Jack Hill, North High’s first principal, opened North High in the fall of 1953 with freshmen and sophomores. From the beginning, he realized that athletics complemented academics and was a very important part of the overall school curriculum.

Jack had been the principal at Shafter High School since 1942 and had built a very strong and dedicated faculty at that school. He brought many of his first faculty from Shafter and they filled many of the important positions at North. He paid special attention to athletics. Two of North’s first coaches who were hired by Jack are being honored tonight:  Dick Heber and Jordan Eliades.

Jack had an outstanding sports background in his own right. An all-sport performer at Pomona High School in Southern California, some of his records still stand to this day – 90 years after his high school career.

After high school, he went to the University of California at Berkeley where he pitched and played outfield for the Golden Bears. In 1927 he was part of the Golden Bear team that traveled to Japan to teach the Japanese people about the sport of baseball.

In 1929, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds and was thought to be one of three (3) “can’t miss” players in the National League.

As sometimes happens, fate took a turn that would change the course of Jack Hill’s life that fall when his father died of a sudden unexpected heart attack. Jack quickly left the Reds to return home for the funeral and to help his brother with the family business. He was never able to go back to Cincinnati.

Jack and his brother tried in vain to keep the family business going, but, it finally went under during the height of the Great Depression in 1933.  At that point Jack figured that the baseball career was over and he went back to finish his degree at Fresno State and also get a teaching credential.

His first teaching job was at Vineland School locally and then he was in the group that started East High in 1938. In the meantime he had married the love of his life, Blanche Cook in 1934 and Jack and Blanche started a family in 1940.

Jack taught history and economics at East High and was an assistance football coach and varsity baseball coach.  He was promoted to be principal at Shafter High in 1942 and stayed there until North High opened.

Jack’s stay at North High was cut short in May of 1955 by a sudden and fatal heart attack at the age of 48. Although Jack died way before he was able to see the full greatness of North, Blanche carried on his legacy raising two sons before she went to be with Jack in 2003 at the age of 96.

Earning a spot on the first National Junior Olympic Wrestling Team in 1967 was probably the highlight of John’s wrestling career.  After winning the California State Junior Olympic Championships at 178.5 lbs. held in Bakersfield, seventeen year-old John traveled to Illinois to wrestle for a spot on the National team.  Fifty-seven finalists from around the country reported to a training camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago.  John won the Greco Roman tournament in his weight class at a time when that style of wrestling was almost totally unfamiliar to U.S. high school wrestlers.   In Greco Roman, a wrestler cannot use his legs to take down an opponent; it is all upper body strength.

From Illinois, the two teams, made up of nineteen young men from the United States and one from Canada, traveled to Germany  where they  won all  four dual meets against the “cream of West Germany’s young wrestlers”.  After seventeen days in Europe, John returned to Bakersfield and went on to amass a 40-0 record his senior year winning the title of California Wrestler of the Year in 1968.

John lost only one match in his last two seasons at North High bringing his overall high school record to 91-6-2.  He was a two time CIF Valley Champion at 175lbs and 191lbs, and, Co-MVP of the team in 1967 and ’68.  After graduating from North, he went on to wrestle for two years at Bakersfield  College and one year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on a football/wrestling scholarship.

John was a two sport athlete while at North High, playing football for three years also.  He was selected to the All City Team in 1966 as a defensive back, and then in 1967, as an Offensive Back.  His senior year, he was Co-MVP and team captain.

While playing for BC, he was a member of the Metropolitan Conference Championship team in 1969 and was voted to the All Conference Team in 1970.

John graduated from Cal State University Bakersfield in 1974 with a teaching credential, and taught at Royal High School in Simi Valley where he also coached football and wrestling.   In 1975, John moved his family back to Bakersfield  to take over his family business.  His Dad,  John Sr.,  started Oildale Auto Parts in 1960, and, John and his wife of 41 years still run it today.  John met Debbie at North High in 1966, his two daughters, Lori and Erin, were North High athletes, and his son-in-law, Darin, taught and coached at North High.  He also has a nine-year old grandson, Devon who loves to play football.

When John was selected as Prep of the Week, January 31, 1968, the Bakersfield Californian asked his coach, Win Bootman, this question. “Does the wrestler make the coach or does the coach make the wrestler?  Coach Bootman replied, “neither”…in the case of John Miller.  “I’d say the key to John’s success has been his parents…They never boast about their boy and I never have heard John boast about his accomplishments.  Humility is Miller’s greatest attribute.”  He went on to say, that Miller combines strength with grace and balance…and, is as great a high school football player as a wrestler.

