SAN JOSE, Calif. - San José State icon Dr. Harry Edwards, ’64 Sociology, was named to the 2025 Class of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, announced by the organization on Monday.
He will be the 10th Spartan inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame and joins Mike Montgomery, Alex Morgan, Joe Rudi, and Eric Wright in the 2025 class.
Dr. Edwards was a record-setting two-sport student-athlete at San José State and served as the basketball team captain while setting school track & field records in the discus.
"Dr. Edwards has proved himself to be an inspiration to the SJSU community through his selflessness, charitable acts, and his immense character," said Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. "We are thrilled that he has been elected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, and it is certainly much deserved. We congratulate Dr. Edwards, a true Spartan, for all of his many and vast accomplishments and thank him for his continued contributions to the Department of Athletics."
Dr. Edwards was awarded an honorary doctorate by San José State in 2016. That same year, he launched the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society & Social Change at San José State University, dedicated to research analysis and education focused on developments at the intersection of sport and society, and the Dr. Edwards Social Activism Award is given out annually at The Sammy's, the athletic department's annual award show.
Dr. Edwards also founded the Olympic Project for Human Rights in 1967, leading to an iconic moment with the action on the 1968 Olympic Games victory stand by San José State's Tommie Smith and John Carlos following Smith's gold medal, world-record-setting 200-meter dash performance in Mexico City, Mexico.
In 1985, Dr. Edwards was named a staff consultant to the San Francisco 49ers. In conjunction with fellow San José State graduate Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, they formed the "Niners for Life" program, the first of its kind in the National Football League. Dr. Edwards and Coach Walsh established the league's first drug counseling program, the first financial classes for players, the first college degree completion program, and the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. NFL head coaches Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals, Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers, and Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns are graduates of the program.
Dr. Edwards was inducted into the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2018 and is the author of four books: “The Struggle That Must Be,” “Sociology of Sports,” “Black Students,” and “The Revolt of the Black Athlete.”
Spartans In The Bay Area Sports Hall Of Fame
- Lee Evans, track & field, 1995
- George Haines, swimming, 2002
- Juli Inkster, golf, 2011
- Roger Maltbie, golf, 2015
- John Ralston, football, 1997
- Tommie Smith, track & field, 1999
- Ken Venturi, golf, 1984
- Bill Walsh, football, 1994
- Billy Wilson, football, 2000
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