NOR CAL HALL OF FAME: Former Indians humbled by honor

Tib Belza can still remember the crack of wooden bats at Bryant Field.

He grew up down the street from Marysville High School in the 1960s and looked forward to going with his buddies to the lakeside ballpark to watch the Marysville Giants.

Belza would chase down foul balls and admire the ballplayers, some of which would go on to be inducted into the Northern California Sports Association Hall of Fame — now, he's joining them.

Belza, along with 11 other men, will be inducted into the NCSA Hall of Fame on Saturday in the 42nd annual event.

The Marysville High alumnus is one of three local products to be inducted into the hall, along with his longtime friend Joe Rose and fellow Marysville grad Mike Monahan, who was good friends with Belza's older brother.

He joins his father, John Belza, who was inducted into the NCSA Hall of Fame in 1976.

"It's a special honor," Tib Belza said. "It's really special to be going in with two other guys from Marysville."

Belza lettered four years in three different sports at Marysville from 1971-74. He was an All-North Metro League selection his senior year with the Indians in football.

Belza also played basketball and baseball for the Indians. Juggling multiple sports was never a problem for Belza.

He went on to Yuba College where he continued his multi-sport career as both a football and baseball player.

"I really loved each sport," Belza said. "I just went with the seasons and it never felt like drudgery. I grew to love football and found my niche there."

He was a kick-return specialist and wide receiver for the 49ers and was an All-Golden Valley Conference in the fall of 1975.

Belza transferred to UC Davis and played two years of football under coach Jim Sochor. Belza visited the Davis campus in high school on a recruiting trip.

"It was a good fit for me," Belza said. "They ran a wide-open offense and I wanted a good education."

At Davis, Belza was introduced to the sport of rugby by his roommate.

Belza played four years of rugby for the Colusa County Rugby Association and was part of the team that was inducted into the Colusa County Hall of Fame.

After his playing days, Belza served four years as Yuba County Supervisor (1989-92) and is the Yuba County Water Agency Director, a position he's held since 1989.

Belza said he takes great pride in being a local athlete and is extremely humbled by Saturday's honor.

He's also looking forward to seeing Monahan, who was a standout athlete with the Indians as well. Both Monahan and Belza went to the now-defunct Notre Dame School.

At Marysville High, Monahan lettered four years in both football and track and field from 1956-60.

His athletic career took off at Yuba College where he was a member of the 1962 49ers track and field squad that was inducted into the Yuba Hall of Fame in 2008.

Monahan ran sprints, mid-distance and competed in the long jump. He said his track commitment helped him tremendously on the football field — he didn't lose one race in 1961 in the 100-yard dash.

He moved on to Humboldt State where he continued to run track and also starred as a cornerback for the Lumberjacks. He was an All-Far Western Conference selection and team MVP in 1965.

When he wasn't running track or playing football, Monahan put in hours at the local lumber mill and spent summers logging. That's how he put himself through school.

Monahan loved the atmosphere in Arcata, where the entire community rallied around the football program on Saturdays at the Redwood Bowl.

"Every Saturday I got to live my life to its fullest extent," Monahan said. "I consider (Humboldt) my second home. I'll remember the teammates, the personal relationships, the people I played with — they are lifelong friends."

Like Belza, Monahan also took up rugby and played on the Bay Area Touring Side, which in 1968 was rated the No. 1 team in the country among all university and club teams.

Monahan taught and coached at Yuba City High for two years (1967-68) before beginning a successful career in the sporting goods industry.

Being inducted on Saturday means so much to him because of the people he will be joining on a very distinguished list.

"Its humbling," Monahan said.

Albert Ali (Posthumously)

Ali was a three-sport standout at Grass Valley High from 1944-47.

He was three-time All-Sierra Foothill League selection at running back and led his school to three consecutive league titles.

Despite his 5-6, 150-pound stature, Ali also succeeded in basketball where he led Grass Valley to two straight SFL championships, leading the team in scoring both years.

In baseball as a pitcher/shortstop, Ali helped Grass Valley win three straight SFL titles.

He earned the nickname "The Arm" for his pitching prowess and would later sign with the Chicago White Sox.

Following high school, Ali continued his three-sport playing career at Placer College.

He played semi-pro baseball with the Grass Valley Braves and the Great Falls Selectrics of the Pioneer League.

Ali retired in 1949 after being diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

He earned a an elementary and secondary teaching credential from Sacramento State and Chico State. He taught for 10 years at Hennessy Elementary School before passing away in 1969.

Nevada Union High's gymnasium is named after him and the Albert Ali Sports Award is given every year to the school's top male and female athletes.

Jerry Attaway

Attaway is no stranger to the Mid-Valley area.

He was a standout with the Yuba College football team from 1964-66 where he played fullback, tight end, wide receiver and cornerback.

Attaway was inducted into the Yuba College Hall of Fame in 2004.

Originally from Susanville, Attaway was a four-sport athlete at Lassen High, lettering in football, basketball, baseball and track and field.

After his time with Yuba College, Atttaway transferred to UC Davis where he played football for two years under coaches Herb Smallenberger and Jim Sochor.

Attaway earned a bachelor's degree from Sacramento State in biology and a master's degree from College of Idaho.

Attaway's coaching career began with UC Davis from 1970-72 where he was a defensive backs coach. He held the same position at College of Idaho from 1973-75.

He was an outside linebackers coach at Utah State from 1976-77 under Bruce Snyder.

