From the press box to the Hall

A few years ago, Mark Purdy was among the members of the selection committee for the San Jose (California) Sports Hall of Fame.

Tonight, he'll be making his acceptance speech as one of the newest members of the hall.

The Celina High School graduate becomes the first media member to enter the hall, selected for his contributions during a 30-plus years as a sports writer and columnist for the San Jose Mercury News.

"Before I retired (from active writing) in 2017, I served on the board of the hall of fame," said Purdy during a telephone interview last week. "I think (the hall) should be about athletes and coaches. When they called, I said I wasn't an athlete or coach. They never selected a journalist. I'm still taken aback and humbled. I'm sure I don't belong in there with all the great athletes and coaches. It's quite an area and city for (sports).

"For a second, I was thinking I shouldn't accept this, but my wife Barb - the smartest person in the house - said 'Hey, if someone wants to do something nice for you like this, who are you to say they shouldn't?' And she was right."

Purdy's hall class is solid as well with Olympic swimming gold medalist Summer Sanders, former San Francisco 49ers head coach George Siefert and NFL receiver James Jones.

"I'm positive when I was interviewing George Siefert in his 49ers office - which was about four miles from my house - back in the 1990s, he didn't think we'd be inducted in the same hall of fame in a hockey arena in downtown San Jose 25 years later," said Purdy with a laugh. "I'm working on my speech right now and planning on getting up there and off as fast as possible and let the real athletes and coaches do most of the talking."

Purdy, who first covering sporting events in high school as a part-time stringer for The Daily Standard, was working at the Cincinnati Enquirer when the the Mercury News offered him a position.

"In 1984, the executive editor of the Mercury News called and asked me to come out and talk about the job here," said Purdy. "I didn't know a lot about San Jose. I've been to the Bay Area covering things for Cincinnati. Initially, I turned them down. They showed me around and I saw what they were trying to do here. San Jose is a growing area. Silicon Valley was just starting up and they wanted to jazz up their sports coverage, but I was doing okay in Cincinnati and (we) just had a baby and I had a good job. A few months later, they called and said why don't we fly your wife out here. I did some negotiating and thought 'Let's give it a try.' "

From that point, Purdy covered a little bit of everything for the Mercury News: Summer and Winter Olympics around the world, World Series, Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, NBA Finals, golf and tennis majors, even the America's Cup boat race. The Mercury News won a Pulitzer Prize for its team coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake - which occurred during the World Series between Bay Area teams Oakland and San Francisco (which Purdy is proud of "1/200th" of the prize for his contributions while covering the World Series that night at Candlestick Park).

"What I couldn't imagine was I would land here and cover one of the most interesting places on Earth," said Purdy. "There are some amazing athletes and teams: The 49ers were in the middle of their Super Bowl run, the A's were starting to build into their "Bash Brothers" era (with Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire). You have Stanford and Cal (University of California at Berkley) here. Jack Elway (father of hall of fame quarterback John Elway) was coaching football at San Jose State and eventually the Sharks (San Jose's National Hockey League franchise) arrived. The Mercury News told me to cover all the Olympics. So many of those (Olympic) athletes are from here, like skaters Brian Boitano and Debi Thomas. …

"In the (Summer Olympics), you have all these athletes from Stanford, Cal and San Jose State. Then stuff happens, like when I was covering Santa Clara University, this skinny runt kid from Canada shows up named Steve Nash (two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and currently coach of the Brooklyn Nets)."

One of his most notable contributions was his push to nickname the China Basin outside the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park "McCovey Cove"  to honor Hall of Fame slugger Willie McCovey. The name stuck and many home runs have become "splash hits" as they hit the water.

"That led to a very cherished relationship with Willie," said Purdy of McCovey, who died in 2018.

In addition to his writing, another contribution was a fundraiser for purchasing bicycle helmets for children after a child died in an bicycle accident in his neighborhood. The fundraiser, which became known as the "Tour de French Fry," featured participants traveling toarea eating establishments and sample french fries.

"Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of the career I had, but I realize I was real lucky to land here," said Purdy.

Though he calls the San Jose area home, Purdy hasn't forgot about his Celina roots.

"Bob Shraluka (The Daily Standard sports editor in the 1960s and 70s) told me he had watched me play sports and seen my work in the school paper. He said that I wrote better than I played," Purdy said with a laugh. "The teachers at school had to put up with a lot. I was a handful in high school. I will always feel fortunate to be born and raised in that town."

Now, Purdy is spending time with Barb, his daughter and son and their families and traveling.

As for missing the daily chore of writing columns?

"Let's put it this way, I don't miss those walks across the parking lot at midnight after a (Golden State) Warriors game or a Giants night game," said Purdy. "I miss some of the relationships in the press box, but I don't miss the deadlines."