach Ron Ballatore, the Lancers won the program’s seventh consecutive Metro Conference crown and fifth SoCal Sectional title in a 6-year span. At the state meet, Lars Lindberg won the 200-yard butterfly event for the second straight season and Dov Nisman captured the 400 individual medley title.
1977 PCC Men’s Swim Team
The second of three consecutive PCC state champions, the ’77 Lancers men’s swim team won their second straight national JC crown. Directed by Ballatore, four future PCC Hall of Famers included state individual champions in Glen Aikin with a 200-yard butterfly national record, Eric Marks in the 100 butterfly and JC Barnett in the 400 individual medley, and Pers Kersmark, who was on the 400 freestyle relay champion. Peter Pettersson won the 1,650 freestyle and the team also took gold in the 400 medley relay. The dynasty continued with an eighth Metro Conference title in a row and sixth SoCal Sectional championship in seven years.
1978 PCC Men’s Swim Team
The ’78 Lancers men’s swim team made the program a true dynasty in completing a trifecta of consecutive state and national JC championships. Under Ron Ballatore, PCC won the state crown with the largest margin of victory in the sport’s history of 148 points. This squad set six national records and included state champion event gold medals for four future PCC Hall of Famers in Marks in the 100 freestyle, Barnett in the 400 individual medley, Aikin in the 200 butterfly and Per Kersmark in the 200 freestyle. Three PCC relays also were event winners. The program completed its ninth Metro Conference title in a row and captured the SoCal Sectional championship for the seventh time in eight seasons.
Alonzo Brooks, 1977-78, Football
Brooks is one of the greatest defensive linemen in the history of PCC football. He twice was an All-Metro Conference selection on two champion teams. He helped the 1977 Hall of Fame squad finish 11-1 and win the state, Junior Rose Bowl, and JC Grid-Wire national championships. That year, he set a PCC single-game record for quarterback sacks with 4.5 v. El Camino. As a sophomore, he was the team’s lone All-American in helping the 1978 Lancers finish 8-3 with a victory in the Potato Bowl. The next year, he played on the University of Nevada Las Vegas Hall of Fame 1979 squad that finished 9-1-2.
1984 PCC Men’s Track and Field Team
The ’84 Lancers men’s track and field team was the second state champion in six years under head coach Skip Robinson. PCC, which also won the SoCal title, had a roll call of state individual first-place medals in PCC Hall of Famer Eric Thomas (long jump), Fabian Cooper (200 meters), Owen Herrera (110 hurdles), Jerome Carter (high jump), and the 4×100 relay of Lew Dunn, Thomas, Troy Wright and Cooper. Thomas, who went on to play in the NFL and in a Super Bowl as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, was honored as the Co-Metro Conference Athlete of the Year. Setting still-standing school records during this magical season were Carter in the HJ (7-4.1/4), Herrera in the hurdles, triple jumper Michael Pullins, who scored second at state, and 800 racer Alfonso Averhart.
Joe Peron, Women’s Basketball Head Coach, 1996-2025
Peron is one the greatest coaches in the history of California Community College women’s basketball. He became the all-time wins leader in any sport in the 101-year history of PCC athletics with 593 victories in his 28 seasons. In 2009, he directed the Lancers to the first state championship in PCC women’s sports history. From 2004-2010, he set a state record by coaching his teams to seven consecutive appearances at the State Final Eight. Three times, Joe’s teams played in the state championship game and twice they made it to the semis. His squads produced six South Coast Conference titles and made 25 trips to the playoffs. In 2006-07, the team set single-season PCC records for most wins (34) and longest win streak 28. Three of Peron players are PCC Hall of Famers in Tiana Sanders, Dionne Pounds and a ’26 inductee Kinyada Johnson. While going in as a coach, Peron is a PCC playing alumnus who helped the Lancers reach the 1983 men’s basketball state championship game that the Lancers lost in triple overtime v. Cerritos.
