HALL OF FAME
Gus Olsen
Gus was elected with a staggering 96% of the vote in 04. Gus was elected for his time as a player and executive. A member of the original Fraquetball committee, Gus also is one of the credited inventors of Fraquetball. In his time on the court, Gus played along Liam Shramko, on the Mexico City Sombreros. They were 23-11, fourth all time in Fraquetball victories. They won the Northern conference championship in the 04 spring season. Gus has 62 career stops, 6 aces, and 32 goals. Second in blocks per game. Fourth in aces in 03, and first in blocks in 04. He was one of the best front defenders of his time. He's the Ralph Sampson of Fraquetball.
Sean Keith
What can I tell you about Sean Keith that you have already not heard from those that do not lie? Sean was elected with a not so staggering 100% of the vote in 05. He played for everybody's least favorite Fraquetball team, Gentle Giants. Sean, (at the time of his retirement) was seventh all time in goals, with 95, fifth all time in aces, with 11, third all time in stops, with 157, sixth all time in saves, with 81, all of this, and his career record is 63-12. MVP of 05 Championship Series. Sixth in MVP voting in 04, third in gold glove voting in 05. Seventh in goals and aces in 03. Fifth in aces, third in saves, fourth in steals, and second in stops in 04. Ninth in saves, eighth in shot%, fourth in aces, and seventh in stops in 05. He was the Derek Jeter of Fraquetball.
Nathan Jesson
Nathan Jesson, or as he is better known, Champ, Commish, The Man, The Man with the Master Plan, Guy Who Falls Over in His Chair, El Presidente, N-Dog, T-Storm, was elected receiving 100% of the vote in 06. He was the Gary Payton of Fraquetball while on the court. Nathan was both a member of Jesson 5, and Fraquetballs first Commissioner. He'd like to say that he brought Fraquetball out of the stone age. So here goes, "I brought Fraquetball out of the stone age," said Nathan. He worked hard, coming up with various statistics, scheduling, awards, playoff formats, etc. Some have criticized his time as Commissioner, claiming that he ruled like a tyrant, not letting minority opinions be heard, and disregarding any advice. This expert both agrees and disagrees. He did rule with an iron fist, and Fraquetball prospered because of it. If he hadn't, Fraquetball might not have made it this far. Jesson's reign of 4 years was the longest of all time, and it was justified when in 2031 he was named best Commissioner ever by the Fraquetball veterans committee.He was 60-36 all time. His team Jesson 5, also is regarded as the second best Fraquetball team ever. A very amazing team. At the time of his retirement he was, second in stops, first in saves, and also has 45% shooting percentage, though he took only 22 shots. Finished second in gold glove voting in 04-05 season.MVP of 03 Championship series. Fifth in stops in 03. Second in saves, and seventh in stops in 04. Third in stops, and second in saves in 05. First in stops and saves in 06. Also finished second in gold glove voting in 06. Jesson was furious after finishing just short for the second year in a row and went on a vicious rampage, which only subsided after it was pointed out to him that he voted for Tom Totushek, since Tom had more impressive statistics.
Doug Anderson
Elected with 100% in 06. 69-39 all time. At the time of his retirement he was, first in goals, first in aces, first in steals, third in shot%, fifth in stops, and first in blocks. Member of Jesson 5. Two time M.V.P (03 and 04). Fourth in MVP voting in 05, first in silver slugger, and fifth in gold glove. First in goals, fourth in blocks, fourth in shot%, second in aces, third in steals in 06, first in silver slugger, fourth in M.V.P. First in aces, second in goals, and third in stops in 03. First in goals, first in aces, second in blocks, first in shot%, and fourth in steals in 04. First in goals, second in shot%, first in blocks, first in steals, third in aces, and ninth in stops in 05. He doesn't like being called the "Barry Bonds of Fraquetball", so I'll say he's the Muhammad Ali of Fraquetball. After all, his team did twice the trash talking that Ali did. Doug actually made a comeback in 2007, and padded his stats even more.
Cameron Beitler
Elected with 96% of the vote in 06. 63-12 all time. At the time of his retirement Cameron was; fourth in goals, eighth in aces, second in shot%, seventh in stops, fourth in blocks, and fourth in steals. Fifth in MVP voting in 03, third in 04, and second in 05. MVP of 04 Championship series. Second in Silver Slugger in 05. Seventh in aces, third in goals, seventh in stops in 03. Fourth in goals, second in shot%, and fifth in blocks in 04. Sixth in goals, eighth in blocks, and first in shot% in 05. Appeared in the championship every season he played, winning 3 of 4. There are some that say if Cameron had actually played his senior year and performed well that he would have been the greatest. He was the Barry Sanders of Fraquetball.
Liam Shramko
Elected with 100% of the vote in 2007, Liam has made a forever lasting impact on Fraquetball. He was the unanimous MVP of the 2005 season, and his team has always at least advanced to the semifinals, and at the time of his retirement he had 68 career wins, second only to Doug Anderson. He considers himself the greatest back defender of all time and he has the stats to back up that claim, though everyone else agrees that both Nathan Jesson and Jose Garcia were superior. He is the all time leader in stops and saves. His offensive game wasn't too shabby either, he was third in goals and aces at the time of his retirement. He had perhaps the greatest statistical season in 05 when he copped the MVP trophy and notched 118 stops over the course of the season, a record that will likely never fall. On the court no one could match his versatility; often called "the most exciting player in fraquetball" Liam continually made phenomenal plays that amazed even him.
Liam is also credited as creating the sport and developing the league alongside longtime Commissioner Nathan Jesson. He even served one year as Commissioner. His administration was not as well oiled as Jesson's but his Foreign Policy may have been the best ever. Period. Kind of like Jimmy Carter, strong on Foreign Policy, weak on domestic issues. And I guess that makes John Knapp Ronald Reagan, and Nathan Jesson Richard Nixon, which is eerily accurate. Off the court Liam was an ambassador for the game, donating much of his salary to help build schools and hospitals in his native country the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sadly though, the story for Liam is that he has never won the big one. Always paired with only average teammates Liam toiled on contenders, not championship teams. Yes, he's advanced to the semifinals 6 times, only won them twice, and never won the championship. Sometimes it's difficult to remember all the different times and ways Liam has choked in the playoffs. However, Liam will be remembered as one of the all time greats.
Jose Garcia
Elected with 92% of the vote in 2007, Jose a 45-21 all time record. Jose is one of only three players to win back to back championships, and the only person to do it on different teams. His rookie year Muffin's went 8-10, two games out of the playoffs, but Jose won a closely contested Rookie of the Year award. The next year Laffy Taffy went 9-4, clinching the second spot in the conference. After beating Los Geezers in the first round, they scored a shocking upset over Jesson 5 in the semifinals, which the Jesson 5 should be ashamed of. And while everyone other than themselves had written them off in the championship against The Losers, they won the series easily, 4-1. The next year Jose teamed up with Jaime, to make Chivas. 10-1 during the regular season, Chivas narrowly won the semifinals against Hat Trick before dismissing Fetal Attraction 4-1 in the Finals.
Jaime Avila
Elected with 100% of the vote in 2008, Jaime has a career record of 76-34, the most career victories of any player in Fraquetball history. At the time of his retirement Jaime was first in stops with 317, third in goals with 290, and fifth in aces with 24. He started his career modestly on Loveable Little People, paired with Andrew Hoaglund. They were together during the 03 and 04 seasons, qualifying for the playoffs, but losing in the first round both times.
In 2005 he joined Tim Fiero to form The Losers. In their first season together The Losers went 14-4, but were upset in the first round by Alpha Numericals Rev. The next season The Losers went 12-1, the best team in Fraquetball, and Jaime won the MVP. Jaime won his first playoff series, beating Fetal Attraction in the semis, before being upset by Laffy Taffy in the finals.
