Star power

When individuals with years of association with the Burbank Park,

Recreation and Community Services Department get together, it’s not

just a meeting of friends.

Instead, men and women who have devoted a large portion of their

lives to the organization are more like family. And when they see one

another, it’s like a giant reunion.

Members of the Park and Rec family came together Saturday for the

annual Burbank Athletics Walk of Fame induction ceremony at Olive

Park.

Rollie Bigbee, Gordie Martin, and Darrell Taylor took their places

among past honorees as this year’s inductees.

“The sense of community the Park and Rec department has with all

of the people is the most striking thing about the organization,”

said Taylor, who began his involvement in the organization in 1963 at

age 8 and has been associated with the department ever since as a

player, coach and sponsor.

“You see a lot of these people from the time you’re a kid through

adulthood. The people involved with all the sports really care about

the players, and they do all that they can to help.

“This is really like a huge family. The relationships you develop

through the Park and Rec department are the kinds that will never,

never, ever go away. And I feel fortunate to be a part of that.”

Taylor is a Burbank High graduate.

One of the individuals who is helping to foster that family

atmosphere is Eric Hansen, the Park, Recreation and Community

Services Department director. Hansen said it is one of the goals of

his organization to make all the participants, from T-ball baseball

players to senior softball players, feel a sense of belonging.

“The three individuals who we inducted [Saturday] are examples of

the people who have made us successful over the years,” Hansen said.

“If you look at how many people came out to see them honored, and the

people who are walking over to them, talking to them and thanking

them, you can see that family atmosphere.

“[The induction] ceremony is a special activity because we’re able

to renew relationships of people who may not have seen one another in

years. But when they do meet up again, it’s like catching up with a

friend.”

Taking in some of those renewed relationships was Bigbee. Bigbee’s

relationship with the organization spanned five decades, from the

1940s to the late-1980s, seeing time as a player, coach and city

employee.

Bigbee, who taught at Luther Burbank Middle School for 30 years,

moved to Morro Bay near San Luis Obispo in 1987. He returned to the

city for the induction ceremony.

“This is a great honor for me,” said Bigbee, a Burroughs High

graduate. “Just to be remembered when you have been away from the

community for 19 years is a wonderful thing.

“I have been lucky to have such great memories, and I was able to

coach some great kids, over the years.”

For Martin, a Burbank High alumnus, he said he feels fortunate to

have been a part of the Park and Rec organization.

“Sports wise, what you have in Burbank you can’t find in any other

city,” he said. “All of us have been lucky to be a part of it all for

all these years.

“The Park and Rec does a great job at making the sports fun for

all the players. This is just the best organization around, and to

honor us like this is great.”

*

The Walk of Fame was established to acknowledge the contributions

of athletes, coaches, volunteers and staff members who have shown

dedication and commitment to the department.

In recognizing the value of sports and athletic activities within

the community, the tribute highlights individuals who, in their roles

as participants, volunteers or professional staff, have furthered the

excellence of the local organized sports programs.

Inductees are permanently honored with their names chiseled on

individual bricks that adorn a walkway behind Diamond No. 2 -- Bill

Burton Field -- at Olive Park. Complete with inscriptions, the walk

has room for hundreds of future honorees.

The department plans to honor a group of Walk of Fame inductees

every October.

ROLLIE BIGBEE

* Involvement in the Burbank Park, Recreation and Community

Services Department organized sports programs spanned five decades,

from the late 1940s to the late 1980s.

* Was involved as a participant in the youth and adult sports

programs, as a staff person, performing as a game official and as a

sports game supervisor, and as a volunteer coaching youth and adult

teams.

* He logged playing time in the adult basketball and fast pitch

softball programs until 1982, and in the slow-pitch softball program

through 1986.

* He coached youth basketball (mostly junior high boys) for 23

seasons through 1980.

* Proposed two rule changes to the Sports Office staff which are

still intact today: Bringing in the tee for the batter upon receiving

ball four and batting through the lineup.

* Served on the Park and Recreation Board for six years.

GORDIE MARTIN

* Began his involvement with the organized sports program

sponsored by the city of Burbank in 1958, teaching sports and crafts

classes and providing facility supervision.

* He coached youth baseball and basketball teams for over 15 years

until 1978. In addition, coached 13- to 15-year-old boys’ flag

football for four of those years.

* Continued working in the recreation centers and summer parks

areas until the early 1970s, when he was assigned to work in the

Sports Office with the boys’ sports programs.

* He developed T-ball rules that helped cut down on walks for the

younger players and helped revolutionize the game, making it more

popular.

* Was the person responsible for taking the curveball out of all

baseball divisions except for the 7th-8th -grade division, which

helped cut down on injuries to pitchers’ arms.

DARRELL TAYLOR

* His involvement in the City of Burbank Park, Recreation and

Community Service Department organized sports programs has spanned

five decades, from the early 1960s to the present.

* As a player, began his career at age 8 in 1963, playing Hap

Minor baseball with the Cobras until he entered high school in 1969.

* Began playing fastpitch softball at age 16, and since he began

playing that year in 1971, he has been playing some form of softball

with teams continually ever since.

* He has logged 45 seasons/years up to today playing in the adult

softball and basketball programs with the organized sports programs

* As a coach, he has been involved in baseball for 27 seasons,

football for five seasons, basketball for nine seasons and Roller

Hockey for one season.

* As a businessman, he has helped sponsor 48 youth sports teams.