Out of all of Jim Merrick's decorated honors, Friday's induction into ASU's Athletic Hall of Fame put the icing on the cake.
"Getting in [the ASU Hall of Fame] was a tremendous honor," Merrick said. "I had no idea how I became inducted, and I don't know who nominated me, but I've been extremely lucky."
If it was luck that pushed Merrick into the spotlight, then he must have forgotten his senior year at ASU.
Merrick pitched the Sun Devils to their first-ever College World Series berth, finishing 13-2, with 10 complete games, to lead the nation in wins. Merrick also gave up only one run over six innings against Ohio State in 1965, to lead ASU to its first National Championship.
Merrick has also been inducted into the Arizona Coaches Hall of Fame and had McClintock High School's baseball field named after him in 2005.
"I've had a lot of success as a player," Merrick said. "But, pitchers are needy people because they have to have people playing behind them, which help to make you good."
Whoever helped create the star, Merrick's stats don't lie, and the same can be said for the four other 2005 ASU Hall of Fame inductees: Darren Woodson, Tina Brinkman, Amy Fruhwirth and Sargis Sargsian.
The inductees, who represent five different sports, were introduced in front of a capacity crowd inside Sun Devil Stadium during halftime of the ASU-USC football game on Saturday.
For Tina Brinkman, a three-time Pac-10 champion in the floor exercise, being in the spotlight was never an issue.
"I loved competition and performing way more than I did working," Brinkman said. "So, going on the field, that's the fun part."
Athletic Director Lisa Love, who was not included in narrowing down the induction field, was impressed with the quality of ASU inductees and overall heritage.
"I'm the new kid on the block," Love said. "But, if this is a taste of Sun Devils, this is good stuff."
The former student-athletes became eligible for induction 10 years after their senior class graduated from ASU.
Tom Collins, senior associate athletic director, said that the selection process gets more difficult each year.
"Every year we have a tough time deciding which inductees to include," Collins said. "In the next few years we're going to have a lot more players to induct, including the football players during the Rose Bowl era (1996)."
After it was all said and done, Collins said he was pleased with the overall class selection and has enjoyed watching first-hand what made them noteworthy.
"I grew up with a lot of these guys," Collins added. "I remember Darren and Darren remembers me, but since then I've probably gotten a few more gray hairs and he's probably gotten a few Super Bowl rings."
Reach the reporter at james.schmehl@asu.edu.
