The San Jose Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2024 inductees on Tuesday, marking its 29th class in its history.
This year’s inductees are John Arrillaga, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Mike Holmgren and Kerri Walsh Jennings.
“San Jose’s incredibly rich and diverse sports history makes the Hall of Fame selection process very difficult each year,” said Charlie Faas, Chairman of the San Jose Sports Authority Board of Directors in a statement. “The Class of 2024 is a wonderful representation of the deep and meaningful impact athletes and coaches with South Bay connections have made in their respective sports, locally, nationally and internationally. We are excited to welcome these four remarkable individuals into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.”
Arrillaga was an all-conference basketball player at Stanford in the 1950s, but is most known for his work in helping the college build its athletic program. As a developer in Silicon Valley, Arrillaga used his reach to help build sports facilities around Stanford’s campus, including helping renovate Stanford Stadium in 2005. He died in 2022.
John Arrillaga, real estate developer and philanthropist, 1937-2022. (Raymond Purpur, Stanford Athletic Department) (Raymond Purpur, Stanford Athletic Department)
Guerrero, a Gilroy native, was a Junior Olympics gold medalist at the age of 15 before turning pro. He won the IBF Featherweight title in 2006 and the IBF Super Featherweight championship three years later. Known for not ducking any fighter, Guerrero fought the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto. He finished his career 38-6-1.
Robert Guerrero, right, throws a jab against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the third round during a WBC welterweight title fight, Saturday, May 4, 2013, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
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Holmgren was most known for winning two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers as an assistant coach and one with the Green Bay Packers as head coach, but his coaching career started as an offensive coordinator at Oak Grove High School from 195 to 1980. Holmgren ended his coaching career with a 174-122 record, which included 13 postseason wins.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, left, talks with former coach Mike Holmgren, right, after a private memorial service for San Francisco 49ers great Dwight Clark at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)
Jennings is a legend in the sport of beach volleyball. Jennings and her partner Misty May-Treannor won Olympic gold medals at Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. A graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School, she helped win three state volleyball titles for the Monarchs along with a state basketball championship. She then went on to be a four-time volleyball All American and won two NCAA titles at Stanford.
USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings controls the ball during the women’s beach volleyball semi-final match between USA and Brazil at the Beach Volley Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 16, 2016, as part of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. ( YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images)
The four South Bay sports figures will be honored on Nov. 13 at the SAP Center in San Jose.
