by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1993, Hall of Fame Class
Marge Castro Inducted 1993 Margaret “Margie” Castro (born August 22, 1959), also known as Margaret Castro-Gomez, is a former Olympic-level female judo athlete for the United States from Manhattan, New York. Castro is rather tall at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and had a...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1993, Hall of Fame Class
Henry Stone Inducted 1993 The governance of U.S. Judo started in 1952, through the efforts of Dr. Henry A. Stone, Major Donn Draeger (USMC), and others. At that time there was no national authority to give guidance to local judo communities and insure the logical and...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1994, Hall of Fame Class
Donn Draeger Class of 1994 Donn Draeger Draeger reportedly began his involvement in the martial arts while living in the Chicago area, at around the age of 7 or 8. His first training was in jujutsu, but he soon changed to judo and by age 10, he reportedly achieved the...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1993, Hall of Fame Class
Kevin Asano Inducted 1993 Kevin Yoshimi Asano (born April 20, 1963) is a retired judoka from the United States, who won the silver medal in the men’s extra-lightweight competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. On his way to capturing the medal he beat Shinji Hosokawa,...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1993, Hall of Fame Class
Keiko Fukuda Inducted 1993 At 98, she is still teaching the Japanese martial art three times a week at a women’s dojo in Noe Valley, giving pointers from a fold-out chair, wearing her ki – and the red belt that signals her superior rank. “The kind of judo I teach is...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 2010, Hall of Fame Class
Jason Morris Inducted 2010 Jason started his Judo Journey in 1975 at the age of 8 and retired after his fourth appearance at the Olympics in 2000. Jason’s competition career spanned 26 years. Included among the many awards and titles Jason won is a Silver medal in the...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1994, Hall of Fame Class
George Wilson Inducted 1994 George was born on April 2, 1928, in Brookings, South Dakota. He graduated from Highline High School in 1945 and then joined the United States Marine Corps where he served in the Marine Aircraft Group Fifteen while stationed in Honolulu,...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 2016, Hall of Fame Class
Harold (Hal) Sharp Inducted 2016 Sensei Sharp, 9th Dan (USA Judo, USJF & USJA), born in 1927, has been active in judo for 65 years, starting at the Kodokan Judo Institute where he earned the rank of Yodan through intensive competition. Chu Kawakami, 9th Dan, and...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 1994, Hall of Fame Class
Eddie Yamaki Inducted 1994 In 2002 the fiftieth anniversary was celebrated with a book of USJF history. In it were a number of biographies. including this: PROFESSOR EDDIE B. YAMAKI Hawaii State Judo Association Date of Birth March 6, 1919 Shunyo Kan Judo Club...
by Stilman Davis | Feb 25, 2018 | Class of 2010, Hall of Fame Class
Jimmy Pedro Inducted 2010 Jimmy was born October 30, 1970 in Danvers, Massachusetts and coaches and teaches in nearby Wakefield. Jimmy is one of the most successful American judo competitors, having won two bronze medals in the Olympics. He was the World Champion at...
