Whitman Announces '08 Hall of Fame Class
News Release Date:
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The three most prolific scorers in the history of Whitman College basketball, along with a three-sport star from the 1950s, are the latest inductees into the Whitman Athletics Hall of Fame.
Members of the Class of 2008, who will be honored at an April 26 Hall of Fame banquet, are Robert "Bob" Becker, a 1958 graduate who starred in baseball, basketball and football; 1968 graduate Don Woodworth, who ranks as the all-time leading scorer for Whitman men's basketball; and Katie Rubenser Wooldridge and Jennifer McClure Spurgeon, two 1994 graduates who rank first and second in career scoring and rebounding for Whitman women's basketball.
This spring's Hall of Fame class is the sixth at Whitman. All living members of the Hall of Fame will be honored at the April 26 banquet on campus.
More information about each of the 2008 inductees follows:
Robert "Bob" Becker: Three-Sport Standout
Robert Becker, who graduated from Walla Walla High School, was a three-sport star who won the Borleske Trophy in 1958 as Whitman’s top male athlete.
His best two sports were baseball, where he was named to the All-Northwest Conference First Team in each of his four seasons, and basketball, where he scored 1,255 career points and still ranks eighth on the all-time Whitman scoring list. He earned First-Team All-Conference honors in basketball as a junior and received either Second-Team or Honorable Mention recognition in his other three seasons on the hardwood.
After playing two years of intramural football, Becker joined the varsity for his final two seasons. He made an immediate impact as a junior defensive back, leading the Northwest Conference in interceptions with 13, which was believed to be a record at the time. He also started at left halfback and returned punts.
In his final two years at Whitman, Becker was the only athlete to start for three varsity teams. As a junior, he hit .317 during the conference baseball season, and he averaged a career-high 16.4 points in conference games as a senior.
Becker later taught and coached at Redmond (Wash.) High School. He retired and returned to Walla Walla, where he continues to make his home with spouse Leslee. The couple has two grown children. Becker's mother, Dorothy, also lives in Walla Walla.
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Don Woodworth: Scored 2,019 Points in Basketball
Four decades after his graduation, Don Woodworth remains the all-time career scoring leader for Whitman men’s basketball. He finished with 2,019 points and is one of a relative few small-college players in the history of Northwest basketball to score 2,000 or more points in a career.
Woodworth, a 6-foot-5 forward, led Whitman in scoring in each of his last three seasons. As a senior, he scored a school-record 652 points in 25 games, a 26.1-point average that topped the Northwest college ranks for that season. He also topped the Northwest in scoring as a junior, ringing up a total of 571 points.
Woodworth, a graduate of Bellevue (Wash.) High School, led Whitman in rebounds as a senior with 286, averaging 11.4 per game. He earned All-Northwest Conference First-Team honors as a senior and junior, after being named to the Second Team as a sophomore and receiving Honorable Mention as a freshman. He also received NAIA All-District honors in his final three seasons.
Woodworth, a political science major, earned his law degree at the University of Washington in 1971. He makes his home in Bellevue, Wash., and works as a senior deputy in the King County (Wash.) Prosecutor’s Office. His legal career included earlier stops in Micronesia and Washington, D.C.
Woodworth and his wife, Antonia Terlaje Woodworth, have three children, including son Richard still at home and a junior basketball player at Newport High School.
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Katie Rubenser Wooldridge:
Women's All-Time Scoring Leader
Katie Rubenser, an athletic and aggressive 5-foot-9 forward, is the all-time leading scorer for Whitman women’s basketball with 1,693 points. She also holds school records for most steals in a career (310) and in a single season (96), and she ranks second in career rebounds with 824.
Rubenser, a graduate of Walla Walla High School, made an immediate impact at Whitman, averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.8 assists in her first season. She led the Northwest Conference in steals, was second in scoring and fourth in rebounding. She was named to the All-NWC Second Team and earned NAIA All-District Honorable Mention recognition.
Rubenser enjoyed a number of memorable games during her Whitman career. As a sophomore, she grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in one victory while scoring 18 points. In one of her final games as a collegian, she collected a career-high 33 points along with 10 rebounds and six assists. As a senior, in her best overall season, she averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.4 steals.
Rubenser earned All-Conference and All-District (NAIA) First-Team honors in each of her final three seasons.
She earned her master's degree in educational technology and teaches (grades 5-8) and coaches in her hometown, Starbuck, Wash. She and husband Tony Wooldridge have two school-age children. Her parents, Karen and Dick Rubenser, are ranchers in the Starbuck area.
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Jennifer McClure Spurgeon:
Women's All-Time Rebounding Leader
Jennifer McClure, a 6-foot-3 post player who dominated games at both ends of the floor, capped a stellar career by becoming the first Whitman women’s player to earn NAIA All-American (Second Team) honors.
McClure holds Whitman school records for most career rebounds (902), most career blocked shots (311) and most blocked shots in a season (95). She led the Northwest Conference in blocked shots in each of her final three seasons. She ranks second all-time in scoring at Whitman with 1,639 points.
McClure led Whitman in scoring as a junior with 518 points in 28 games, shooting 55.5 percent from the floor. She combined 34 points and 21 rebounds in a season-opening victory and sparked an overtime triumph later that year with a career-high 37 points. As a senior, she averaged 19.5 points and 10.8 rebounds. Over the course of four seasons, she made 52.7 percent of her field goal attempts.
McClure, a graduate of Elgin (Ore.) High School, earned All-Conference and All-District First-Team honors as a junior and senior. She made the All-Conference Second Team in her first two seasons, and she received NAIA All-District Honorable Mention recognition as a sophomore.
McClure, who coached girls basketball at Touchet (Wash.) High School after Whitman, and spouse Dave Spurgeon live in Weston, Ore., where they have a real estate appraisal business. They have three school-age children.
For Whitman's Athletics Hall of Fame webpage, and a listing of previous inductees, please click here.
CONTACT:
Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu
345 Boyer Ave.