What is presented below is a section-by-section list of those who were voted in among the first 100 into the California High School Football Hall of Fame at the Rose Bowl in 2023, plus those who have been added in the second class two years ago and those who were just voted in this year. As a guide for future deliberations, we also have added our own lists of those players and coaches who are still not included in this Hall of Fame. These are based on our own numerous lists of all-state teams and all-time state records that have been worked on for 48 years. These lists should be viewed as helpful for future research and inductions.
FOR FEATURE STORY BY LONGTIME CAL-HI SPORTS EDITOR MARK TENNIS ABOUT HIS DAY AT THE ROSE BOWL AND THIS YEAR’S INDUCTEES, CLICK HERE.
CIF CENTRAL SECTION
Derek Carr started high school in Texas but finished up at Bakersfield Christian. He retired after a very successful NFL career after the 2024 season. Photo: bakersfield.com.
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Derek Carr (Bakersfield Christian) QB*
Henry Ellard (Hoover, Fresno) WR
Frank Gifford (Bakersfield) RB
Jimmy Johnson (Kingsburg) DB
Daryle Lamonica (Clovis) QB
Tim McDonald (Edison, Fresno) DB
Don Mosebar (Mt. Whitney, Visalia) OL
Les Richter (Fresno) LB
Jeff Siemon (Bakersfield) LB
Charles Young (Edison, Fresno) TE
*Voted in for 2026.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
John Baker (Kingsburg) OL
Jeff Buckey (Bakersfield) OL
Ron Cox (Washington, Easton) LB
Ryan Mathews (West, Bakersfield) RB
Kent Nance (Madera) RB
Lorenzo Neal (Lemoore) FB
Joey Porter (Foothill, Bakersfield) LB
Steve Wofford (Bakersfield) RB
Louis Wright (Bakersfield) DB
Note: Josh Allen (Firebaugh) QB may not yet be eligible to be voted on since NFL career is still going strong.
CIF CENTRAL COAST SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Steve Bartkowski (Buchser, Santa Clara) QB
Gary Beban (Sequoia, Redwood City) QB
Tom Brady (Serra, San Mateo) QB
Nello “Flash” Falaschi (Bellarmine, San Jose) RB
Dan Fouts (St. Ignatius, San Francisco) QB
Jim Harbaugh (Palo Alto) QB
Craig Morton (Campbell) QB
Jim Plunkett (James Lick, San Jose) QB
Ron Rivera (Seaside) LB
Lynn Swann (Serra, San Mateo) WR
Pat Tillman (Leland, San Jose) LB/DB*
*Voted in for 2026.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Davante Adams (Palo Alto) WR
Jared Allen (Los Gatos) DL
Andre Carter (Oak Grove, San Jose) DL
Trent Dilfer (Aptos) QB
Julian Edelman (Woodside) QB/WR
Herm Edwards (Monterey) DB
Trent Edwards (Los Gatos) QB
Mason Foster (Seaside) LB
Erik Howard (Bellarmine, San Jose) DL
Tut Imlay (Salinas) QB
Greg Jones (South San Francisco) RB
Deltha O’Neal (Milpitas) DB
Dan Pastorini (Bellarmine, San Jose) QB/P
John Paye (Menlo School, Atherton) QB
Tim Rossovich (St. Francis, Mountain View) LB
Tim Ryan (Oak Grove, San Jose) DL
CIF LOS ANGELES CITY SECTION
NFL all-time great QB John Elway wore No. 11 when he was playing at Granada Hills High in late 1970s. Photo: Twitter.com.
