An End to the Great Debate

It's happened to all of us...you're sitting quietly at a bar, when some meathead has the audacity to suggest that baseball's Earl Torgeson is the greatest sports figure in the history of King County's neighbor to the north, Snohomish County.

"What about longtime NFL quarterback Chris Chandler?" you shout, your blood boiling. "Or Olympic silver medalist Rosalynn Sumners?"

And then, from across the room, "Hey--don't forget George Wilson, hero of the 1926 Rose Bowl...ya pencil-necked wisenheimer!"

Soon fists are clenched, bar stools become projectiles, and everyone spends a night in the pokey. And the question remains unsettled. Who are the 50 greatest athletes in Snohomish County history?

Thank heavens for the (Everett, WA) Daily Herald, which, as a public service, has laid the debate to rest. Their definitive rankings, released last month, should drastically reduce the incidence of barroom violence in Everett, Lake Stevens, and (if they had a bar) Silverton.

Number one on the list is Earl Averill, "The Earl of Snohomish", a sweet-swinging centerfielder who was named to each of the first six all-star games. Until last week, Averill was the only Washington native in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Now, with the induction of Ryne Sandberg, there are two. (That's two more than Oregon has--take that, treehuggers!)