MYRTLE POINT — The first class inducted into the Myrtle Point Hall of Fame was filled with standout athletes — state champions, school record holders and kids who went on to compete in college football, baseball and basketball.

But despite all their individual successes, one common theme they repeated during the ceremony Thursday was thanks to the people who helped them reach their levels of success.

The first hall of fame class included 10 individuals and the 1962 state co-champion football team.

“To me, it’s a big honor to be up here,” said Mickey Kincheloe, who graduated in 1961 and was a standout lineman for the Bobcat football teams. “You don’t realize how much sports is involved with all our children.”

Kincheloe went on to be a standout college player at Adams State, but passed on credit.

“My teammates were always there,” he said. “You can’t do it by yourself. You need a little help.”

Others talked about what a great lineman Kincheloe was — Dick Gassman said the Bobcats’ coach gave him simple advice when he played linebacker

“Coach said, ‘You line up right behind Mickey - they’ll never see you,’” Gassman recalled. “I don’t remember an offensive lineman ever getting past Mickey. Whoever was behind Mickey was able to roam freely.”

John Breuer spoke on behalf of the family of James Hardy Mast, a standout football player and state champion in wrestling who graduated in 1972 and died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1996.

“The family is honored that Jim is elected,” Breuer said. “Jim would have appreciated this very much, but he would have been the first to tell you it took a team to have success.”

Bernadette (Davis) Kirkpatrick, who graduated in 1991 and was one of the best basketball players to come out of the school, praised her coach for helping her be successful.

“I could have never been the basketball athlete I was without the guidance of my coach, Marty Stallard,” she said.

The gratitude also came from the one coach the committee chose to elect this year, Frank Grove, who led five basketball teams to the state tournament, including a third-place finish in 1969. He also was the school’s track coach.

“I want to thank all the athletes that played for me,” Grove said. “They made whatever success I had possible.”

The youngest inductee, 1993 graduate Amy (Flora) Brown, thanked her coaches, Stan Stewart and Pat Towne, for inspiring her on the way to a career that included a pair of Junior Olympics national titles and five state titles in track and cross country.

She still lives on the South Coast, and teaches in Bandon, but treasured her time in Myrtle Point.

“I couldn’t ask for a better place to grow up,” she said.

Others also spoke fondly of their experiences in Myrtle Point.

Jim Walker lettered four years in football at Oregon State University while playing for Dee Andros after walking on with the Beavers, and earned All-American honors his senior year, but cherished his roots.

“The most fun I had at any level with any team in any sport was at Myrtle Point High School,” he said.

Rich Armstrong, a football and baseball standout who went on to play baseball at the University of Oregon and then coached in the North Bend school district for 30 years, recalled his time in school after moving to Myrtle Point when his dad, Hubert, became superintendent in the school district.

“I loved being a Duck,” he said. “But I didn’t love being a Duck more than being a Bobcat. I loved being a Bobcat more than anything else.”

Sam Dement, the oldest living inductee and a 1938 graduate, recalled playing basketball at Oregon State University for legendary coach Slats Gill and also his time playing football and basketball and competing in track and field for the Bobcats.

“It’s an honor for me to be selected,” Dement said. “I had a lot of great experiences here at Myrtle Point.”

Only three of the inductees were not able to attend the service — Clayton Mast and James Mast, who are deceased, and Brad Bosco, a three-sport standout who wasn’t able to attend the ceremony.

“Brad Bosco was the best natural athlete I knew in any sport at any level,” Walker said, adding that Bosco was a “stud” before the term was used as a common adjective.

The 1961 football team was represented by eight players — Kincheloe, Gassman, Armstrong, Al Stibitz, Dave Larsen, Dave Winningham, Don Robinson, Dick and Dick Mooney — and coach Bob Peterson.