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Jon Arnett (Manual Arts) RB
Hal Bedsole (Reseda) WR
Ricky Bell (Fremont) RB
Ron Cuccia (Wilson, Los Angeles) QB
Anthony Davis (San Fernando) RB
Tom Fears (Manual Arts) WR
Gaston Green (Gardena) RB
John Elway (Granada Hills) QB
Mike Garrett (Roosevelt) RB
Jamelle Holieway (Banning, Wilmington) QB/RB
Michael Haynes (John Marshall) DB
Keyshawn Johnson (Dorsey) WR*
James Lofton (Washington) WR
Hugh McElhenny (Washington) RB
Freeman McNeil (Banning, Wilmington) RB
Warren Moon (Hamilton) QB
Joe Perry (Jordan) RB
James Washington (Jordan, Los Angeles) DB*
Kenny Washington (Lincoln) RB
Bob Waterfield (Van Nuys) QB
Charles White (San Fernando) RB
*Voted in for 2026.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Arnold Ale (Carson) LB
Michael Alo (Banning, Wilmington) RB/LB
Nnamdi Asumugha (Narbonne, Harbor City) DB
Roy Foster (Taft, Woodland Hills) OL
Darian Hagan (Locke) QB/RB
Jack Kemp (Fairfax) QB
Frank Manumaluena (Banning, Wilmington) LB
Rod Martin (Hamilton) LB
Ken Norton (Westchester) LB
Tom Ramsey (Kennedy, Granada Hills) QB
Malcolm Smith (Taft, Woodland Hills) LB
Steve Smith (Taft, Woodland Hills) WR
Steve Smith (University, Los Angeles) WR
De’Anthony Thomas (Crenshaw) RB/KR
Wendell Tyler (Crenshaw) RB
Wesley Walker (Carson) WR
Bob Whitfield (Banning, Wilmington) OL
CIF NORTH COAST SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Dick Bass (Vallejo) RB
Jack Del Rio (Hayward) LB
Zach Ertz (Monte Vista, Danville) TE
Jared Goff (Marin Catholic, Kentfield) QB
John Henry Johnson (Pittsburg) RB
Maurice Jones-Drew (De La Salle, Concord) RB
Gino Marchetti (Antioch) DL
Rey Maualuga (Eureka) LB
Ernie Nevers (Santa Rosa) RB**
Ron Pritchard (Antioch) LB
Jerry Robinson (Cardinal Newman, Santa Rosa) LB
Amani Toomer (De La Salle, Concord) WR
Gino Torretta (Pinole Valley, Pinole) QB
Norm Van Brocklin (Acalanes, Lafayette) QB***
D.J. Williams (De La Salle, Concord) RB/LB
Roy Williams (James Logan, Union City) QB/DB
**Didn’t graduate from Santa Rosa.
***Didn’t play senior season (World War II).
Note: Vallejo has been in both the NCS & Sac-Joaquin Section over the years.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Jahvid Best (Salesian, Richmond) RB
Vic Bottari (Vallejo) QB/RB
Bill Corbus (Vallejo) OL
Ken Dorsey (Miramonte, Orinda) QB
Tarik Glenn (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland) OL
Mel Gray (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) WR
Matt Hazeltine (Tamalpais, Mill Valley) LB
Derek Landri (De La Salle, Concord) OL/DL
Jamir Miller (El Cerrito) LB
Ron Pritchard (Antioch) LB
Aaron Taylor (De La Salle, Concord) OL
Jim Turner (Swett, Crockett) PK/QB
Regan Upshaw (Pittsburg) DL
CIF NORTHERN SECTION
Player Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Aaron Rodgers (Pleasant Valley, Chico) QB
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Mort Kaer (Red Bluff) QB
Jason Seehorn (Mt. Shasta) DB
Jeff Stover (Corning) DL
Aaron Thomas (Weed) TE
Note: Kaer also won 189 games as a head coach at Weed for 30 years.
CIF OAKLAND SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
John Brodie (Oakland Tech) QB
Marshawn Lynch (Oakland Tech) RB
Harold “Brick” Muller (Oakland Tech) WR/ATH
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Chris Burford (Oakland) WR
Jackie Jensen (Oakland) QB
CIF SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Dick Bass (Vallejo) RB
Tedy Bruschi (Roseville) DL/LB
Eddie LeBaron (Oakdale) QB
Ken O’Brien (Jesuit, Carmichael) QB
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Robbie Bosco (Roseville) QB
Lance Briggs (Elk Grove) LB
Virgil Carter (Folsom) QB
Shante Carver (Lincoln, Stockton) DL
Don Doll (Grant, Sacramento) QB*
Tony Eason (Delta, Clarksburg) QB
Jason Fisk (Davis) DL
Aaron Garcia (Grant, Sacramento) QB
Dano Graves (Folsom) QB
J.D. Hill (Edison, Stockton) WR
Colin Kaepernick (Pitman, Turlock) QB
Logan Mankins (Mariposa County, Mariposa) OL
Bill Munson (Lodi) QB
Onterrio Smith (Grant, Sacramento) RB
Shaq Thompson (Grant, Sacramento) DB/LB
Paul Wiggin (Manteca) OL
Kevin Willhite (Cordova, Rancho Cordova) RB
*Known as Don Burnside in high school.
Note: Jake Browning (Folsom) QB may not yet eligible to be voted on as his NFL career is not over.
