By: Spencer Stueve
The fall season is a sports lover’s paradise. The MLB playoffs are underway; the NFL season is nearly one-third of the way complete; college football conference play has begun; and the NBA and NHL seasons are just getting started.
For every athlete, there is a story where they represented their teams before entering the professional league.
The city of Pasadena has had a long, rich athletic history. No player has done more for sports or represented Pasadena better than Jackie Robinson. Robinson was a star athlete at John Muir High School in the mid-1930s before enrolling at Pasadena Junior College. He then transferred to UCLA where he became the first Bruin four-sport letterman. Robinson later made his professional debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, breaking the MLB color barrier in the process, and finishing his athletic career in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Although today’s athletes may not have an impact on American sports like Robinson did, there are several former Pasadena stars who are making an impact in their own way.
Dylan Covey, graduate of Maranatha High School, has had an eventful journey. Covey was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round in 2010, but failed to sign. He enrolled at the University of San Diego and was then drafted in the fourth round by the Oakland Athletics in 2013. In December 2016, Covey was selected by the White Sox in the Rule-5 Draft, and he made his debut on April 14, 2017, all while battling Type-1 Diabetes.
Pasadena is also well-represented on the football field. Kevon Seymour of John Muir High School and Sean Smith of Blair High School are currently cornerbacks for the Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders.
Former John Muir High School, UCLA alum, and 11-year NBA veteran Ryan Hollins has taken his talents to Europe and former Pasadena High School and Los Angeles Laker Michael Cooper just wrapped up his fourth season as the Head Coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.
