Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2023
Hundreds of Stocktonians gathered in the Stockton Memorial Civic for an evening filled with old sports stories from some of the greatest athletes from the 209. They all came together for the 58th Annual Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame Induction ceremony dinner on Wednesday.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here tonight getting inducted by the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame,” said Don Mazzilli, a 2023 Hall of Fame inductee. “I've gotten so much communication from friends and former teammates and it truly means so much especially to have my mom here to see this. I wish my dad could have as well.”
Mazzilli along with six other athletes, one athletic family, and two teams are the newest parts of Stockton Athletic history as this year's 2023 inductees. After tonight they are among the special group of athletes who have made an impact on Stockton through their chosen sports.
Here are the 2023 Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.
(Inductees listed in alphabetical order)
Doug Adams (Memorial Award)
Adams was leading the Calaveras Babe Ruth All-Star baseball team on the mound when they did what no other Stockton team had done before them. In 1965 they were the first Stockton area team to go to the World Series and Adams was their pitcher. He was a graduate of Stagg High School and San Joaquin Delta College where he played both basketball and tennis. Up until his last days Adams continued to play tennis while battling cancer. He died at the age of 28 in April 1978.
Joseph Abdullah
When you think of a hometown hero for the Stockton area Adullah is a name that comes to mind. From 1990-91 he was the man for St. Mary’s football as its star running back earned him All-League and All-Area recognitions. From there Abdullah stayed in the 209 as the running back for the University of the Pacific for the next few years and is known for scoring the Tigers final touchdown before the sport was no longer offered. In his junior and senior seasons at Pacific, he proved he had NFL talent rushing for a total of 2,409 yards. He played professionally for two years with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.
Tiffany Ducker
Ducker knew how to win. During her time playing basketball for St. Mary’s, she helped lead the Rams to three California State titles on the Division III level. In her senior year, she was selected as the 2004 Player of the Year before going on to play at Oregon State from 2004-09. Ducker earned the title of Defensive Player of the Year in the 2006-07 season. She was a lockdown defender throughout her professional career as well as being named the Defensive Player of the Year in Slovakia. Today Buckner is a basketball trainer and special education teacher following a few years of coaching.
Walt Harris
From 1964-68 Harris played football at Pacific which led him to his calling of coaching. His coaching career had him a little bit of everywhere from his alma mater to Cal Berkley, Michigan State, Illinois, and Tennessee. He was head coach at Pacific from 1989-91 and also was at the helm of Pittsburg and Stanford. Harris made it to the NFL in 1992 as the quarterback coach for the New York Jets. His decades' worth of knowledge of the game has him considered to be one of the best football minds in the country.
Tom Jones
Before Jones was at the helm of Pacific basketball he was a star for the Tigers from 1965-69. Jones was named the team’s MVP in 1968 and then the Mr. Team Award in his final season. He would go on to coach the university basketball and tennis teams throughout his 20 years of coaching across the city of Stockton. Jones has written two books about the sports scene in the 209 and is working on a third book about Pacific football.
Don Mazzilli
One of the greatest baseball players hailing from St. Mary’s baseball program is Mazzilli. From 1975-76 he was the Rams’ best slugger earning him the MVP title in their league and All-Northern California honors. He led the team in home runs, and RBI and was second in batting average. Mazzilli was also a solid basketball player earning All-League honors on the court as well. He played baseball for Santa Clara after he graduated high school and would go on to play in the minor league with the San Francisco Giants.
Joane Orbon
At 13 years old Orbon won the first Continental Championship and attained her first degree jr. black belt. This would be the start of her decorated karate career for the Bear Creek High School and San Joaquin Delta College alum. Orbon is a 14-time USA National Karate Champion spanning from 2004-2019. At the peak of her career, she was ranked sixth in the entire world. After she broke her ankle and missed out on the 2021 Olympics Orbon decided to open her own Karate studio in San Jose.
Simmons Family
Rene’e, Jeff, and Kevin Simmons are being inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame for their standout contributions to sports in local high schools. Rene’e was a star basketball, softball, and volleyball player at Stagg and Edison High School. She went on to play basketball at San Jose State before coming back to the 209 to coach girls' basketball at Chavez and Stagg High School from 2001-11.
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Jeff was also a multiple sport athlete for the Vikings playing football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He was the All-San Joaquin Athletic Association leading wide receiver before earning a scholarship to play football at USC. He led the then Pac 10 in reception yards at one point. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1983.
Kevin Simmons's chosen sport was basketball. In 1975 he led St. Mary’s to an undefeated season and would go on to earn accolades all four seasons as a Ram. Kevin took his talents to Washington State and then to Whitworth University where he was named to the NAIA All-District team. He went on to coach high school and college basketball.
1965 Calaveras Babe Ruth baseball team
As the first Stockton baseball team to make it to the World Series, the 1965 Calaveras Babe Ruth team was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The team competed in the Pacific Southwest Regional Championship taking down teams from Arizona, Hawaii, Utah, Nevada, and California. This earned them their final trip to the big stage in Anderson, Indiana where the 1965 World Series was held.
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1966 Stagg High School football team
The 1966 Stagg football team is one of two teams to be inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame this year. The Delta Kings ended that year with a 9-1 overall record and a 6-1 SJAA record. Head coach Bill Gott led his team to a Central California Conference Championship and a 10th place NorCal ranking. Nine players from this stellar team were named to the All-City list and eight made the All-SJAA list.
Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: See who was inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame
