2004 Sports Hall of Fame honored by council

The newest inductees to the Northern Marianas Sports Hall of Fame were feted with resolutions from the 8th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council.

Kurt Barnes of track and field, Francisco M. Palacios of baseball, and Tony Satur of softball each were presented with commemorative resolutions by the municipal council’s officers led its chairman Gregorio V. Deleon Guerrero, vice chairman David A. Indalecio, and secretary Antonia M. Tudela. A fourth inductee to the 2004 Northern Marianas Sports Hall of Fame, Irene Alpet, was given the commemorative resolution posthumously.

Currently the president of the Northern Mariana Islands Track and Field Federation, Barnes was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame for his coaching exploits in the CNMI.

He first shot to fame when he guided the CNMI National Women’s Volleyball team to a gold medal in the 1969 Micronesian Games, and has coached teams to championship crowns in the island-wide women’s softball scene.

The highly respected athletics official will also be remembered always as the first administrator of public school leagues in both high school and elementary levels, developing youths who would later take over and dominate local sports as well as shine in regional events.

Palacios, better known as “Tan Ko”, was inducted into the Hall of Fame as an administrator. He has served as the official scorekeeper of the Saipan Major League since its inception in 1982, providing historical record for every game, every season, and every player who has ever played in the league.

The man, who has the Oleai Sports Complex baseball field named after him, started his scorekeeping career in 1951 when he kept score for one of the first baseball games involving local and military teams.

Palacios was also the official baseball scorekeeper in the 1969 Micronesian Games, and according to the Saipan Major League, still has the original score sheets.

Satur, meanwhile, has been the face of CNMI fast-pitch softball for more than 30 years, dominating the pitching scene from a young age up to today, which justifies his induction as athlete in the Hall of Fame.

The recently retired Northern Marianas College instructor was the youngest player ever to start in the Men’s Islandwide Fast Pitch League at the age of 14 in 1970. The following year, Satur reached more heights when he was a member of the silver-medal winning Micronesian All-Star Fast Pitch Softball Team to the South Pacific Games.

Satur was twice a member of the CNMI team to the ISF World Tournament in Midland, Michigan, and in 1993, was a member of the CNMI squad that took the bronze in the Arafura Games in Australia.

In 1995, he pitched a perfect game, and from 1996 to 2002, virtually dominated all the pitching categories from strikeouts to earn run average in the local fast pitch leagues. Aside from his exploits in the softball diamond, Satur also assists youth programs, including the Saipan Little League Baseball Association.

For her part, Alpet was always considered a favorite to win nearly all matches she played throughout her career, from the mid-1970s to the early ‘90s. Sadly, she passed away in the early ‘90s while still at the top of her game in the women’s tennis scene.

Alpet also represented the Commonwealth in international competition, seeing action in the 1979 South Pacific Games and the 1990 Micronesian Games, where she earned a bronze medal with partner Hiroko Amemiya.

She has tallied many titles and was named NMASA Female Athlete of the Year in 1986 and 1989. Like Satur she was inducted as an athlete in the sports hall of the game.

The commemorative resolutions all had inscriptions stating that House Bill No. 14-194, HD1, introduced by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb and co-authored by representatives Martin B. Ada, David M. Apatang, Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, Heinz S. Hofschneider, Arnold I. Palacios and Benjamin B. Seman, was signed by Gov. Juan N. Babauta and became Public Law 14-56, which authorized the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association to establish and administer the official Hall of Fame for athletes, coaches, sports administrators and sports officials in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Barnes, Palacios, Satur, and Alpet join 2003 Northern Marianas Sports Hall of Fame inductees Bill and Jean Sakovich of swimming (administration and coaching), Mike Villagomez of swimming (athlete), and Tony Rogolifoi of basketball (athlete).