Ventura County to Induct 5 Into Sports Hall of Fame

Five men who have made their mark in athletics will be inducted into The Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame at an awards dinner next month at the Radisson Suite Hotel in Oxnard.

The inductees are: Joe Vaughan, Kenneth (Brick) Bright, Cal Houston, Mason Parrish and the late Jay Blackstone.

Vaughan, the athletic director and girls’ basketball coach at Buena High, has compiled a 377-35 won-loss record in 17 seasons with the Bulldogs. His teams have won two state championships and 14 Channel League titles.

Bright, 79, played football at Ventura High and Ventura College before playing at USC on a national championship team in 1932. Bright, a halfback, was an All-Pacific Conference selection. Bright’s coach at USC, the legendary Howard Jones, called him “the best blocking back I have ever coached.”

Houston, 72, has assigned Southern Section officials in the Ventura County-Santa Barbara area since 1953. Houston, also an officials observer for the Western Football Conference, officiated basketball and football from 1944-85.

Parrish, 61, coached the Buena High swim team to the 1969 Southern Section championship and his teams racked up four consecutive unbeaten seasons and 10 league titles from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. Parrish also was a member of the U. S. Olympic Committee from 1968-72.

Blackstone worked as athletic trainer for 31 years at Ventura High, Ventura College and St. Bonaventure High. He retired in 1976 at age 80.