Derek Carr Headlines Sterling Class of Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

Sports

By gvwire

Published 1 hour ago on

January 22, 2026

The Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2026 class of inductees. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

2026 inductees: Derek Carr, Dennis and Teresa Roth, Ruth Barcus, Tom Casanova, the late Bill Tatham, and 1958 Coalinga College baseball team.
Carr, who starred at Fresno State, holds many Las Vegas Raiders passing records.
Enshrinement ceremonies will be Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Fresno Convention Center’s Valdez Hall

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It’s easy to see why the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame is moving its annual enshrinement dinner to the downtown convention center. The latest inductees will surely draw a huge crowd.

Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr headlines a 67th class of inductees that is packed with some of the most accomplished names in their respective sports.

“We are excited about this class,” said Dan Taylor, the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame’s executive director. “They are an inspiring group of achievers who reaffirm that Fresno truly is a cradle of greatness.”

Derek Carr, left and sprint car owner Dennis Roth, along with his wife, Teresa, are among the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame’s 2026 inductees. (GV Wire Composite)

The 2026 Class

Joining Carr, one of Fresno State’s most celebrated athletes and personalities, are:

— Fresno sprint car owners powerhouse auto racing team owners Dennis and Teresa Roth, whose famous No. 83 car has won nearly all of the sport’s biggest races, including the Knoxville Nationals. Their team has 125 victories on the elite World of Outlaws tour and undoubtedly will notch more during the 2026 season.

— Kerman native Ruth Barcus, a 25-time national sailing champion. Barcus earned her first national title in Seattle in 1973. Over the next 30 years, she became the dominant figure in San Juan 21 racing, amassing more national championships than anyone else in the sport.

— Longtime Caruthers High School football coach Tom Casanova. When Casanova retired in 2014 after twenty-eight seasons as head football coach at Caruthers, he had amassed 203 wins, second all-time in Fresno County. In 2015, Casanova was among 12 coaches named a model coach by the California Interscholastic Federation.

— The late Bill Tatham, a Fresno businessman and sports magnate who who owned teams in the World Football League and U.S. Football League, and was part-owner of a National Basketball Association team. He also founded Fresno’s Copper River Country Club.

— The 1958 Coalinga College baseball team. That season the Falcons became the first community college baseball team from Fresno County to win the state championship. The team’s ace pitcher, LeRoy Gregory, starred at Fresno State and had a long pro career that included a season with the Chicago Cubs.

Composite image of Tom Casanova, Ruth Barcus, and Bill Tatham — Left to right: Longtime Caruthers football coach Tom Casanova, 25-time national sailing champion Ruth Barcus, and the late Fresno businessman/sports magnate Bill Tatham will be enshrined in the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 5, 2026, at the Fresno Convention Center’s Valdez Hall. (GV Wire Composite)

A Closer Look at Carr’s Accomplishments

With his induction, Carr will join his brother David Carr, a 2017 inductee, in the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.

Derek Carr played for the Raiders for nine years in Oakland and Las Vegas. With the Raiders, Carr accumulated 35,222 passing yards and a passer rating of 91.8. Selected in 2014 with the 26th pick in the NFL Draft, Carr holds many Raiders franchise records, including: