There was no Century Club Sports Night Banquet in 2021 due to COVID-19, the first time the city’s premier sports event has been missing from the calendar since it was founded in 1957. The event returns triumphantly for its 65th incarnation on Jan. 31, 2022 with a star-studded Hall of Fame class.
The Century Club Hall of Fame is the only sports Hall of Fame in the city that spans all schools and sports. Club president Mike Fillipow confirmed that this year the Club will induct five-time Pro Bowler and Long Beach Poly alum Jurrell Casey, sportswriter Frank Burlison, and record-setting LBCC basketball coach Gary Anderson. Angela Madsen, the world-renowned Paralympian, is being inducted posthumously as well.
The Club will also honor golfer Patrick Cantlay as its Athlete of the Year, and his coach Jamie Mulligan as its Coach of the Year.
“We’re excited to bring back the Sports Night banquet and to honor such an impressive class this year,” said Fillipow.
Casey is the most decorated Long Beach football player in history, with five Pro Bowl appearances, all from a nine-year stint with the Titans. Casey recently ended his NFL career after 10 seasons–injuries shortened his 2020 campaign with the Broncos. A standout defensive tackle despite not having overwhelming size, Casey racked up 51 career sacks and 507 tackles while playing in the middle of the defensive line, doing the dirty work.
A Jackrabbit great, Casey was also a star at USC before being drafted in the third round in 2011.
Burlison is perhaps the best sportswriter in a city well-known for its athletic scribes for more than a century. A professional basketball writer since he was 17 years old, Burlison was on the founding selection committee for the McDonald’s All-American Game in 1978. A hallmark at the Press-Telegram during its glory days, Burlison established the Best in the West, a pioneering ranking/recruiting/profile series on prep basketball players than ran for more than 30 years.
Burlison is already a member of the US Basketball Writers’ Association Hall of Fame and the Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame.
Anderson is among the city’s best basketball coaches, and is arguably the greatest coach in Long Beach City College history. A Poly alum, Anderson played for Lute Olson at LBCC and won a state title as a player, then returned to coach with the Vikings for four decades. He’s the only person in junior college history to win a state title as a player, assistant coach, and a head coach; he won 789 games at LBCC as a head or assistant coach, and is the winningest coach in school history.
Anderson is already a member of the California Community College Hall of Fame as well as the LBCC Hall of Champions.
Madsen was a three-time Paralympian who owned several world records and who had rowed across the Atlantic Ocean twice. She died tragically in 2020 at the age of 60 while attempting a solo row from Long Beach to Honolulu and is being inducted posthumously.
Cantlay is being honored as the Club’s Athlete of the Year after a standout 2021 season that saw him earn PGA Tour Player of the Year honors. He had four wins in 2021, six top-three finishes and seven top-ten finishes in 2021 including claiming the Memorial Tournament, BMW Championship, and Tour Championship crowns.
In addition to the headline award-winners, the Club will honor the top high school and college athletes and coaches, as well as several community members who’ve helped to make it a great year for Long Beach sports. Tickets are available for the Banquet now and will sell out–get yours at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/65th-annual-long-beach-century-club-hall-of-fame-sports-banquet-registration-223721536137.