The next season Jaime joined Jose Garcia to form Chivas, they went 10-1 (losing to Hat Trick), defeated Hat Trick in the semis 3-2, then beat Fetal Attraction 4-1 in the finals. In 2008 Jaime found himself partners with Damien Bullis on Sum of All Fears, and half the Fraquetball world thought they would win the finals, while the other half thought Hat Trick would. The final was greatly anticipated. Sum of All Fears went 11-0, achieving the first undefeated season since 2003, but got swept in the semis by Space Monkeys, who were subsequently swept by Hat Trick. What the frick?
Gryphon Larson
Elected to the Hall with 92% in 2009, Gryphon finished his career with a record of 73-23. He served on the A.F.A committee for three years, two of which he held the position of executive vice president. To this day Gryphon holds the career record for aces in a single season and over the course of a career. His serve has been unmatched by any other and has also given his team, Hat Trick!, an edge up in every game.
During his career he played for only one team, Hat Trick, and made the playoffs every year. During his first two years Griffin was the driving force behind Hat Trick's success. His astounding play gave him a spot on the allstar team in every year he played. The first two years in the playoffs Griffin lost in the first round. In 2005, he lost to Jesson 5 in straight games. In the following year he lost in the decisive third game against Fetal Attraction.
In his Sophomore year Hat Trick! had a breakout season, finishing 10-1 in the regular season. While his team would, for the first time, advance past the opening round, he lost in the semi final to Chivas. The loss to Chivas is often reffered to as the reall championship of 2007.
His final two years in the league came with great success for Griffin. Winning the championship both years, Hat Trick! breezed through all the competition. Finishing his last two years with record of 39-1. Beyond that, he ended his career on a 33 game winning streak, beating the previous record of the Gentle Giants by more than ten. His legacy in Fraquetball will long be remembered past his years on the court.
John Knapp
John Knapp was elected to the Hall of Fame with 100% of the vote in 2010. He's the only player to ever win back to back to back championships. His career record is 89-23, the most wins of all time at his retirement. He completed two undefeated back to back seasons, ending his career on a 50 game win streak. Which when compared to his rival Jaime Avila, who ended his career with a 3 game losing streak, is pretty good. Not only did Knapp rule the court, he also ruled the committee. He spent 3 years as Commissioner, the second longest tenure of all time. In 2014 his Fraquetball memoir was published, "Following Perfection." It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He started playing in the 7th grade with teammate Griffin Larson on Hat Trick. Their very first season they made the playoffs in the toughest Fraquetball era (2005-2006). The next season they qualified for the postseason again after beating Ultimate Sonning in the game to go.
Though they were a solid team the first two years, the next year Hat Trick took off. They went 10-1 in the regular season, though they fell to Chivas in the semifinals. The one criticism that team faced was that they were all offense and no defense. Knapp looked to fix this problem the next year, and he did by becoming the best front defender in the game, winning the Gold Glove. Now having more than just offensive prowess, Knapp dominated the league in 2008. Though Hat Trick lost to Sum of All Fears in the regular season, Knapp shot 60%, a mark that had never before been reached. Hat Trick finished the season 10-1, and Knapp won his first of three MVP awards and silver sluggers. Knapp swept his way through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and assumed he'd face Avila again in the finals. Unfortunately Jaime choked in the semifinals and Knapp never got to show the league how much better he was. Hat Trick swept Space Monkeys, and as it turned out that regular season loss to Sum of All Fears was the last of Knapp's career.
The next season Hat Trick went on a tear, going 20-0. Knapp won the MVP, Silver Slugger, and Finals MVP for the second year straight. He would make it 3 in a row after the 2010 season, when he played on Cake Walk, his first time playing without Larson. Though that team was not as strong as Hat Trick, their win percentage was, Cake Walk won the championship without losing a game all season. Knapp will always be remembered as one of the all time greats. He spent three successful years as Commissioner, his statistics are unparalleled, his talent unquestionable, and no one dominated the sport quite like he did.