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PLU Athletic Hall of Fame
1993 Inductees
(Inducted Oct. 15, 1993)
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HANS ALBERTSSON
(Men's Track & Field, Basketball)
Hans Albertsson earned first team All-America
honors in track and field after winning the 1962 NAIA high
jump championship with a leap of 6 feet, 8 inches. Albertsson
was also a basketball standout, leading the 1961-62 club in
scoring (547 points, 21.0 average), rebounding (288, 11.0
average) and field goal percentage (203-of-347, .585). He
is tied for fifth on the all-time single-game scoring list,
tallying 38 points in a 1962 contest against Whitworth. He
earned NAIA and United Press International second team All-America
honors for his performance during the 1961-62 season. Albertsson
now lives in his home country of Sweden, where he owns a sporting
goods store in Upsala, teaches physical education and directs
basketball camps.
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| ELIZABETH
GREEN FINLEY
(Women's Swimming)
Elizabeth Green dominated the breaststroke
and individual medley events in Northwest collegiate swimming
from 1981-84. She set school records in seven events, captured
17 individual conference championships and 13 Northwest regional
titles. She never lost at the regional level for four straight
years in the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys and the
200-meter breaststroke. Green, who earned NAIA All-America
honors 14 times, won the 1983 NAIA national title in the 200-meter
IM and placed second in the 400-meter IM, then finished second
in both events at the 1984 national meet. She was co-winner
of PLU's Women of the Year in Sports Award in 1984. After
graduating from Pacific Lutheran, she earned her master's
degree in biology from Washington State in 1986. She now lives
in Reno, Nevada, with her husband, Robert Finley, and their
two children.
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GLEN HUFFMAN
(Football, Basketball and Baseball, 1949-53)
A 1953 Pacific Lutheran graduate, Glen Huffman
starred in football, basketball and baseball, starting all
four years in each sport. During his senior year, Huffman
led the football team to an Evergreen Conference title from
his quarterback position. He also served as basketball team
captain and helped guide that squad to a second-place conference
finish and a berth in the NAIA district playoffs while earning
all-conference honors. Huffman was also the baseball team's
captain. Huffman earned post-graduate degrees from the University
of Washington and Stanford University and is now engineering
manager and chief engineer of the microwave power tube business
unit for Varian Associates in Palo Alto, Calif. He and his
wife, Tacy, have two children.
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| DAVID
JAMES
(Sports Writer, 1936-44)
During the glory years of the early 1940s
when Pacific Lutheran ruled the Northwest football gridiron,
it was David James, a sportswriter for the Tacoma News Tribune
from 1936-44, who focused the nation's attention on the Gladiators.
James' ability to recount the drama of the game and the spirit
of the players and fans made this group of "nobodies"
the country's best-known small college team from 1939 through
1941. His accounts of Pacific Lutheran games flashed across
the newswires, and sports pages from New York to Los Angeles
chronicled the efforts of the Gladiators. James, who has written
four books and edited six others, was public affairs director
and later Vice President, Public Affairs for Simpson Timber
Company from 1947-75. He was married for 57 years to Maria
Heikkinen, who died in 1991.
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DAVE TRAGESER
(Men's Tennis)
Tennis standout Dave Trageser, an NAIA All-American
from 1977 to 1979, qualified for the NAIA national tournament
each of his four years at Pacific Lutheran, reaching the round
of 16 as a freshman and the quarterfinals as a sophomore.
As a junior in 1978, he was named the outstanding player at
the national tournament after advancing to the singles finals
and doubles semifinals. He finished that season with a 34-1
record in singles play, losing only in the national championship
match. The following year, Trageser advanced to the national
singles semifinals and national doubles finals. His singles
record as a senior was 34-2. He dominated his conference and
district competition, four times winning singles titles and
three times winning doubles crowns in each level. He finished
his Pacific Lutheran career with an overall singles record
of 125-12. He also earned NAIA Academic All-American honors
in 1979, the first year the award was given. Trageser earned
his MBA from Seattle University in 1989 and currently works
at Dain Bosworth Incorporated - Public Finance Department,
in Seattle. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters.
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DR.
ROY VIRAK
Roy Virak, a family physician in Tacoma, volunteered
his time and talent for more than 20 years as team doctor
for many of Pacific Lutheran's athletic teams. He could be
counted on to be at every PLU football game, and was known
for his vociferous support of the Lutes. He graduated from
Pacific Lutheran in 1952 and in numerous ways remained involved
with the school for the next 40 years until passing away on
Aug. 22, 1993. In addition to serving as team doctor, he was
a PLU alumni board member, President of the Alumni Association
and member of the Board of Regents. In addition, he was a
staff member at numerous hospitals in the Tacoma area. The
Washington Academy of Family Practice honored him as Family
Doctor of the Year in 1992. He is survived by his wife, Gloria,
and their two daughters..
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