Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald and late journalist Pedro Gomez are among members of the 2022 class of members to be inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission announced Wednesday. did.
Former Phoenix Mercury star and WNBA coach Jennifer Guillom, Northern Arizona women’s basketball player Peggy Kennedy, Seton Catholic Prep High School basketball coach Karen Self, and Valley sports philanthropist Michael K. Kennedy will join do.
The 2022 class will be inaugurated in a ceremony on November 1 at Chateau Lux, the event venue in Phoenix.
Tickets go on sale September 1st and can be purchased at AZSportsHOF.com.
“The 2022 class embodies the soul of Arizona sports,” said ASEC Executive Director Nikki Balich-Cammarata in a release. “Whether they are locally, nationally, or world-famous, each of these honorees is enshrined to shape Arizona’s sports history.”
To qualify, candidates had to meet one of three criteria: Being an Arizona native, being instantly recognized as an Arizonan, and having made at least two important contributions to her community in state sports.
Larry Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald has already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a 17-year career that includes 11 Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro selection.
His 17,492 all-time receiving yards are all in Arizona, second only to Jerry Rice (22,895) in NFL history. The Cardinals icon also ranks second all-time in receptions (1,432) behind Rice (1,549) and sixth in touchdowns (121).
Fitzgerald also influenced the Valley with his self-proclaimed foundation in terms of philanthropy and business. He is also a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns.
Pedro Gomez
Primarily a baseball journalist, Gomez was a newspaperman who landed in Arizona, Arizona RepublicHe joined ESPN in 2003 to become an MLB broadcaster and has also helped cover elsewhere, including quarterback Kyler Murray’s seminal 2019 Cardinals draft.
Gomez served as trustee of the State Sports Hall of Fame from 2015 until his death in 2021.
We are proud to announce the 2022 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame Inductees. #pedro gomez #peggy kennedy #AZSportsHoF pic.twitter.com/eTOzSVfVtP
— Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (@azsportshof) August 10, 2022
Peggy Kennedy
Kennedy set a record for NAU lumberjacks in career (1,082) and one season (411). She left as the school’s leader in averaging points (19.0 per game) and rebounds (11.3).
Kennedy was drafted into the Women’s Professional Basketball League by the Chicago Hustle in 1979, and her role in the first Women’s Professional Basketball League was part of the 2018 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jennifer Guillom
A Mercury player from 1997 to 2002, Guillom was an All-Star in 1999 and finished his Phoenix career averaging 13.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per night. Guillom was added to the Mercury Ring of Honor in 2006, where he served seven seasons as an assistant and head coach in the WNBA. She is currently the head coach for her Xavier College Prep in Phoenix.
We are proud to announce the 2022 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame Inductees. #Jennifer Guillom #karen self #AZSportsHoF pic.twitter.com/MES3ShwrO3
— Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (@azsportshof) August 10, 2022
Karen Self
Seaton Catholic Prep Coach and Arizona State Product won 12 state titles and 5 runners-up in 30 years in charge at the school. She holds her record of 775 wins and 155 losses as a coach, the third highest number of wins in her state history.
In 2020, she was McDonald’s All-American Game self-coach and in 2008 was the first female coach to win the Spirit of Cotton Award from the Phoenix Suns.
Michael Kennedy
He has chaired the Host Committee for Super Bowl XLII, been a member of the Executive Committee for Super Bowl XLIX, and chaired the Phoenix Open as a member of the Thunderbirds non-profit organization.
Kennedy has served as chairman of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation since its inception in 1997.
We are proud to announce the 2022 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame Inductees. #Michael Kennedy #Larry Fitzgerald #AZSportsHoF @Larry Fitzgerald pic.twitter.com/sYBU78l2ep
— Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (@azsportshof) August 10, 2022