CIF SAN DIEGO SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Marcus Allen (Lincoln, San Diego) RB
Willie Buchanon (Oceanside) DB
Reggie Bush (Helix, La Mesa) RB
Lincoln Kennedy (Morse, San Diego) OL
John Lynch (Torrey Pines, San Diego) DB
Bill McColl (Hoover, San Diego) WR/TE
Darrell Russell (St. Augustine, San Diego) DL*
Rashaan Salaam (La Jolla Country Day) RB
Junior Seau (Oceanside) LB
Alex Smith (Helix, La Mesa) QB
Ricky Williams (Patrick Henry, San Diego) RB
*Voted in for 2026.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Eric Allen (Point Loma, San Diego) DB
Sal Aunese (Vista) QB
Donnie Edwards (Chula Vista) LB
Arian Foster (Mission Bay, San Diego) RB
La’Roi Glover (Point Loma, San Diego) DL
Wally Henry (Lincoln, San Diego) RB/KR
Deron Johnson (San Diego) ATH
Ted Johnson (Carlsbad) LB
Teddy Lawrence (Morse, San Diego) QB/RB
Mark Malone (El Cajon Valley) QB
Art Powell (San Diego) WR
Noel Prefontaine (El Camino, Oceanside) PK/P
C.R. Roberts (Oceanside) RB
Brian Sipe (Grossmont, El Cajon) QB
Robert Thomas (Imperial) LB
Pisa Tinoisamoa (Vista) RB/LB
Cotton Warburton (San Diego) HB
CIF SAN FRANCISCO SECTION
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Ollie Matson (Washington) RB/ATH
Bob St. Clair (Poly, S.F.) OL
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Rod Franz (Galileo) OL
Mike Holmgren (Lincoln, S.F) QB
Note: No one seriously considered voting for O.J. Simpson (Galileo) RB for first class.
CIF SOUTHERN SECTION
Future NFL lineman and 1992 Mr. Football Travis Kirschke was proud of his team from Esperanza of Anaheim at 1992 magazine cover shoot. Photo: Student Sports.
Players Voted Into State Hall of Fame:
Frankie Albert (Glendale) QB
Matt Barkley (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) QB
George Buehler (Whittier) OL
Mark Carrier (Long Beach Poly) DB
Chris Claiborne (J.W. North, Riverside) LB/RB
Sean Cody (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights) DL
Randy Cross (Crespi, Encino) OL
Randall Cunningham (Santa Barbara) QB
Sam Cunningham (Santa Barbara) RB
Glenn Davis (Bonita, La Verne) RB
Morley Drury (Long Beach Poly) RB
Kai Forbath (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) PK
DeShaun Foster (Tustin) RB
Toby Gerhart (Norco) RB
Tony Gonzalez (Huntington Beach) TE/LB
Matt Grootegoed (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) RB/DB
Pat Haden (Bishop Amat, La Puente) QB
Edwin “Babe” Horrell (Pasadena) OL
John Huarte (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) QB
DeSean Jackson (Long Beach Poly) WR
Napoleon Kaufman (Lompoc) RB**
Joe Kapp (Hart, Newhall) QB
Billy Kilmer (Citrus, Azusa) QB
Travis Kirschke (Esperanza, Anaheim) DL*
Ronnie Knox (Santa Monica) QB
Matt Leinart (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) QB
Chris Lewis (Long Beach Poly) QB
Marcedes Lewis (Long Beach Poly) TE
Ronnie Lott (Eisenhower, Rialto) DB
Todd Marinovich (Capistrano Valley, Mission Viejo) QB
Bruce Matthews (Arcadia) OL
Daylon McCutcheon (Bishop Amat, La Puente) RB/DB
Willie McGinest (Long Beach Poly) DE/LB
John McKay Jr. (Bishop Amat, La Puente) WR
Mike McKeever (Mt. Carmel, Los Angeles) OL
Kory Minor (Bishop Amat, La Puente) DL
Ron Mix (Hawthorne) OL
Orv Mohler (Alhambra) QB
Donn Moomaw (Santa Ana) LB
Anthony Munoz (Chaffey, Ontario) OL
Carson Palmer (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) QB
Jackie Robinson (Muir, Pasadena) QB/RB
Mark Sanchez (Mission Viejo) QB
John Sciarra (Bishop Amat, La Puente) RB/QB
Richard Sherman (Dominguez, Compton) DB
Dennis Smith (Santa Monica) DB
Dennis Thurman (Santa Monica) DB
Gene Washington (Long Beach Poly) WR/QB
Ed White (Indio) OL**
Russell White (Crespi, Encino) RB
Robert Woods (Serra, Gardena) WR*
Ron Yary (Bellflower) OL
Luis Zendejas (Don Lugo, Chino) PK
Gary Zimmerman (Walnut) OL
*Voted in for 2026.
