Sixteen-year NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, World Series first baseman Chris Duncan and Arizona football coach Dick Tomey are among 14 men and women selected to the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017.
Pat Darcy, president of the PCSHF, announced Tuesday that the 2017 class includes three sets of siblings, a first in the 28-year history of the Hall of Fame.
Canyon del Oro High School’s Chris Duncan and his older brother, Shelley Duncan, who combined to play 12 seasons of major-league baseball, will join Salpointe Catholic graduates Sybil Dosty a basketball standout, and Whitney Dosty, a professional volleyball player, and former Santa Rita High School basketball stars Jim Pyers and Paula Pyers in the Class of 2017.
They will be featured at a news conference Aug. 9 at the DoubleTree Hotel. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Oct. 29 at 11:45 a.m. at the DoubleTree.
“The depth of this class is remarkable,” said Darcy, who pitched for the champion Cincinnati Reds in the 1975 World Series. “It is diverse and reflects the athletic excellence of our local athletes, coaches and officials through the years.”
Here is the Class of 2017:
Kelly Silva-McKee. The 1979 Catalina High School graduate was an all-state volleyball player who became a three-year starter at Arizona and later an assistant coach at USC and Texas-Arlington. She coached NAU to two Big Sky Championships and later became the head coach at New Mexico.
Whitney Dosty. Ranked the No. 4 overall volleyball recruit and the 2005 Arizona Volleyball Player of the Year at Salpointe, she also won the state high jump title. Dosty became part of the All-Pac-10 freshman team at Arizona and played on Team USA in the 2007 FIVB U-20 World Championships. After leaving Arizona, Dosty played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Korea and Turkey.
Sybil Dosty. Despite tearing her ACL in both knees during her Salpointe Catholic days, Dosty was the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year in 2003, leading the Lancers to the state championship game. She averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds during her high school career. She was part of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at Tennessee, helping the Volunteers to the 2005 Final Four. She transferred to Arizona State and became the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball, then played professionally in Spain, Thailand and Poland before becoming an assistant coach at Seattle.
Rodney Peete. As a Sahuaro High athlete, Peete pitched the Cougars to the 1982 state championship and was a key part of the 1981 state championship basketball team. He was the Arizona high school Athlete of the Year in 1983 and became a first-team All-America quarterback at USC in 1988, helping the Trojans to the Rose Bowl. He played 16 seasons in the NFL; his 2003 Carolina Panthers reached Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Pam Reed. The director of the Tucson Marathon since 1995, Reed won the 2002 Badwater 135, beating all men and women runners in a 135-mile, non-stop run across Death Valley with temperatures near 120 degrees. She has run 11 Badwater marathons and more than 100 UltraMarathons and was named the 2003 USA Women’s UltraMarathon runner of the Year. In 2007, she ran 300 miles without stopping on a frontage road near Eloy, the longest distance running feat of its time.
Jane Martindell. After graduating from Rincon High School, Martindell became captain of Arizona’s basketball, softball and volleyball teams and was selected to the UA Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. She founded Tucson’s first women’s AAU basketball program and became the head softball coach at Northern Colorado and Yale, taking UNC to a No. 2 finish nationally, and later was named the Ivy League coach of the year.
Shelley Duncan. Upon leading Canyon del Oro High School to the 1997 state baseball championship, Duncan set Tucson records for home runs in a season (13) and career (27). He then became a first-team All-American at Arizona, setting the school career home run record (55) that still stands. He played five years in the major leagues, with the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians.
Chris Duncan. At Canyon del Oro High School, Chris was a two-time all-city football linebacker and an all-state first baseman, helping the Dorados to the 1997 state title. He was a first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals and hit 55 home runs in the big leagues. He started three games in the 2006 World Series as the Cardinals became world champions.
Ken Kurtz. A rare-two sport letterman at Arizona, in basketball and baseball in the mid 1960s, Kurtz played six years in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. He returned to Tucson and for 31 years was one of the leading officials in Arizona. He officiated basketball in the Pac-10, Big Sky, WAC and WCAC conferences and three times earned assignments in the NIT. He coached seven years in a variety of sports at Santa Rita High School.
Jim Pyers. He led Santa Rita High School with a 24.8 points scoring average in 1978, leading the Eagles to the state basketball championship game. A year later, he scored 52 points in a game and averaged 25. He then started for four seasons at NAIA power Grand Canyon University, twice an all-conference selection. After college, Pyers played professionally in Switzerland and later was head coach of the Swiss national team.
Paula Pyers. In 1984, Pyers scored 50 points at Santa Rita High School, then the highest total in a single game in state girls basketball history. She led the Eagles to a 28-0 season in 1984 and scored 2,082 points, then the top figure in state history. She played four years at USC, including back-to-back NCAA championships, and was the captain of the Trojans’ 1988 team. She also played on the USC women’s soccer team and later played professionally in Switzerland.
Brian Peabody. The Sahuaro High School grad coached state championship basketball teams at Green Fields Country Day School and at Ironwood Ridge High School. He has won more than 500 games as a coach, including two trips to the state championship game at Salpointe Catholic in the 1990s. He also played for Sahuaro’s 1981 state championship team. In 2016-17, Peabody coached Pima Community College to its most victories since 1992, won the Region 1 championship, and led the Aztecs to seventh place in the NJCAA championships.
Robbie Moen. Twice an All-Pac-10 outfielder at Arizona, batting .402 in 1991, Moen was a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays for seven years. At Flowing Wells High School, he hit .473 and was the 1989 Arizona Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was also an all-city wide receiver. Moen later coached baseball at Kansas State and Loyola-Marymount.
Dick Tomey. In 14 years at Arizona, 1987-2000, Tomey’s football teams won a school-record 95 games, including the top season in school history, 12-1, in 1998, when Arizona finished No. 4 nationally. Tomey’s teams of 1992, 1993 and 1994 were known as “Desert Swarm,” defenses that led the nation in rushing defense and scoring defense. His 1993 team, 10-2, beat Miami in the Fiesta Bowl and finished tied for first place in the Pac-10, the school’s top finish since joining the league in 1978.