In his three year varsity football career, Randy gained over 2400 yards and is considered one of North High’s top ball carriers in the school’s history.  Often considered small and slow for his specialties, running back, defensive back, punt and kickoff returner, Randy maximized his skills with aggressiveness and intense desire.  Those skills earned him a full ride athletic scholarship to the University of New Mexico.

But football wasn’t the only sport Randy played while at North High.  As a freshman, he was on the Junior Varsity Baseball Team, and, he lettered in Track as a sophomore and junior as well.  He was a three-year, first team, varsity running back and defensive back for the Stars from 1969-1971, was voted Co-MVP of his team as a junior and was MVP of the 1970 undefeated football team.   In 1971, the Stars came back to win a three-way tie for the League championship.  He was voted to the All City teams in 1971 and 1972, and was named All–City Back of the Year in 1972.  Randy was also Student Body Vice President his senior year.

After graduating from North High, Randy was selected to play in the third annual Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He was one of 28 players chosen to participate in this bowl game pitting the top California graduating seniors against those from Hawaii.  Three California high school football coaches picked the players based on their football ability, citizenship and desire to play football.  Randy’s desire to play the game might have come from his two older brothers, Darrell and Roger, who both played football at North High.

At the University of New Mexico, Randy became the first freshman ever to start in the defensive backfield for the Lobos.  He retained that position for the remainder of his college career, leading the nation in punt returns his senior year.  For three years running, he was voted All WAC Defensive Back of the Year.  After college, he played four and a half years in the NFL as a defensive back and special team player for the Denver Broncos, the Detroit Lions, and, the Cleveland Browns including Super Bowl XII for the Broncos.  Randy was inducted into the Bob Elias Hall of Fame in 1996.

Randy retired from the NFL and spent the next eighteen years in broadcasting as the President and General Manager of the oldest contemporary Christian music station in the United States.  During his time at KLYT, he was a leader in developing regional satellite networks and was awarded the National Station Manager of the Year in 1997.  With the development of a multi media interactive video program called “Change Your World”, he was able to present a message of hope and encouragement in hundreds of schools across the country.  Apart from his relationship with his three daughters, this was the most rewarding thing he has done.

In May of 2009, Randy began a new phase in his life when he accepted his current position as Vice President of Philanthropy at K-LOVE and Air 1 Radio Networks.  Both networks aim to effectively communicate the Gospel message to those who don’t know or fully understand it, through full time contemporary Christian music.

Randy and his wife, Cathy McCall, live in Roseville, California.

Guy was one of the top scholar athletes ever to play sports at North High, and, graduated with honors in both athletics and academics in 1961. Raised in Oildale and graduating from Beardsley Junior High in 1957, his father, Guy Sr., was a WWII U.S. Army veteran who saw combat while landing on the beaches of Italy and Sicily. During his North High career, Guy excelled in football, basketball, and, baseball. He played three years of varsity football under legendary coach, and, fellow inductee, Turk Eliades. He was All-Valley in both football and basketball as a junior and senior, and, led the SYL in scoring as a senior on the basketball team.

As a pitcher for the Star’s baseball team, he was All-SYL as a junior, but, had to sit out his senior year with a broken arm. He was unaware of the broken arm that had occurred during the football season, yet, he still made All -Valley in both football and basketball that year! In 1961, he won the Sam Lynn Award for the top scholar/athlete in Kern County.

With a high school GPA of 3.97, Guy was awarded a full ride scholarship to Stanford University to play football. While at Stanford, he played under four legendary coaches; Jack “Cactus” Curtis, John Ralston, the “Great” Bill Walsh, and, Mike White. At 190 pounds, Guy played varsity offensive and defensive end from 1961-1964, and, co-captained his team in 1964 along with Dick Ragsdale. His teammates awarded him the “Vern Purcell Award” as the “Most with the least”. Bill Walsh was quoted as saying “Guy Rounsaville was the toughest player I ever coached”.

Guy graduated from Stanford in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, and, then attended the Hastings Law School receiving his law degree in 1968. In 1969, he was admitted to the California Bar Association, and, later, went to work for Wells Fargo based in San Francisco. In eight short years, he became the lead attorney for Wells Fargo and remained in that position until 1998 when the bank merged with NorWest Bank Corporation.

During his exceptional career, Guy became an impassioned leader and champion with the worthy cause of providing opportunities for minorities in the workplace; also known as “Workplace Diversity”. Former Speaker of the House for the California State Assembly, and, San Francisco Mayor, Willie Brown, issued a proclamation for “Guy Rounsaville, Jr. Day” on November 19, 1998. Brown’s statement declared “Whereas, Guy Rounsaville’s vision, determination, courage, and commitment to equality of opportunity have formed a transformation of hiring, retention, and advancement practices of law firms and corporate law departments across the most diverse State in the country.”

