Writer Merv Harris heads SF Prep Hall of Fame nominees
Longtime San Francisco Examiner sports writer Merv Harris is among nine people who will be honored at the 35th San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame Awards banquet on May 20 at the Spanish Cultural Center.
Harris was a high school sports pioneer, covering kids and teams with flair from the early 1970s until his passing at age of 67 in 2005.
“I think it’s safe to say that Merv was the most influential high school writer in the Bay Area for a quarter century,” said former Examiner and Chronicle Sports Editor Glenn Schwarz.
At the Examiner he established extensive regional sports coverage in the 1970s that carried through the paper’s merger with The Chronicle in 2000 and continues to this day in the Sporting Green.
Ernie Evans (Balboa baseball, 1953-56): Now deceased, Evans was a three-time All-City standout, earning first-team honors both as a pitcher and first baseman.
Dean Maye (Balboa basketball 1976-78): The three-year standout was AAA Player of the Year in 1978, leading Balboa to a league title.
Georgia Onyemem (Sacred Heart Cathedral basketball, track and field, 2001-05): The four-year basketball standout was WCAL MVP as a senior, earning a scholarship to Loyola Marymount.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The Chronicle.