Larry Christenson has received many awards and much praise for his achievements in sports over the years, but none of late from the region where he first reached stardom.
That changes Thursday night when the 56-year-old Christenson, a hard-throwing pitcher who went from the schoolyards of Marysville to a successful major league career, joins 10 other individuals and the members of three teams as inaugural members of the new Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame.
There will be an induction banquet at Everett’s Edward D. Hansen Conference Center and Christenson, who lives in Malvern, Pa., outside of Philadelphia, is one of several inductees planning to attend.
“I’m very busy,” said Christenson, who owns a thriving investment business and participates in many charitable ventures. “But I said, ‘You know what, this is important for me to be there. I need to brush my schedule away and come out.’
“(Snohomish County) is where it all started and that will always be my home,” he said. “We’re aging and some things change, but your roots never really do. So this is meaningful and not only to me, but also to my family and friends that are still there.”
Christenson, a 1972 graduate of Marysville High School, was the No. 3 selection in that year’s major league draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He reached the major leagues early the next season and went on to play 11 seasons in a career that included an appearance in the 1980 World Series.
On Thursday night, Christenson will be joined on the dais by all but three surviving members of the first-year class. Those expected to attend include Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Marv Harshman, formerly of Lake Stevens; former basketball All-American Jo Metzger-Levin of Everett, former Olympic figure skater Rosalynn Sumners, and former United States women’s luge champion and worldwide explorer Helen Thayer of Snohomish.
Three inductees are deceased and will be represented by family members. They are baseball Hall-of-Fame member Earl Averill of Snohomish, former Everett High School coach Jim Ennis, and former University of Washington football All-American George Wilson of Everett.
Three other inductees are unable to attend. Longtime college and NFL coach Dennis Erickson of Everett is currently coaching at Arizona State and will be represented at the banquet by his mother, Mary Erickson. Also, former UW and NFL quarterback Chris Chandler of Everett and former U.S. Women’s Amateur golf champion Anne Quast Sander live in California and cannot be in Everett for Thursday’s event.
The induction ceremony will also honor the 1920 Everett High School football team, which beat a team from Ohio to win the national championship, and the 1951-52 and 1952-53 Monroe High School boys basketball teams, which won consecutive state titles.
Christenson remembers meeting some of this year’s inductees over the years. Back in high school, Christenson played on an Everett-area American Legion baseball team that included Greg Chandler, Chris Chandler’s older brother. A very young Chris was the team’s batboy.
And after reaching the major leagues, Christenson encountered Earl Averill one day at a stadium during an older timer’s event.
“(Averill) came over and said, ‘Hey, you’re the kid from Marysville. Don’t you wish we were out fishing on a lake somewhere right now?’” Christenson recalled.
Thursday night’s event will be emceed by Everett radio personality Tom Lafferty and the guest speaker will be former UW and NFL football player Curt Marsh of Snohomish. There will be welcoming remarks by Everett mayor Ray Stephanson and Snohomish County executive Aaron Reardon.
Also being honored are The Herald’s Man and Woman of the Year in Sports winners for 2009. They are former Snohomish High School swimmer Garren Riechel, who now attends Stanford University, and world champion taekwondo athlete Danielle Pelham of Everett.
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