I don't mean to brag, but I'm in a hall of fame.
At least I think I am.
The honor came several years ago at an annual banquet for the Fairfield Expos baseball program. I was the emcee and we announced the newest members of the organization's hall of fame – primarily former players. Either someone didn't show or there was a mistake, but there was an extra cap with "Fairfield Expos Hall of Fame" stitching.
Brad Hanson, the king of the Expos, gave it to me and acted like I was in the hall of fame.
No one took back the hat.
I still have it and I occasionally mention that I'm in a baseball hall of fame.
Such as I did in this column.
That being said, today I debut the Fairfield-Suisun Hall of Fame.
It's simple: A collection of people, places and events that hold a special place in the area. I reserve the right to revisit it occasionally, adding new members. Once you're in, you remain, unless I decide to make a change.
The initial class? It's several people and a restaurant.
The actual hall of fame will be in my imagination (kept under my Fairfield Expos hall of fame hat. Did I mention I'm in a hall of fame?)
Here are the initial inductees:
Captain Robert Waterman and Captain Josiah Wing. They get the credit for founding Fairfield and Suisun City, although there were already people living here. Waterman, also known as "Bully Bob," founded Fairfield in 1856 and named it after his former hometown in Connecticut. Wing founded Suisun City a few years earlier, then brought his family from Massachusetts and named Jim Spering mayor (I may have the timeline wrong). What good is a hall of fame if the city founders aren't in it?
B. Gale Wilson. Newcomers may know him only as the namesake of the school and boulevard, but he's more than that.
Wilson was the city manager of Fairfield from 1956 until 1988 – the man in the top seat when Fairfield added the Budweiser brewery and the Solano mall. Fairfield grew from a few thousand people to nearly 100,000 under his watch and went from being a sleepy rural town to a significant Bay Area and Sacramento Valley city. Like him or not (and there were plenty of people in each camp), he was a difference-maker.
Joe's Buffet. The first entry that's not a human, it's the iconic downtown Fairfield sandwich shop that's been here since 1949, existing under the leadership of three owners – only one of them named Joe. Decade after decade, downtown workers (including those from City Hall and the county Government Center) pack this place daily. It's a Fairfield landmark.
Alicia Hollowell. The most-decorated athlete in city history, the Fairfield High softball pitcher was the national player of the year in 2002 and set a gazillion state and national records. She's still among the top five nationally in most pitching categories. And then? She played at Arizona State University, where she was a four-time All-American, NCAA champion and Olympic alternate. She's simply the greatest athlete in Fairfield-Suisun City history.
Brothers Wade. Let's see, there's Tony and Kelvin, who write columns for this paper. Then there's Scott, O.T., Groucho, Harpo, Peyton, Eli, Marlon and Tito (the last six are guesses). The Wades moved here in the 1970s and nobody loves Fairfield more than Tony. Nobody also writes two columns a week like Tony nor is as consistently engaging as an opinion columnist as Kelvin. The big flaw? They're Raiders fans. And Tony is my arch rival. He's in this hall of fame, but not the Fairfield Expos' version.
Reach Hall of Famer Brad Stanhope, a former Daily Republic editor, at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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