Ed Ratleff has been a constant presence at Long Beach State basketball games since his playing days in the early 1970s. If you were too young to remember him as a player, you might have had him as a teacher. Or, he may have sold you insurance.
You'd think he was the mayor the way he works the room at basketball games, shaking hands and kissing babies.
Yet as fan after fan came up to congratulate him for being selected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Mo., it felt strange to the former Long Beach State, NBA and Olympic forward.
"I'm really a shy person," he says. "That was hard for me to stand up there and wave to everyone."
Long Beach State put him up on their video board, the largest of its kind, at the Walter Pyramid during Thursday's game against UC Davis, congratulation him on the honor. "Easy Ed" is arguably the most celebrated player in Long Beach State history. A star during the Jerry Tarkanian years, his number was retired long ago and he still holds the school record for scoring average (21.4 percent).
Ratleff nearly led one of Tarkanian's more renegade-like team's to a Final Four in 1971. Best remembered for helping the 49ers to three-straight NCAA Tournaments, all three times the 49ers fell to UCLA. While his head coach might have left to get out of John Wooden's shadow, Ratleff, a native of Columbus Ohio, made his home in Long Beach.
Congrats to former @LBSUhoops great Ed Ratleff as part of 10th induction class to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame! @CBHOF
— Mike Villamor (@BigWestSID) February 17, 2015
He played on the 1972 Olympic team and after being drafted in 1973, he played five seasons for the Houston Rockets, But then Ratleff came back and taught at Long Beach State. He still sells insurance in town and supports all Long Beach State sports.
PGA Tour pro Paul Goydos might be Ratleff's best competition for biggest Long Beach State fan. The support for his alma mater is unwavering, and getting the black and gold into the hall of fame is as much a thrill as the honor itself.
The hope is that the recognition helps build an already burgeoning brand at a midmajor. Ratleff wants Long Beach's following to rival that of the big school's while still maintaining its community identity.
Two-time LBSU All-American Ed Ratleff headed to College Basketball Hall of Fame
"The Pyramid is 5000 people and I would love to see this place packed every game with people going crazy," he said. "I think not only would we get other players here, I think the team would play better. Just like it is back in the Midwest and in the South. If we had that here, that would be wonderful."
Never once growing up did he lose a home basketball game. It wasn't until the NBA that he even knew what a loss on his home court felt like.
"I like to win," he said. "Junior high, high school, three years of college, I never lost a home game. To me, it's just being a winner. Because I love to win."
Victorious at all levels, Ratleff and Long Beach State both win with his selection to the hall of fame.
