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Harold Pyatte, the longtime manager of the Everett Merchants baseball team, and former major-league pitcher Adam Eaton are among six individuals who will be inducted into the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame in September.
The 2017 class, announced Tuesday, also includes hockey player Brooke Whitney, distance runner James Pearson, water skier Steve Miller, former Everett High School baseball coach Lou Stevenson, and the 1970 Snohomish High School boys basketball team.
“It’s really quite an honor to be considered and then acutally chose to join that elite group,” Pyatte said. “I’m very much honored. Even though I am humbled, I expected at some point my name might be mentioned. I read about it every year and think, ‘Oh, I know this guy. Oh, I know this guy.’ When (I heard I was selected), I kind of had a lump in my throat and thought, ‘Wow, this is happening.’”
Pyatte has been involved in Snohomish County amateur baseball as a player, coach or general manager for nearly 60 years. In 1988, he led the Merchants to the National Baseball Congress (NBC) championship. He’s twice been named Pacific International League Coach of the Year, and in 2005 was inducted into the NBC Hall of Fame.
Eaton graduated in 1996 from Snohomish High School, where he excelled in basketball and baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the first round of the 1996 major-league draft. In a 10-year big-league career, Eaton posted a 71-68 record and 4.08 earned-run average.
Whitney was a multisport star at Bothell High School. She went on to play college hockey at Northeastern University in Boston. She was a two-time All-American for the Huskies and in 2002 received the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given annually to the top women’s college hockey player in the country.
Pearson, an avid runner, qualified for the world championships in multiple events, including the marathon. At one point he was the U.S. record holder in the 50-mile run. Pearson has been inducted into both the Lake Stevens High School and Western Washington University hall of fames.
Miller has won numerous water-skiing championships, including four overall national titles and a national title in jumping. In 2012, he earned a spot on the USA Championship 35-plus Water Ski Team.
Stevenson is being inducted in the Sports Contributor category. A graduate of Cascade High School, he’s perhaps best known for his 13 seasons as head coach of the Everett High School baseball team, but over the years has been instrumental in the development of the Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett and the organization of various youth camps and tournaments in the Everett area.
The 1970 Snohomish basketball team won the 3A state title, defeating Pasco 53-51 in the championship game. “This team is considered one of the top two Snohomish County high school boys’ basketball teams in basketball’s modern era,” the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame Committee said in its press release.
The Panthers, along with the six individual inductees, will be honored Sept. 27 in a banquet at Xfinity Arena in Everett.
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