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Ask Bob Skuse to pick Rick Bauer's best sport as an athlete at Los Gatos High School and the former Wildcat football coach would likely tell you it was football.
Ask basketball coach Al Simon the same question, and he'd probably say it was basketball.
And ask baseball coach Joe Winstead ... well, you get the idea.
The three former Los Gatos coaches would all agree to disagree by claiming that Bauer had his best days when competing in their arena. What's more, they'd all be right.
Bauer was the prototype three-sport athlete when he competed for the Wildcats in the early 1970s in football, basketball and baseball. But Bauer didn't just play three sports--he excelled in them all as a three-year starter and an all-leaguer in each one.
For his outstanding accomplishments as a Wildcat, Rick Bauer will be among the 10 members that make up the third class of inductees in the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will be held May 6 at La Rinconada Country Club.
Rick Bauer started at quarterback for the Los Gatos football team in the fall of his sophomore year in 1970, and it turned out to be just the beginning for the Gatos superstar. He started for nine consecutive varsity seasons for the Wildcats--only graduation could get him out of the Los Gatos starting line-up.
He backed up the football season by winning a starting role on the basketball team as a sophomore, then capped the year by not only earning a starting spot on the baseball team, but by winning all-league honors and the team's Most Valuable Player award.
While he excelled in all three sports, baseball would likely be considered his top sport. He was a three-time all-leaguer and a three-time team MVP. As a sophomore, he posted an 11-3 pitching record and hit a solid .370.
Bauer notched a 14-1 mound record as a junior and hit .319. The 14 wins in a season still ranks as a school record. He also still holds the school record for most appearances by a pitcher in a season with 20.
As a senior, his pitching record slipped to 6-3 but his .329 batting average was tops on the Los Gatos club.
At a time when the only outfield barrier on the Los Gatos baseball field was the cyclone fence that separated right field from the Los Gatos Lodge parking lot, it was considered quite a feat to blast a home run over the fence--so much so, that it was chronicled on a page in the school record books. Bauer did it twice--once as a sophomore, and again as a junior.
He finished his Los Gatos baseball career with an impressive 31-7 record and he struck out 226 and walked just 95 in 237 innings of work.
Bauer had come up through the local ranks before making a name for himself in the Los Gatos baseball program. He started in the Los Gatos Little League, then played Los Gatos Pony Baseball and in the Los Gatos Colt organization. He was a member of the 1972 Los Gatos team that played in the Colt League World Series.
The 1973 Gatos graduate was a two-time MVP on the Los Gatos varsity basketball team. He averaged 19 points a game as a junior and 21 points a game as a senior, winning all-league honors in each of the two seasons.
He capped his sensational high school career by winning the prestigious Panighetti Award that annually goes to the outstanding senior scholar-athlete.
Bauer went on to UCLA after high school, earning his bachelor of science degree in economics in 1977.
Bob Skuse, Al Simon and Joe Winstead may never agree on which sport was really Bauer's best as a high school athlete. But they will certainly agree on one thing--Rick Bauer fits right in as one of Los Gatos High School's all-time best and is deserving of a place in the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held on May 6 at La Rinconada Country Club. Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are priced at $90. For ticket information, call the Los Gatos Athletic Association at 408.395.2002.
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