Warriors, A's among Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame honorees
Warriors, A's among Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame honorees originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
OAKLAND – Even as many of the Warriors leave town during the NBA All-Star break, a couple of their franchise forefathers will be coming to the Bay Area.
Hall of Famer Rick Barry and Clifford Ray, teammates on the 1975 Golden State squad that shocked the world by sweeping the favored Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals, will be honored at the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame ceremony on Feb. 24 in Oakland.
Barry, who will present Ray for induction into MESHOF, also joins Oakland native and former A’s ace Dave Stewart and former NFL defensive lineman Ryan McBean as honorees for the Curt Flood Platinum Award.
The dinner and awards ceremony will take place at the Oakland Marriott City Center.
Among the other honorees are Oakland native and former Major League Baseball star Bip Roberts, Oakland native and former WNBA guard Alexis Gray-Lawson and former Olympic track and field athlete Mohinder Singh Gill. The late Travis Williams, who grew up in Richmond before a brief but spectacular NFL career, also will be honored.
Though this is MESHOF’s 30th awards ceremony, it is the inaugural presentation of the Curt Flood award, something close to the heart of MESHOF founder Arif Khatib. Flood’s off-the-field efforts ultimately led to free agency, which altered the financial landscape of MLB.
“Curt Flood took a courageous stand when he challenged baseball’s reserve clause, which cost him his brilliant career and probably enshrinement into the Hall of Fame,” Khatib told NBC Sports Bay Area. “Many of today’s athletes and coaches don’t know who he is, and others are not aware of the sacrifice he made to benefit them financially today.
“This award is an effort to shine a light on Flood’s contributions. Curt should be in the Hall of Fame.”
Flood attended Oakland’s McClymonds High School, where he shared the outfield with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and four-time MLB All-Star Vada Pinson, but graduated from Oakland Tech before signing a pro contract with the Cincinnati Reds at the age of 18. He won seven Gold Gloves and was a three-time All-Star.
Tickets remain available and can be purchased by phone (510-508-3309 or through the MESHOF website: multiethnicsportshof.com.
