Bob Elias Hall of Fame welcomes 2023 class

Feb. 16—The attendees at Thursday night's Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame didn't get a Bryan Nixon-Cody Kessler chest bump — even though the coach apparently owes one to his former player, a newly minted Hall of Famer — but they got basically everything else they could have asked for.

That meant a night filled with fond but frank recollections from a number of local athletic luminaries, as the Hall of Fame gathered at the Bakersfield Marriott to enshrine its 56th class.

That class was headlined by the first team induction in Bob Elias history, as the 1992-93 undefeated national champion Cal State Bakersfield basketball team, architects of the program's most successful season, entered the Hall.

"God had his plans for us to be the best team ever on record," said Reggie Phillips, a member of the seminal squad and a 2007 inductee himself.

Phillips was one of eight players and three coaches present from that Roadrunner team. They all received copies of the tape of their fateful title win against Troy.

For the second straight year, local sportscaster and board member Greg Kerr emceed the event, conducting interviews with honorees from the CSUB team as well as football standouts George Jones and Cody Kessler. In the case of posthumous inductees John Trino, a soccer benefactor, and Lee Adams, a world-class hurdler, Kerr spoke with their children.

First, however, came an introduction from Mayor Karen Goh.

"Thank you so much for your extraordinary excellence," she told the inductees, "and to all of you who support this community, thank you very much."

The event was well-attended not just by past honorees as far back as Kenny Barnes Jr. (class of 1973) and as recent as John Tarver (class of 2022), but also by current prominent figures like Nixon and CSUB basketball coaches Rod Barnes and Greg McCall.

Dr. William Baker (class of 2013) supported Madeline Trino-Evans in recounting the story of her father, the indefatigable soccer benefactor who gradually became more and more immersed in the sport after getting his start as a referee.

"If he saw something that was not working right," Trino-Evans said, "he was just like, 'No, I'm gonna solve that.'"

The Kern County Soccer Park, Trino's lasting contribution to Bakersfield, was one such solution. It opened in 1988 and became a center of youth sports in the area.

Baker recounted the story of Trino's successful effort to bring soccer legend Pelé to Bakersfield to open the park, adding that he told Trino it was impossible, which guaranteed it would happen.

"It was an unimaginable accomplishment," Baker said, "and a lifetime thrill."

Jones' induction interview centered on one man: Carl Bowser. The former Bakersfield College football coach took a chance on Jones sight unseen, "giving a country boy from South Carolina an opportunity to play football," and Jones credited him for everything that followed: his junior-college rushing record, his San Diego State record and his NFL tenure.

After all that, though, Jones called his time in Bakersfield the best years of his life.

"This is like home for me," he said. "People don't really understand ... Without here, I don't know where I'm at."

Adams also maintained deep roots in Bakersfield. After setting a world record in the 60-yard low hurdles during his college years in Kansas, Adams returned to life as a Bakersfield fixture, where he helped underprivileged kids get access to education at CSUB. His own parents only made it as far as sixth and eighth grade.

At the Hall of Fame's annual luncheon in December, Adams' son Bryan had discussed running into people around town who benefited from his father's work. His comments Thursday night touched on a similar theme.

"When Lee Adams is your dad," he said, "you share him with everybody. Because he knew everybody."

Kessler, the final individual inductee of the night, spoke at length about dealing with the pressure of coming out of Bakersfield as such a highly touted prospect, particularly at a high-scrutiny position.

"You've got to really face things head on as a quarterback," he said. "... I learned fast that it's better to get in front of things and if you make a mistake own up to it."

Kessler's path through USC to the NFL was decidedly nonlinear. After then-coach Lane Kiffin made him third-string behind teammate Max Wittek, he said, he drove home to Bakersfield and broke down, nearly deciding to transfer. He could have left again after the following year — he didn't get to play in the season-ending Sun Bowl despite an injury to starter Matt Barkley — but again, in the face of intense media questioning, he decided to stick it out.

Kessler ultimately started for three years with the Trojans and moved on to an NFL career, but stayed connected with Bakersfield, echoing Jones' sentiments.

"It holds a special place in my heart, and always will," he said.

Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.