Tom Beall -
Baseball
One of the great
baseball players ever to put on the spikes at Whitworth College,
Tom Beall remains a fixture in the Whitworth record book.
Beall, an outfielder, batted .380 in his career and hit over .400
in both his sophomore and senior seasons. Also a stalwart on
the mound, Beall finished with a career record of 10-5 and career
earned run average of 2.00. He was named First Team
All-District three years in a row and Second Team NAIA All-American
after both his junior and senior seasons (1970 and 1971).
Also a punter on the football team, Beall led all northwest small
college punters with a 42.2-yard average in 1970. After
graduating from Whitworth, Beall earned a graduate degree at UCLA
in prosthetics and orthotics. He currently owns Valley
Orthopedic in Fresno, California. He and his wife Sandra have
been married for 28 years and have three sons and a daughter
in law.
Tom Black -
Football
A member of the only
Whitworth football team ever to make the national playoffs, Tom
Black ranks as one of the best two-way lineman in Whitworth
history. In 1959 he was named Honorable Mention NAIA
All-American after the Pirates finished 8-1 and won the Evergreen
Conference title. He also led a Pirate defense that recorded one of
the best seasons in modern Whitworth history (1959). That
defense set records that still stand for fewest points allowed in a
season (34), fewest yards allowed per game (156) and most takeaways
(46). A second title followed in 1960, and with it came a
berth in the NAIA Semi-finals, where the Pirates narrowly lost to
Humboldt State. Black was a captain on that team and earned
First Team NAIA All-American as an offensive tackle. After
graduating from Whitworth, Black went on to teach math and coach
football, wrestling and track & field at Wenatchee high school
for 15 years. Black then went into ministry, directing
evangelism and discipleship at Wenatchee Free Methodist Church for
nine years. He and his wife Verna have been marries 43 years
and have three children -- Sandra, John, Richard and Laura.
Jim Doherty -
Basketball
Jim Doherty is one of
the key players to help build Whitworth's reputation as a great
place for small college basketball. He still holds the
Whitworth records for career scoring average (21.6 points per game)
and most points in a three-year career (1,726). In 1952 he
helped lead Whitworth to its first-ever conference title and an
appearance in the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City, where the team
made the quarterfinals. In his senior season of 1953 he
averaged 24.1 points per game and was named a Third Team NAIA
All-American. Drafted by the Boston Celtics that season,
Doherty decided to go into teaching and coaching instead, which he
did for 31 years (28 in Washington public schools and 3 at Bellevue
Christian School). In 1987 he was the interim basketball
coach at Multnomah Bible College, which he led to a second-place
finish at the National Christian College Athletic Association
Tournament. Jim and his wife Sally have two daughters -- Cam
and Shannon.
Kari Jacobson
- Track & Field
One of the finest
female athletes ever to compete for Whitworth in any sport, Kari
Jacobson still holds several Pirate Track & Field
records. An NAIA All-American two years in a row in the
Heptathlon (1987-88), Jacobson finished 8th in the
nation as a junior and finished 3rd in the event as a
senior. She also finished as national runner-up in the 400
hurdles as a senior. She still holds individual Whitworth
women's track records in the 100m dash (12.2), 200m dash (25.56),
100m hurdles (14.4), 400m hurdles (1:01.2) and heptathlon (4,786
points). After Whitworth, Jacobson coached at Mead High
School (1989-90) and Richland High School (1992-94) and spent five
years teaching at the elementary level. She and her husband
Tim, also an outstanding Whitworth Track & Field athlete, live
in Arizona. They have been married 13 years and have three
children -- Kami, Zach and Joshua.
Dave Pomante
- Football
One of the great
defensive football players ever to wear pads at Whitworth, Pomante
is an excellent example of what determination can accomplish.
Listed in the program at 5'-8" tall and 195 pounds, Pomante played
defensive line, a position usually reserved for much bigger
players. But using exceptional quickness and strength,
Pomante excelled, recording 20 sacks his senior year (1980), a mark
that still stands as a Northwest Conference record. He also
led the Pirates in tackles that year, and was named First Team NAIA
All-American. As a junior, he recorded 15 sacks and his
career sack record of 39 also stands as a Northwest Conference
record. Pomante now teaches and coaches football at Rogers
(Spokane) High School, where he has been since 1984. In 1990
he became head football coach and led the Pirates to their
first-ever playoff appearance in 1994. He has been named GSL
Coach of the Year twice, in 1993 and 1994. He and his wife
Julie have three children -- Leah, Amy and Hannah.
