Former NVC head men's basketball coach Willie Anderson to be inducted into Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame
By MARTY JAMES
Willie Anderson, a former Napa Valley College head men's basketball coach and a member of the Harlem Globetrotters for nine years, will be inducted into the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame next year, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District announced.
Anderson will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame at a dinner, auction and ceremony on March 14, 2020, at the Foley Cultural Center, located at 1499 N. Camino Alto, Vallejo. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. and goes to 9 p.m.
Willie Anderson spent four years at Napa Valley College, with his final season in 1989-1990.
Anderson passed away on Feb. 25, 2011. He was 71.
"We are very proud of him," Anderson's sister, Marilyn Anderson, said. "I just wish that he was here. It's really such a great honor, that they thought of him to do this."
The motto of the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame is "Celebrating past athletes and creating scholarships for future athletes."
Marilyn Anderson said she was recently notified of her brother's selection to the Hall of Fame by Melissa Edwards, Assistant Recreation Coordinator for the Greater Vallejo Recreation District.
"For him to get to this point, where people have thought that much about him, to induct him into the Hall of Fame, is a great, great thing," Marilyn Anderson said. "The family is going to be there. We're looking forward to the event."
Marilyn Anderson said her immediate reaction to the announcement was "Wow. It was breathtaking."
The 17th annual Hall of Fame class also includes Richie Anderson, Ronnie Anderson, Joanie Bettencourt, Bobby Gonzalez Jr., Tony Longmire, Everett Robinson, coach Ann Talamantes-Ristow, and the 1987 Vallejo High girls basketball team.
The PAL German soccer exchange program will receive special achievement honors.
Longmire, a graduate of Hogan High School, played three seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies, from 1993 to 1995, as an outfielder and pinch hitter. Longmire had a .285 batting average in 139 games, with three home runs, 37 RBIs and 18 doubles.
Willie Anderson was born in Gilbert, Louisiana. He later moved to Vallejo and graduated from Vallejo High School.
He began playing basketball at a young age.
"He ate and slept basketball. That was his talk all the time – basketball," said Marilyn Anderson. "It started when he was in school. He started playing in school. He had a love for it."
Willie Anderson excelled in college, as he was inducted into the Solano Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. He was an All-Conference player for Solano for two seasons, from 1960 to 1962.
He earned All-America honors at Oregon Tech in 1963 and continued his playing career in Australia as well as in NBA camps and NBA summer leagues.
Willie Anderson also had a tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"If he was awake, it was basketball," said Marilyn Anderson. "If he wasn't coaching, he was watching it on TV or giving his nephews pointers on what they should do."
Willie Anderson spent several years as a coach. He started the Willie Anderson School of Basketball in Australia. He also operated the Willie Anderson School of Basketball in Vallejo.
He saw a lot of the world playing basketball and as a coach took great pride in working with young players, providing instruction, directing camps, being a mentor and working hard to get them college scholarships.
"He was really concerned with the young people going to school," said Marilyn Anderson. "He helped a lot of them, through basketball, get scholarships and things, where they could go to school. That was his goal, a determination, to help them. Most of all, he wanted them to become somebody. That was really important to him."
Willie Anderson also coached girls basketball at Hogan High and boys basketball at North Hills Christian in Vallejo.
The cost to attend the Hall of Fame event is $60 for adults ($50 if purchased by Jan. 31, 2020) and $30 for youths (ages 6-17).
Tickets can be purchased at the Greater Vallejo Recreation District's main office, 395 Amador St., or by calling (707) 648-5317 or (707) 648-4600. More information is available at www.gvrd.org/contact-us/
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association, Associated Press Sports Editors, and California Prep Sports Media Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in September of 2019.