His accomplishments as an attorney are too many to list here tonight. Although Guy now resides in Hillsborough in the bay area with his wife of 38 years, Lenore, he will always be an ‘08er at heart. He has two grown daughters, Ashley and Lindsey, who are now involved with their own careers.

Welcome home, Guy.

Williams, a 1973 North High graduate, was a three-sport varsity athlete in football (3 years), wrestling (4years) and baseball (2 years). In football, under Coach Eliades, he was an All-Area selection playing on two league championship teams in 1970 and 1971. In wrestling, he was a 2-time league and CIF central section champion in 1972 and 1973. In baseball, under Coach Barton, he was on North’s league championship teams in 1972 and 1973.  In 1973, he was selected “FCA” Kern County Athlete of the Year. He went on to play football and wrestled at Bakersfield College in 1973 & 1974.  In football, he was selected First Team All-League. All-State, and All-American. In wrestling he was Metro League Champion on BC’s 1974 championship wrestling team. He was selected BC freshman Athlete and BC Scholar-Athlete of the year in 1974. He received a football scholarship to play for the University of California at Berkeley (CAL) under Coach Mike White.

At Cal, Williams was the starting center on Cal’s Pac-8 Co-Championship Team in 1975. He was given Cal’s Outstanding Athlete Leadership Award. He was selected 1st Team All-Pac-8, All-West Coast Selection and Honorable Mention All-American. After his senior year at Cal he was selected to play in two of NCAA’s top senior all-star games: the Hula Bowl in Hawaii and the Japan Bowl in Tokyo, Japan.

Williams returned to Bakersfield after being signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and later waived. In 1978, he was selected to be a staff member of the Japan Bowl All-Star Football Game sponsored by Sports Nippon Newspaper in Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Bowl was a game played by American football players in their senior year of college. It is the only collegiate all-star football game ever played overseas.

In1980, he was promoted by the Japanese staff to become Game Director. His duties involved selecting, recruiting and organizing the coaches, players, cheerleaders and medical staff each year. Some of the coaches that Williams was successful in selecting and recruiting for the game were such notables as Bobby Bowden (Florida State), Steve Spurrier (Florida), Jimmy Johnson (Miami), Lou Holtz (Notre Dame), John Cooper (Ohio State), Lavelle Edwards (BYU), Don James (Washington), Johnny Majors (Tennessee), Dennis Erickson (Miami), Vince Dooley (Georgia), Dan Devine (Notre Dame), Lee Corso (Indiana), Dick Tomey (Arizona), Jackie Sherrill (Mississippi State), Mack Brown (Texas), R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M), and Larry Smith (Missouri) to name a few.

Williams was responsible for making the Japan Bowl the top ranked college all-star game from 1980 to 1993. He achieved this by securing the top senior players in the country each year.  During one five-year stretch, his roster included the Heisman Trophy winner for each of those years.  This feat has never been accomplished by any other all-star game before and since.  Past participants are a who’s who of NFL football greats: Joe Montana (Notre Dame), Steve Young (BYU), Vinny Testaverde (Miami), Randall Cunnigham (Las Vegas), Troy Aikman (UCLA), Doug Flutie (Boston College), Mark Burnell (Washington), Bo Jackson (Auburn), Reggie White (Tennessee), Tim Brown (Notre Dame), Chris Collinsworth (Florida), Lawrence Taylor (North Carolina), Kenny Easley (UCLA), Tony Dungy (Missouri), Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh), Ricky Bell (USC), Mike Singletary (Baylor), and Mark May (Pittsburgh) to name a few.

From 1989 to 1992, Williams was also asked to organize the Japan Classic Basketball All-Star Tournament.  The tournament was the same concept as the Japan Bowl except for basketball.  Both all-star games, the Japan Bowl and the Japan Classic, were suspended in 1993 due to an economic downturn in Japan.  Both events were very popular. The games were routinely sold-out and were covered by ESPN.

Williams’ first love was always football and this led him to be a volunteer assistant football coach under his previous coach, Jack O’Brien, in the 1980’s. His coaching didn’t end there. In 2001, he became an assistant softball coach to his daughter, Corrie Williams-Gannaway (a four-year starter at Florida State in softball), who is now the all-time winning softball coach in North High School history.

Some of his fondest memories of North High School are playing for Coach Eliades and Coach Barton on North’s Championship Teams 1970 thru 1973.

Williams was elected to the Bob Elias Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Bakersfield College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He is honored and very appreciative of being elected into the inaugural class of the 2013 North High School Hall of Fame. In 2012, Williams retired as a Captain from the Kern County Fire Department after 33 years of service.