2001 PCC Football Team
The ’01 Lancers football team captured the Mission Conference championship, finishing 10-1 under head coach Tom Maher. Two PCC Hall of Famers led the only JC All-American First Team backfield from the same college ever in record-setting, 2,000-yard running back Jonathan Smith and quarterback Nathan Chandler. This was the highest scoring team in PCC history at 42.3 points per game while the squad led the state in total offense. Other All-Americans included center Jesus Yanez and defensive stars in lineman Jimmy Williams and linebacker Jeff Runnells. PCC Hall of Famer James Griffin was a sack leader. PCC started the year on a 7-game win streak and closed it with a victory over Grossmont in the South County Bowl. Thirty-nine players from the powerhouse team earned university scholarships.
Yura Movsisyan, 2005 Soccer
An All-South Coast Conference First Team selection in 2005, Movsisyan is lauded as the greatest men’s soccer player in PCC history. His nearly a goal-a-game average resulted in 18 goals, 4 assists in just 19 matches for the Lancers. He was named PCC Men’s Athlete of the Year for 2005-2006 and was the first-ever, PCC choice as a CCCSIA State Athlete of the Month. He made history as the first community college player ever drafted by Major League Soccer as the No. 4 overall pick by the Kansas City Wizards in 2006. In 2009, Movsisyan helped Real Salt Lake win the MLS Cup. He went on to sign the richest pro contract for an Armenian-born athlete to play for Spartak, Moscow and became a leading scorer in the Russian Premier League. He proudly played for his home country on the Armenia National Team.
Kinyada Johnson, 2007-2009, Basketball
An all-time great in women’s basketball, Johnson was the tourney MVP on the first-ever state team champion in Lancers women’s sports history in 2009. At point guard, Johnson was a 2-time All-South Coast Conference First Teamer and All-State her second year. She tops the PCC’s all-time scoring list with 1,097 points. She also holds the school’s assists record for a season and career (443). Her 200 career steals is second highest. Her 35 points v. Chaffey is tied for a PCC single-game playoff high and she scored 34 in the state quarterfinals. In her first season, she led PCC to the state semifinals. In her two years, PCC had a winning mark of 62-10. Johnson was inducted into the CCCWBCA Hall of Fame in 2024.
Tammy Silva, Women’s Volleyball Head Coach, 2007-2012
Silva’s 6-year run as PCC volleyball coach was impressive. She took a program that won just four matches combined in the previous two years and turned it into a regional powerhouse. She made history in 2009 by directing the school’s first-ever South Coast Conference champion, setting PCC records for most victories, 23, and longest win streak at 22. That team dominated with 19 sweeps. She was honored as SCC Women’s Coach of the Year for all sports. She coached PCC to a second SCC crown in 2012. Two of her teams advanced to the regional finals. Tammy’s final PCC record was 113-35 for a .764 win percentage
Marissa Rangel, 2008-2010, Volleyball/Softball
Rangel excelled as a defensive dynamo on both the PCC volleyball and softball teams, twice making All-South Coast Conference First Team as a libero and a 2-time All-SCC choice as a centerfielder. She was a key performer on the first Lancers SCC champion in volleyball in 2009 that went undefeated at 16-0 in conference and won a PCC record 23 matches overall. Marissa set school records at the time for most digs in a season and career. In softball, she was the team’s leading hitter as a sophomore and set a PCC record with for highest fielding percentage as a freshman. She continued her success at Texas Wesleyan University where she set its school record for batting average as well as a top volleyball digs leader.
Gordon Ingebritson, 2018-19, Baseball
Using a variety of arm angles from the mound, Ingebritson sparkled as a pitching ace for two seasons on the PCC baseball team. His 13 career victories and 144 strikeouts are PCC records. His 2.29 ERA in 90.1 innings as a freshman is the third lowest in school history. Gordon pitched a rarity in hurling both a 1-hitter and 2-hitter complete-game wins. As a sophomore, he was the school’s first South Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year and helped the Lancers win the 2019 SCC North Division title. He was later named All-State and went on to become a 2-time All-Big West Conference First Team selection at UC Irvine.
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