**Lompoc and Indio are no longer in CIFSS; but both schools were in the section during years that Kaufman and White played at their schools.
Leading Players Not In State Hall of Fame:
Kermit Alexander (Mt. Carmel, Los Angeles) DB
Bryan Anger (Camarillo) P
Roy “Bullet” Baker (Long Beach Poly) RB/QB
Steve Beuerlein (Servite, Anaheim) QB
Kyle Boller (Hart, Newhall) QB
Lorenzo Booker (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) RB
Mark Brunell (St. Joseph, Santa Maria) QB
Vontaze Burfict (Centennial, Compton) LB
Jurrell Casey (Long Beach Poly) DL
Jimmy Clausen (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) QB
Kenyon Coleman (Alta Loma) DL
Mickey Cureton (Centennial, Compton) RB
Isaac Curtis (Santa Ana) WR
Sam Darnold (San Clemente) QB
Rick DiBernardo (Edison, Huntington Beach) LB
Tyler Ebell (Ventura) RB
Marv Fleming (Compton) WR
Mickey Flynn (Anaheim) RB
Tony Hill (Long Beach Poly) WR
Lawrence Jackson (Inglewood) DL
Adoree’ Jackson (Serra, Gardena) DB
Malik Jackson (Birmingham, Lake Balboa) DL
Ronney Jenkins (Hueneme, Oxnard) RB
Bret Johnson (El Toro, Lake Forest) QB
Kermit Johnson (Blair, Pasadena) RB
Norm Johnson (Pacifica, Garden Grove) PK
Rob Johnson (El Toro, Lake Forest) QB/WR
Travis Johnson (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) DL
Matt Kalil (Servite, Anaheim) OL
George Kunz (Loyola, Los Angeles) OL
Alex Mack (San Marcos, Santa Barbara) OL
Ken Margerum (Fountain Valley) WR
Chris McAlister (Pasadena) DB
James McAlister (Blair, Pasadena) RB
Earl McCullouch (Long Beach Poly) WR
Mike McKeever (Mt. Carmel, Los Angeles) OL
Randy Meadows (Downey) RB
Blaine Nye (Servite, Anaheim) OL
Mike Rae (Lakewood) QB
Chris Sailer (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) PK
Keith Smith (Newbury Park) QB/ATH
Tyron Smith (Rancho Verde, Moreno Valley) OL
Jack Snow (St. Anthony, Long Beach) WR
Eric Turner (Ventura) DB
Myron White (Valley, Santa Ana) RB
Tim Wrightman (Mary Star, San Pedro) TE
CALIFORNIA HS FB HALL OF COACHES
Head coach John Carroll of Oceanside is one of the most obvious missing names from the coaches already listed at the California High School Football Hall of Fame. Photo: OHSFoundation.org.
Mike Alberghini (Grant, Sacramento)
Dan Albert (Monterey)*
Marijon Ancich (St. Paul, Santa Fe Springs)
John Barnes (Los Alamitos)
Dick Bruich (Fontana & Fontana Kaiser)
Lou Farrar (Charter Oak, Covina)
Bill Foltmer (Middletown)*
Steve Grady (Loyola, Los Angeles)**
Dwight “Goldie” Griffith (Bakersfield)
Tom Hamilton (Pasadena)
Terry Henigan (Irvine)*
Mike Herrington (Hart, Newhall)
Bob Hitchcock (Temple City)
Bob Johnson (El Toro & Mission Viejo)
Bob Ladouceur (De La Salle, Concord)
Herb Meyer (Oceanside & El Camino Oceanside)
Bill Redell (Encino Crespi & Oaks Christian)
Bruce Rollinson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
Kevin Rooney (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks)
Gene Vollnogle (Carson)
Harry Welch (CC Canyon, St. Margaret’s & Santa Margarita)
*Voted in for 2026
**Grady also was one of the top players in the state during his years in high school in the 1960s.
Leading Coaches Not Yet in Hall of Fame
(Still current coaches not included)
Randy Blankenship (6 schools, last one Aptos)
(313-118-6, won largest class titles in Sac-Joaquin, Central & San Diego sections)
John Carroll (Oceanside)
(252-101-6, CIF state champions 2007 & 2009, all-time best 13 CIF San Diego Section titles)
Butch Cattolico (Los Gatos)
(264-62-7, 16 league titles & 12 CIF Central Coast Section titles)
Mark Loureiro (Escalon)
(282-67-1, 2010 CIF D3 state champions, 80.7 win percentage highest among coaches not yet in)
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He is now a member of the California High School Football Hall of Fame & CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in media category. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle:
