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 Join us on November 13th for the Tacoma-Pierce Athletic Commission's monthly meeting! Social hour will be from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM, followed by the meeting from 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM at Cheney Stadium. Our guest speaker will be Gary Brooks. Gary completed his first season as a Major League Baseball official scorer in 2025. He had previously been an official scorer for Tacoma Rainiers games since 2006.
Gary worked two playoff games, both Mariners wins -- the deciding fifth game of the American League Division Series vs. Detroit, which went 15 innings, and Game 5 of the ALCS featuring Eugenio Suarez's go-ahead grand slam.
He is one of 90 official scorers nationally employed by Major League Baseball.
Gary is a Certified Financial Planner and partner at Mission Wealth, a registered investment adviser managing over $13 billion for 4,500 households nationwide. He has been a financial advisor since 2008 and wrote a monthly personal finance column for The News Tribune for nearly 16 years. Before a career shift to finance, Gary was a sports writer at The News Tribune from 1992 through the end of 1998 and the Major League Baseball senior editor for CBSsports.com in 1999 and 2000.
He is a lifetime member of the TAC and volunteers significant time for the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Museum and the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. Food Menu Items Include:
-Burgers
-Hot Dogs
-Soup
-Salad
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 Happy Halloween to all our Tacoma Athletic Commission members! As the fall season kicks into high gear, we celebrate not just the spirit of sport, but also the spirit of community — teamwork, laughter, and a little friendly competition. Whether you’re cheering from the sidelines, coaching from the bench, or dressing up with the kids this Halloween, we hope your night is filled with fun, safety, and a few sweet victories! The Trick-or-Treat Team
Five little athletes hit the street,
In cleats and jerseys, quick on their feet.
A football hero with candy in hand,
A slugger swinging through pumpkin land. The hooper dribbles down the lane,
The goalie guards from ghosts in vain.
The skater glides by with a confident grin,
Together they play — and together they win. No scoreboard, no fouls, no need to compete,
Just friends in costumes, sharing the treat.
For Halloween’s magic, both spooky and sweet,
Lives in the joy of the team on the street.
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Invoices for the 2025-2026 year have gone out. Please don't forget to pay your dues and keep your membership with the TAC current!
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 🍂 Hey everyone — don’t forget to “fall back” this autumn on November 2nd!When daylight saving time ends, we turn our clocks back one hour, moving from daylight time to standard time (i.e., “fall back”). That extra hour can feel like a bonus — more sleep! — but it also nudges sunrise and sunset times earlier in the day, which has ripple effects on routines, health, and even sports. Fun Facts About Fall Daylight Savings: In North America, major professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc.) typically avoid scheduling games exactly at the ambiguous “fall back” hour to avoid confusion about kickoff times, broadcasting, and logistics. New York City Marathon: It routinely falls on the same morning DST ends, giving runners that “extra hour” of sleep. Race guides and coverage explicitly remind runners to set clocks back
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  October’s Lunch Meeting brought together an energetic group of community members for meaningful conversations about the evolving landscape of college sports. Discussions around college transfer portals, NIL opportunities, and the recruiting process offered valuable insights and a clearer understanding of how these factors continue to shape the collegiate athletic experience.
We’re proud to see such strong engagement and connection within our community and hope you can join us next month. Stay tuned for more information about November’s speaker. November’s Lunch Meeting will take place on Thursday, November 13th, from 11:30 AM to 1:15 PM in the Summit Room at Cheney Stadium.
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MARK HENDRICKSON – BASEBALL/BASKETBALL Mark Hendrickson is one of only 13 athletes ever to play in both the NBA and Major League Baseball. He is the only one to do it in the past 40 years and the only one to play at least four seasons in each league. A 6-foot-9 forward on the basketball court and a left-handed pitcher in baseball, Hendrickson exhibited two-sport stardom back to his high school days when he led Mount Vernon to two state basketball championships (1991, 1992) and two state baseball championships (1990, 1992). He was a 13th-round baseball draft pick in 1992 but headed to Washington State University focused on basketball. He was a two-time, first-team all-Pac-10 selection. When he concluded his WSU basketball career in 1996, he was second for career rebounds (927) and third for points (1,496). He was the 31st overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played 114 NBA games with four teams. He had pitched eight games at WSU as a junior and MLB scouts kept drafting him. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, playing some minor league ball while still in the NBA. In 2002, he made his Major League debut. He was a full-time starting pitcher for three seasons with Toronto and Tampa Bay. He continued for 10 seasons in the majors, winning 58 games. He also hit the first home run by a pitcher in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays. Republished from the Washington State Hall of Fame
CHRISTAL (MORRISON) ENGLE – VOLLEYBALL Christal Morrison is the only player in the storied history of the University of Washington volleyball program to be a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American selection (1st-team junior and senior seasons, 3rd-team as a sophomore and 2nd-team as a freshman). An outside hitter from Puyallup, Morrison was the first Husky to be named first-team All-Pac 10 all four years (2004-2007). She left UW as the Huskies career leader in kills (1,859, now second) and points (2,188.0 still first), third in aces (142), seventh in digs (1,154), and 10th in total blocks (294). As a sophomore in 2005, she led Washington to its first national title and was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. Her efforts earned her recognition as the Seattle Post Intelligencer Sports Star of the Year. UW advanced to the national semifinals in three of her four seasons. After college, four seasons on the pro beach volleyball circuit took her around the world. Morrison was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2014. At Puyallup High School, she was named Washington’s Gatorade Player of the Year and played on the U.S. Junior National Team that won a silver medal at the 2002 NORCECA Junior Continental Championships. Republished from the Washington State Hall of Fame
JOHN CLAYTON – MEDIA John Clayton re-defined how the media covers the NFL as the most connected reporter in the country. Clayton covered the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune for over 10 years but developed national recognition when he became the lead NFL reporter at ESPN in 1995. His writing, TV and radio segments shared insider knowledge of the NFL and brought a generation of fans closer to the players and teams. From a career that began covering the Pittsburgh Steelers while he was in high school and college, Clayton earned so much respect around the league that, in 2007, he received the Bill Nunn Memorial Award and induction into media wing of the NFL Hall of Fame. In addition to his coverage for the Tacoma News Tribune, Clayton hosted “Sports Saturday” on Seattle’s KJR radio and later moved to ESPN 710 radio continuing his popular call-in show. After exiting ESPN in 2017, he was a sideline reporter for Seattle Seahawks games for five seasons. Upon his death in 2022, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell honored Clayton as a “wonderful person” who “earned my tremendous respect and admiration as a journalist. For five decades, he covered the league with endless energy and professionalism.”
