It’s been a rough year and a half for the Harbor College Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, of which I am a member.
Three colleagues have died: Nonagenarians Mickey Teora and Joe Marino and, quite unexpectedly, Peter Bostic, 68, who was also a stalwart member of the Harbor Foundation. Their deaths came on top of postponing the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony for the third year in a row due to the pandemic and the school unceremoniously ending its football program in 2022 after 71 seasons.
The good news is the Hall of Fame returns this year, its 14th, with another stellar lineup that will be inducted September 30 at the Dalmatian-American Club in San Pedro.
The 11 inductees in alphabetical order:
Shawnae Campbell (Lawndale High): Pitcher led Harbor College softball team to its first-ever playoff appearance in 2011 as a freshman, and as a sophomore won 24 games and was first-team all-conference. An all-star at Lane College, she’s now Harbor’s softball coach.
Stuart Horn (Gardena High): Two-sport letterman in baseball and football (and not related to HOF teammate Don), Horn was MVP of Harbor’s Hall of Fame 1964 football team that was 9-0. He started at wide receiver and defensive back in 1963 and 1964, making second team all-conference on defense both years.
Carey Lundstrom (Downey High): Lettered on the Seahawks’ 1990 Hall of Fame baseball team that won the state championship. Lundstrom returned to earn first team All-American honors in 1991 as the conference’s pitcher of the year. He was 12-0 and had six saves with a 1.63 ERA.
Joey Miller.
Joey Miller (San Pedro High): Another letterman on the 1990 baseball team as a freshman, Miller, forced to miss the next season after a motorcycle accident, returned in 1992 to star in the outfield with a .397 average, stealing 44 bases in 46 attempts in 43 games.
Clarence Palmer (Manual Arts): Starred in track and football in 1967-68. In track, as a freshman, Palmer set the school record in the 440, then was part of the record-setting 440-yard relay team. In football, he was a two-time first team all-conference defensive back and, as a sophomore in 1968, also earned second team all-conference at running back after setting the school rushing record with 730 yards with a 6.1 average and eight touchdowns.
Cameron Ngaue-Stephenson (Hawthorne High): As a freshman in 2002, Ngaue-Stephenson was All-State at defensive tackle. He had 11 sacks, forced 13 fumbles, and blocked seven field goal attempts. He suffered a season-ending injury in the 2003 opener and received a scholarship to Rutgers, where he started on both offense and defense and earned All-Big East honors in 2006. Drafted by Pittsburgh in 2007, Ngaue-Stephenson spent four seasons in the NFL.
George Swade: After a successful career as head football coach at Bishop Montgomery High, Swade came to Harbor in 1978 and, in three separate stints as head coach, compiled a record of 57-45-1. That included back-to-back conference titles in 1981-82 and a bowl championship in 1981. Swade returned in 2009 after a 12-year layoff to cap his coaching career with a 9-1 record. He died in November 2022 at age 89.
Nick Van Lue (Carson High): An all-star baseball player in high school, Van Lue spent five years in the minor leagues after graduating in 1965. He joined Jim O’Brien’s coaching staff at Harbor in 1978 and helped lead two Seahawks Hall of Fame teams to state titles in 1978 and 1984. After ten years at Harbor, he was named head coach at Narbonne High, led the Gauchos to a City title, and was later head coach at El Camino College.
Rodney Van Lue (Carson High): The Van Lues become the first siblings in Harbor’s Hall of Fame. Rodney, like his brother, was a standout in high school. He was 11-4 for the Seahawks as a freshman pitcher on the 1976 state runner-up team and second team all-conference. He was first team all-conference in 1977 while going 10-3.
Peter Navy Tuiasosopo (San Pedro High): The Pirates’ star started at defensive tackle for Coach George Swade in 1982-83, earning a scholarship to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. When his pro football dreams ended, he became an actor and has had roles in film and television for the past 30 years. When not acting, he is a group home counselor, teaches and coaches at high school, and was the announcer for Harbor football for five years.
John White (South Torrance High): Broke virtually every school rushing record in his two years at Harbor (2009-10). Set career marks with 2,527 yards, 34 rushing TDs, 41 total TDs, 248 points, 3,767 all-purpose yards, and single-season marks of 18 rushing TDs, 25 total TDs, 152 points, and 2,056 all-purpose yards. That earned him conference player of the year honors and a scholarship to Utah, where he set two-year rushing records and was MVP in the 2011 Sun Bowl. He signed with the Canadian Football League in 2013 and was an All-Star in 2014. Injuries cut short his career after 2021.
The event starts at 5 p.m. Tickets, which are tax-deductible, are $75 for adults, and $45 for children (8-under), with proceeds benefiting Harbor students. The deadline for purchase is September 15. To obtain tickets, visit lahcseahawk.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/65 or visit lahc.edu/about/foundation/hall-of-fame. spt
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