Longtime former ABC 30 sportscaster Dan Taylor has been named the Executive Director of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.
Taylor is the first Executive Director in the Hall of Fame’s history, leading the organization in a new era just a couple years after it found a home at the Save Mart Center.
The big picture: Taylor joins the organization after previously serving as a board member and helping out the group’s selection committee.
- Along with fundraising and growing the Hall of Fame’s new home at the Save Mart Center, Taylor has goals to expand the organization’s role in the community and develop partnerships.
- One such partnership that has already been reached is with Sunny Side High School’s Career Technology Education program to provide different learning opportunities for students, with other partnerships on the way.
- Following his time at ABC 30, Taylor has written a number of books, including one on Kenny Washington, the first athlete to reintegrate the NFL, and another on the Hollywood Stars.
What he’s saying: “I’m excited about it,” Taylor said. “It’s a great opportunity. Being a native Fresnan, I’ve always had a great admiration for the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, certainly as someone who grew up loving sports, not only playing it in school but loving sports. And I looked up to those people that were inducted year in and year out.”
- Taylor said the great athletes in Fresno history were very inspiring to him, and he’s honored to now have an opportunity to help promote their legacies and inspire future generations.
- “I think sports is a great education tool, a great teaching tool in a lot of areas, and we really want to make the most not just inspiring athletes to follow in the path of those athletes that are in the Hall of Fame, but to utilize our organization and to utilize sports as a teaching tool for students in other areas,” Taylor said.
What we’re watching: Taylor will oversee the Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony later this year, welcoming five athletes and one team.
- The 1984 Fresno State Volleyball team will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Bulldogs went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1984 and finished fifth in the nation.
- Former Fresno State star running back Ryan Mathews will also join the Hall of Fame, along with Olympian Nicole Carroll, track and field star Sid Nickolas, Quickie wheelchair inventor Marilyn Hamilton and volleyball coach Vicki Samarin.
