SPOKANE, Wash. – Four unique student-athletes from four distinct eras of Whitworth University athletics comprise the 2025 incoming class to the Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame.
Jim Klein, Dave Johnson, Toni Swanson and Steve Mihas will be inducted as the 35th class of the Heritage Gallery. The ceremony takes place on Saturday, October 11th in the Hixon Union Building at 9:00 am. The ceremony includes a breakfast and reservations can be made by calling 509-777-3224. The cost is $15 per person.
Jim Klein graduated from Whitworth in 1959 as a decorated track and field athlete. He was a two-time NAIA All-American in 1958 in the high jump and discus and added another All-America finish in 1959 in the long jump. In 1959 he helped lead Whitworth to an NAIA District 1 team championship by scoring 29 of the Pirates' points after winning the long jump and discus and sharing the title in the high jump. He added third place finishes in the 100 dash and high hurdles and scored in the shot put. That versatility betrayed his true specialty – the decathlon. He competed in the 1952 and 1956 US Olympic Trials. At the 1960 Trials in Lake Tahoe, California, he finished fourth among U.S. competitors, missing an Olympic berth by one spot. Following graduation, Klein moved to Santa Barbara, California and became the head track and field coach at Westmont College, establishing one of the strongest NAIA programs on the West Coast. Klein passed away in 2022.
Dave Johnson was a starting catcher for the Whitworth baseball team for two seasons before his graduation in 1970. He was a two-time winner of the team's Most Inspirational Award and in 1970 he earned honorable mention All-Evergreen Conference and honorable mention All-NAIA District 1. Johnson went on to a 36-year coaching career at Ephrata High School before retiring in 2006. His career record was 687-201-2 and he won eight WIAA state titles and had five runner-up finishes. More than 100 of his players went on to play collegiately or professionally. Ephrata High School's stadium was renamed Johnson-O'Brien Stadium in his honor. His career has been celebrated with multiple Hall of Fame inductions, including his most recent selection to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Class of 2025.
Toni Swanson remains entrenched in the Whitworth women's basketball record book, even though she graduated in 1983. Over the course of her four-year career, Swanson grabbed 963 rebounds, still the Pirates' career record. She scored 1,512 points, which still ranks fourth on Whitworth career scoring list at the time of her induction. As a senior Swanson averaged 18.5 points per game and made 46% of her field goals. Her best rebounding season was her sophomore campaign when she grabbed 10.7 boards per game. The Pirates competed in the AIAW at the time and regularly scheduled games against Idaho, Eastern Washington and Gonzaga, as well as the other regional small schools.
As a senior in 1991, Steve Mihas led the Whitworth men's basketball team to its first NAIA Tournament appearance in 30 seasons. He averaged 17.6 points per game and set a school record with 218 assists as the Pirates finished 22-9, earning first team All-Northwest Conference, first team All-NAIA District 1 and second team Little All-Northwest. Mihas started 116 out of 117 games played during his career and still holds Pirate records for career assists (720) and career steals (256) at the time of his induction. He scored over 1,000 points during his four seasons. Mihas was also a four-year starter for the Whitworth men's tennis team, playing as high as #2 on the singles ladder. As a senior he had a 10-2 record in singles and a 9-2 mark in doubles.
The class of 2025 will join a group of 116 individuals and eight teams already enshrined in the Heritage Gallery. The current class, along with all previously-inducted Heritage Gallery members attending the event, will be recognized at halftime of the Whitworth – George Fox football game that afternoon.
The Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame was created in 1989 by the (then-named) Whitworth Crimson Club and inducted its first class in the fall of 1990.