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More than 40 years since its peak prowess, Chinook Pass remains in the discussion regarding the fastest thoroughbreds ever. In September 1982 at Longacres in Renton, Chinook Pass ran what still stands as the swiftest five furlongs ever run on dirt, 55 1/5 seconds. That same year, he also equaled three other track or course records, for five furlongs at Hollywood in 56 seconds in the Meteor Handicap on grass; 5 1/2 furlongs at Longacres in 1:02.40; and six furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:07.60 while winning the Palos Verde Handicap. The Enumclaw-raised horse won the 1983 Eclipse Award as the nation’s champion sprinter. Chinook Pass remains the only Washington-bred horse ever to win a national award. That’s why it was later named Washington’s Horse of the Century. Horse racing Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., who rode Chinook Pass to seven stakes victories, once paid the gelding the highest praise: “Affirmed (1978 Triple Crown winner) was the best horse I ever rode, but Chinook Pass was the fastest.” Chinook Pass started 25 races, winning 16 and taking second four times. Chinook Pass retired after winning the Longacres Mile by six lengths in 1983. Chinook Pass was bred and owned by Ed Purvis’s Hi Yu Stables and was raised and trained at Dewaine Moore’s Rainer Stables. Bud Kiokstad was the lead trainer for all but the last five races, which were overseen by Laurie Anderson. Republished from the Washington Sports Hall of Fame
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Join us on December 11th for the Tacoma-Pierce Athletic Commission's monthly meeting! We’re excited to welcome Troy Andrew, CEO and Executive Director of Washington Golf. Troy will discuss, among other things, WA Golf’s Youth on Course program, where junior golfers pay only $5.00 green fees at over 80 courses statewide, PGA Touring Pro Andrew Putnam’s Scholarship fund, and former Lakes, UW, and NFL Star Jermaine Kearse’s Future Fairways program. Andrew and Jermaine are expected to join us virtually. Please join us for lunch and an engaging conversation with Troy Andrew! Social time will be from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM, followed by the meeting from 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM at Cheney Stadium.
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As a valued member of the Tacoma-Pierce Athletic Commission, you have access to exclusive discounts from local businesses that support our mission and community. Our discount partners are companies that have generously offered special pricing and perks to all TAC members. Our members receive a Membership Card, which may be presented at TAC’s growing list of business partners to receive special discounts. If you are interested or know anyone who would be interested in joining our discount partner program, please contact Makana Murashige (@mmurashige@rainierdmm.com) for further details. Thank you for continuing to support the TAC and its athletes! Click the link below to find out more information about discounts specific to each of our partners https://tacomaathletic.com/page/discount-partners
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If you have an old iPhone or iPod that you don't use, please feel free to donate it to the TAC! We are looking for an older generation device with the headphone jack at the bottom of it to play music during our social hour at Membership Meetings!
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 Freshman diver Jane Jackman is off to a remarkable start for Gig Harbor, winning all of her dual meet competitions and back-to-back WCD III 11-Dive Meet titles. On October 4, she posted a state-qualifying score of 414.80, the highest diving score across all classifications in the state, finishing 61 points ahead of the runner-up. She followed with another victory at the WCD III 11-Dive Meet at Stadium High School, scoring 405.20, again above the state qualifying mark. Jackman’s early success reflects her hard work, dedication, and poise as one of the state’s top young divers.
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Freshman Alec Pla has yet to drop a set this season, displaying remarkable dominance at No. 1 singles. He has defeated every top player he’s faced from 1A, 2A, and 4A programs, conceding only eight games total. With his commanding record, Pla is the clear frontrunner for the No. 1 seed in the WIAA 1A West Central District III Tournament.
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Junior wideout J’Isaiah Mitchell had a big night in Puyallup’s 58-22 win over defending 4A state champ Sumner, hauling in 10 catches for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.
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Senior quarterback Kooper Tasler powered Stadium to a 46-44 win over Auburn in a Week 4 North Puget Sound League matchup. Tasler threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns on 9-of-14 passing, added 126 rushing yards and two scores on 12 carries, and converted four PATs. He finished with 392 total yards and four touchdowns, leading the Tigers to a 4-0 start to the season.
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Jenica Walling has opened the season with five double-doubles in six matches, totaling 101 kills and 65 digs. The outside hitter delivered 43 kills and 32 digs in matches against 4A opponents Graham-Kapowsin, Rogers, and Puyallup, and now has 36 career double-doubles. Walling is committed to playing Division I beach volleyball at Cal State Bakersfield.
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