SWIRE Coca-Cola Maverick Hall of Honor
1999 Inductees

RON BELL- Ron Bell graduated from Rifle High School in 1957. During his senior year he was all-state in football and basketball and won the BYU All-Around track championship title. He was also nominated for the All America Prep Basketball game. Following high school, Ron attended Mesa when it was a junior college and participated two years on the basketball and track teams. The basketball team qualified both years for the NJCAA tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. Ron also participated in the NJCAA national track meet both years and won the javelin event the second year, setting a NJCAA meet record. Following graduation from Mesa JC in 1959, Ron attended BYU and played basketball for one year. He graduated from Colorado State University and served two years in the US Army. Ron retired from Public Service Company of Colorado in 1994 and settled in Delta, Colorado with his wife Sandra. They have two daughters, Lauri and Debra.

ROBERT "BOB" ENGLE - Robert "Bob" Engle was a standout performer in high school and American Legion baseball in his hometown of Cornwall, Pennsylvania. Soon after graduating from high school (1964) he played in the Pennsylvania East-West All-Star Baseball Game. He then joined the US Army and played service baseball in Germany until his discharge in 1968. He enrolled at Mesa College in January 1969, trying out for the Maverick baseball team as a catcher. His first year at Mesa, he had a .358 batting average and was named to the ALL-JUCO Tournament First Team. During his two years at Mesa he was a respected team leader and went on to win a number of awards, including Topps District All-star and All Regional All-star Bob helped lead the Mavericks to the JUCO National championship game in 1970, after beating the only undefeated team - Mesa Community College (Mesa, Arizona) along the way. Mesa College would finish second in the nation that year, but Mavs coach Bus Bergman remembers about his catcher "...it was like having an extra coach out there." "I've watched all the catchers at Mesa College since 1954," says Dan McKendrick, MSC emeritus faculty member. "though Bob was not more physically talented, he was arguably the best of the group...and Mesa has had several great ones." Bob went on to play baseball for the University of Colorado, where he starred for two years before graduating in 1973. In the fall of 1973, he joined the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Club as a scout. In 1976, he moved to the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, where he was named Mid-Atlantic Scout of the Year in 1989. In 1997, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He presently serves as the Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations for the Blue Jays organization, having served in a number of capacities, including: Eastern Regional Scouting Supervisor (1976-81), Scouting Director (1990), and Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel (1995). Now living in Tampa, Florida, Bob and wife Barbara have three daughters, Melisa, Amy, and Jennifer.

JEFF RUSSELL- Jeff Russell graduated in 1985 from Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado. A two-sport athlete in high school, he was named All Conference in football twice, lettered in wrestling twice, and finished fifth at State his senior year. He was also an All State Honorable Mention selection in football, and competed in the All State Wrestling Dual Meet. At Mesa State College, Jeff earned the unique distinction of becoming a two-time collegiate All America selection in two sports - football (1988 and 1989), and wrestling (1988 and 1989). In football, he helped lead the Mavs to a conference championship in 1988, and was selected to the All America First Team. He was an All Conference First Team selection in 1987, 1988, and 1989, and was team caption in 1988 and 1989. In wrestling, he was an RMAC conference champion two years in a row, finishing fifth in the Nationals in 1988, and third in 1989. After graduating from Mesa State College in 1990, Jeff served as a police officer in Los Angeles (1990 to 1995). In 1994, he was named the LAPD Southwest Division American Legion Officer of the Year. He presently serves as an officer of the Aurora, Colorado Police Department, and serves as a volunteer coach at Heritage High School in Littleton. "He has done a great job working with the kids and is a great example for them," says Ray Barron, Heritage High head wrestling coach and assistant football coach. "He was a great young man as an athlete here, and the kids today really respect him and look up to him." Jeff and his wife Susan have a daughter, Mackenzie Elizabeth, and reside in Littleton.

SHAWN SMITH - Shawn Smith is a 1981 graduate of Alameda High School in Lakewood, Colorado. An outstanding basketball player, he was named to the All-Jeffco Conference First Team, All State Team, and received All American Honorable Mention during his senior year. He led the entire state of Colorado in scoring that year with a 25.7 point per game average. He also posted average 7.7 rebounds and 3 + assists per game his senior year. In addition, Shawn lettered three years in baseball, graduated with a 3.6 GPA and ranked 60th in a class of 600. He attended Fruita Monument High School during his sophomore year, and was named All Southwestern Conference and All State Honorable mention in basketball. He attended Mesa College from 1983 to 1985, adding his name in the Mesa College basketball record books. Playing only two years for the Mavs, he set the school free throw shooting average at 87.5 percent; tied with Jon Baskin for the best scoring average at 24.5 points per game; was fourth in total number of free throws made; fifth in total number of field goals made, and became the school's sixth overall scoring leader. He went on to graduate from West Texas State in 1990. While playing for the Mavs, he helped lead the team to the NAIA National Tournament, led the district in scoring at 23.2 points per game, and free throw shooting at 90 percent. He was named All Conference First Team, and All America Second Team. He is presently New Accounts Manager for E.O.I. Service Company in Anaheim, California, where for the past three years he has been the national sales leader for his company. Despite his extensive business travel, he is active in community, church,civic, and charity organizations, and volunteers as a basketball coach for physically challenged children.