In 1978, he became coordinator of physical development and assistant offensive line coach at USC. He was with the Trojans until 1982 and, in that time, the Trojans won two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl and the 1978 national championship.

Attaway spent the rest of his career from 1983-2005 as the coordinator of physical development for the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners won four Super Bowls in that time span.

Rick Bosetti

Bosetti is wearing several different hats right now.

He's currently head baseball coach at Simpson College in Redding, while balancing his duties as Vice-Mayor of the city.

Bosetti is also currently campaigning for a spot in the state assembly.

He played Major League Baseball from 1976-1982, spending time with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics.

In 1978 he played in all 162 games for the Blue Jays, leading the majors in putouts and assists by a center fielder.

Before his time in MLB, Bosetti played collegiately at Shasta College and prepped at Anderson High.

He is also a member of the Shasta County Sports Hall of Fame.

Paul Hackett

Hackett spent nearly 30 years coaching in the National Football League, notably spending three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

Hackett was quarterbacks coach for the Niners, working with Joe Montana as the team won Super Bowl XIX.

He moved on to Dallas where he was the Cowboys' passing game coordinator from 1986-88. From 1989-1992, Hackett was head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

Hackett returned to the NFL in 1993, where he was reunited with Montana as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hackett held that position through the 1997 season before accepting the head coaching job at USC. Hackett was an assistant with the Trojans from 1976-80.

The NFL came calling again in 2001 when Hackett became offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. In 2005 he became quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until 2007.

Hackett ended his coaching career after a three-year stint as Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach from 2008-1010.

Before his coaching career, Hackett played quarterback for UC Davis from 1965-68. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1969 and coached the school's freshman football team in 1970-71.

Beginning in 1972, he spent four years with California as both a graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach.

Hackett prepped at Miramonte High in Orinda where he was a three-sport athlete. He was quarterback for the football team, point guard for the basketball squad and catcher for the baseball program.

Bob Hamilton (Posthumously)

His name is familiar to fans of Yuba College basketball as Hamilton coached the 49ers from 1989-95.

Before his time with the 49ers, Hamilton spent 22 years as head coach at UC Davis.

In that time span, his teams won seven conference championships and he was voted Coach of the Year three times. He is the school's all-time winningest basketball coach with 300 victories.

His first coaching assignment was at Medford High in Oregon from 1947-49. He then moved up to Canada and coached the Letheridge Green Acres squad from 1952-63.

Hamilton played college ball at the University of Oregon and was team captain his sophomore, junior and senior years.

He's currently ranked No. 11 on Oregon's all-time scoring list and led the Ducks to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in his junior season.

Hamilton played semi-pro basketball in the American Basketball Association for one season in 1946 and played three years with the Portland Indians of the West Coast Professional league.

He was an all-state performer at Marshalltown High in Iowa his junior and senior years.

Larry Heath

Heath was a three-sport athlete at Oroville High from 1960-64.

He played football, basketball and baseball, earning All-SFL honors in each sport.

He earned his bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Stanford where he played football and baseball.

After graduating from Stanford, Heath moved on to U.C. San Francisco Medical School.

He ran a private practice for 15 years in the Lodi/Stockton area and 17 more years in Wisconsin. He's been a volunteer physician since 2008.

Sigurd Ostrom

The Roseville High graduate was a three-sport star for the Tigers from 1967-71.

In football, he was the program's MVP for two seasons and led the basketball team to a SFL championship. He ran hurdles for the track squad.

At Sierra College, he was the team MVP along with first team all-conference.

Ostrom transferred to Stanford and played two years for Jack Christiansen.

Ostrom spent 27 years at Nevada Union High as both a football and track coach.

Before that, he spent time coaching at Oakmont High, James Logan High and Menlo-Atherton.

Mike Sizelove

Sizelove isn't a stranger to the Mid-Valley area.

He is one of the top players in the history of the Yuba College football program.

Sizelove was a junior college All-American with the 49ers and a two-time first team All-Golden Valley Conference selection.

He played for Yuba in 1967-68 and was named Northern California Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1968. That season, the tight end was third in the nation and second in the state in receiving.

Sizelove set a single-game record with 13 receptions and hauled in 95 passes in a two-year span.

He transferred to the University of Idaho where he was an All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention in 1970.

He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1970 and played two seasons for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL.

Sizelove spent his high school days at Chico High where he was a three-sport athlete.

After his playing days were over, Sizelove coached 21 seasons at Diamond High in Anchorage, Alaska. He was the school's athletic director from 1991-96.

James Thomas

Known better as "Spider," Thomas is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in the history of the Sacramento area.

Thomas led Sacramento's Kennedy High School to 12 Metro Conference and Delta League championships and two Sac-Joaquin Section titles.

He's been named the league Coach of the Year 10 times and is a three-time Sacramento Bee Coach of the Year.

Thomas taught math and science for 36 years before retiring in 2005.

He played professional baseball from 1965-71 in the Boston Red Sox farm system.

Thomas struck out 17 batters in a game in 1966 and punched out 18 in a game in 1967.

He was drafted in the third round of the MLB Draft out of Sacramento State.

With the Hornets, Thomas was a two-time All-Far Western Conference pick and a first team All-American in 1964.

He also played forward on the Hornets' basketball team.

Thomas played four sports at Winters High.

In football he was an all league selection. On the basketball court, Sizelove was a three-time all-league selection, two-time league MVP and was the second leading scorer in the state in 1961-62.

In baseball as a pitcher/first baseman, he was a three-time all-league pick and in tennis he went undefeated in 1961.