Former player, coach and administrator Jim Whalen, benefactor George Hofmann and 11 of the finest athletes ever to wear the black and orange over a 50-year span form the third annual class of the Ventura College Athletic Hall of Fame, which announced by the school's athletic association last week.

The class, which includes five representatives in men's basketball, two representatives in women's basketball, and single athletes in baseball, softball, football, track, men's golf and women's volleyball, will be formally inducted on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura.

The induction will bring the total number of Ventura College Hall of Famers to 46.

Whalen, who recently retired from officiating local basketball games, is a former VC men's basketball player who served the school for 35 years as men's basketball coach, men's tennis coach, athletic director and physical education department chair.

He coached the men's basketball team to a WSC title and a state Final Four appearance in 1970-71 and was inducted into the California Community College Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.

"I don't think anyone has given more to Ventura College and Ventura College athletics than Jim Whalen," said dean Steve Tobias, who serves on the hall's central committee. "Jim has just done so many wonderful things for so long."

Charlie Dunn was the gritty, All-Southern California point guard on the state championship men's basketball teams of 1950 and 1951, which finished runner-up in the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. In 1951, he assisted Whalen with the men's team from 1975 to 1980 and was the head coach of the women's team from 1980 to 1987.

Duane Asplund still owns the men's basketball team's single-game scoring record by netting 53 points on Feb. 8, 1954. He averaged 21.8 points per game to earn a scholarship to Cal, where he led the team in rebounding as a junior.

Lester Neal averaged 14.8 rebounds per game during his All-America season of 1990-91, the best rebounding season by a WSC player over the past 30 years. The tough Chicagoan played two years at Arizona State before playing professionally in Europe.

Amirah Leonard is one of the top women's basketball players in state history. The two-time All-State selection and 1998 co-State Player of the Year holds the Pirates' records for career scoring (1,397 points) and single-season scoring (812). Her teams were 7, including the 1997 state title. She guided Clemson to the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Vanessa Hackett was a two-time All-WSC selection in both volleyball and basketball from 1990 to 1992, earning 1991 All-America honors in volleyball. She was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference performer in volleyball at LSU.

"A very gifted and multitalented person," said Tobias.

Bruce Smith, a two-team All-WSC selection in both basketball and track, won the 1976 state long jump title, leaping a school-record 25 feet, 11 inches.

"He probably has as much athletic skill as anybody that I've seen in at Ventura College in my 37 years," said Tobias.

Isiah "Bubba" Brown was an All-WSC running back in 1966 and 1967, who earned a scholarship to Stanford and earned first-time All-Pacific 8 honors. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969.

"He's probably one of the most exciting running backs ever to carry the ball for the Pirates," said Tobias, who played with Brown.

Robert Fick, a baseball standout in 1994, made his Major League debut with the Detroit Tigers in 1998, earned a place on the 2002 American League All-Star team, and retired in 2007 having hit .258 with 69 home runs and 324 RBIs over 10 seasons.

Sonia Ortiz Ford, the 1998 WSC softball Pitcher of the Year, was the 2000 NAIA Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-American at Oklahoma City University. She is currently a VC softball assistant coach.

Lee Martin, All-WSC in golf in 1957 and 1958, was the California Athletic Association individual champion in 1961 for Los Angeles State College. Martin played in the U.S. Senior Open at Pinehurst, N.C., in 1994.

Joy Barry earned NSCAA-adidas All-America and national Player of the Year honors in 1997, which she wrapped up a fabulous two-team women's soccer career in which she guided the Pirates to consecutive WSC titles and set the school record for career points (83) despite being a defender.

Hofman led the football boosters club from 1974 to 1994, developing the reverse drawing which annual raised tens of thousands of dollars for the program. He needed just weeks to secure new gear for the program when fire damaged or destroyed much of the gear in 1983.