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Crimson Club Hall Of Fame Inducts Six On April 12
Crimson Club Hall Of Fame Inducts Six On April 12
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April 2, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY - Four former student-athletes and two former administrators will be inducted into the University of Utah's Crimson Club Hall of Fame on Monday, April 12. The banquet, which also honors graduating Ute senior student-athletes, will be held at the Little America Hotel. Tickets are available to the public for $40. Reservations can be made by calling (801) 585-8837. There will be a social hour at 6:00 p.m. with dinner at 7:00 p.m.
Football player Marv Bateman, administrator and baseball coach Monty Howard, administrator Ted Jacobsen, gymnast Lisa Mitzel, skier Bill Spencer, and softball player Michele Townsend Graves are this year's Hall of Fame inductees.
Bateman, who ranks as the best punter in school history, played for the Utes from 1968-71. He is Utah's only two-time first team All-American. Bateman set the school single-season records for total yardage (3,269) and average yards per punt (48.07) in 1971. He also served as the Utes' place kicker and is sixth in school history in field goals made (21), converting 51 percent of his attempts.
At the conclusion of his senior year, Bateman was invited to participate in four postseason All-Star games. Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round in 1972, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. He then played three years with the Buffalo Bills and was named All-Pro in 1976. Bateman now makes his career in the computer industry in Cedar City, Utah. He and his wife, Sharman, are the parents of three daughters and one son.
Howard was hired by Jacobsen as the U.'s assistant ticket manager after two years in the army and two years of playing professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He replaced Jacobsen as ticket manager when the Special Events Center was built in 1969. For many years he also served as Utah's assistant baseball coach, where he also coached the freshman team.
After 44 years in the ticket business, Howard retired in 1995. He was able to spend more time with his two hobbies, golf and fly-fishing, and became one of the top fly-fishing guides in the country. Two of his clients were professional golfers Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods. Howard passed away in 2002 and is survived by his wife, Ann, three children, and eight grandchildren. Jacobsen joined the U. athletics department in 1957 as the business and ticket manager. In 1969, he opened the Special Events Center (now Jon M. Huntsman Center) as business manager and scheduling director and later became the full-time facilities director, a position he held until his retirement.
Jacobsen was also named an honorary colonel to the Utah National Guard. He received the national Sigma Chi Award for campus community service. In 1969, the College Athletic Business Association named him the business manager of the year. Ted and his wife, Linda, are the parents of one son, Jon, who is the Rice-Eccles Stadium ticket manager, and two grandchildren.
Mitzel's distinguished career with the Utes included six All-America awards and an NCAA championship in the floor exercise in 1985. Helping to lead the Utes to four consecutive NCAA titles, she was named Utah's most improved gymnast in 1984 and was the team Most Valuable Performer in 1985 and 1986. Ute fans chose Mitzel as one of Utah's Top 25 Female Athletes of all time.
After graduating from the U. in 1986 with a degree in psychology, Mitzel joined the Kurt Thomas professional gymnastics tour. She then moved to Los Angeles, where she worked in the entertainment business. Mitzel returned to coaching and choreography in 1988 and assisted several college programs, including Utah and LSU. In 1991, Mitzel joined the coach staff at Stanford University, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach in 1995. In her six years at Stanford, the team broke every school record, placed second at the 1997 Pac-10 Championships, went to the NCAA Championships twice and produced four NCAA regional champions and three NCAA All-Americans.
Mitzel has been pursuing a career in writing and illustrating children's books. A native of Anaheim, Calif., Mitzel is one of seven children. She now resides in Menlo Park, Calif., and is the mother of two sons and a daughter.
Spencer graduated from South High in Salt Lake City in 1954 and became a four-year letterman on the U. of U. ski team. Spencer skied downhill, slalom and cross country, and also was on the ski jumping team. In 1959, he was named All-America and received the Alf Engen Sportsmanship Trophy. He earned his degree from Utah in 1961. As a biathlon competitor starting in 1959, Spencer represented the U.S. in the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Winter Games. He also won the 1966 and 1967 U.S. and Canadian national biathlon championships.
Spencer retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Army in 1984 after earning numerous citations, including two Bronze Stars. Spencer has participated in every Olympic Winter Games since 1960 in various capacities. He also served as an advisor to the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee. In 2002, he escorted the Olympic flame from Athens to Atlanta and passed the torch to Bonnie Blair to begin the 2002 Winter Olympic torch relay.
Spencer was an inaugural inductee to the U.S. Biathlon Hall of Fame in 2000 and was named to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Bill and his wife, Judy, have three children and four grandchildren.
Townsend was one of the best pitchers to ever throw for the Utes. She is currently fourth on Utah's career list with 64 wins and threw two no-hitters during her career, including a perfect game in 1986 against BYU. Leading the Utes to the 1985 College World Series, Townsend was named second team All-American as a pitcher/designated hitter. She won 22 games as a pitcher and hit .289 that season. As a senior, she hit .317 and won 11 games, earning first team all-conference and all-region honors for the second consecutive year.
After her playing career, Townsend spent seven years as the Ute pitching coach under Jo Evans. Her prot?g?s are found throughout Utah's record book. She retired from coaching in 1996 but continued to teach private lessons. She also worked as the office manager in Utah's sports information department for 13 years.
The Long Beach, Calif., native married Utah assistant football coach Fred Graves in 1995. They moved to Buffalo in 2001 when Fred, a former Ute football player and assistant coach, took an assistant coaching job with the Bills. Fred is currently the wide receivers coach for the Cleveland Browns. Michele and Fred are the parents of one son.