Bill Fanning (2015) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Bill Fanning

Induction:
2015
Class:
1949

Bill Fanning was a four-time letterman in baseball (1946-49), earning All-Big 7 honors as a pitcher and utility infielder as a senior. He was 5-3 that year with 44 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings, with a 3.08 earned run average. As a junior, he led CU to a sweep at Oklahoma, winning both games and batting .750; in the first game, he played seven different positions. He was 6-2 overall that year, with 51 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings with a 2.23 earned run average. The Buffs were 40-23-1 during his career, which saw CU jump from the Mountain States to the Big 7 prior to his junior year. In 1954, he took over as the head baseball coach at Grand Junction High School and retired 35 years later as a Western Slope coaching legend. In 1998, he was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2002, into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. He passed away Feb. 8, 2013 at the age of 91.