Randy Anderson

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the biography of Randall G. Anderson, one of 11 inductees in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. Other inductees are George L. Barone Jr., Harry G. Carlson, Andrew J. Creager, Larry E. Rodgers, Christina M. Kebort, Michael A. Sirianni, Marc T. Tramuta, Sarah M. (Bogardus) Burnett, Lewis G. Mack and Richard P. Shearman. These individuals will be formally inducted at a time to be determined. Current New York State COVID-19 restrictions prevent the annual Induction banquet, which is usually held on Presidents Day in February. The Class of 2021 will be the 40th group inducted into the CSHOF since its inception in 1981. The new honorees will bring the total number of CSHOF inductees to 220. For more information, visit www.chautauquasportshalloffame.org.

The Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors has selected its president, Randall G. Anderson, for induction into its Class of 2021 in recognition of his transformational leadership of the organization.

Anderson first became involved with the CSHOF as a member of the board of directors following his retirement as a teacher in the Jamestown Public School system in 2005. In 2009, he was elected vice president and, two years later, he was voted president, a volunteer position he still holds.

Anderson has been responsible for numerous initiatives for the 40-year old organization. He led four different expansions of the group’s museum and offices from 1,000 to 6,000 square feet. Anderson was also responsible for the creation of a searchable inventory database of the CSHOF’s huge artifact collection. He instituted the construction of www.chautauquasportshalloffame.org, a massive website devoted to honoring all those who have been inducted into the organization’s Hall of Honor and he is the source for all its content. He has been the author of the group’s monthly newsletter since 2009 as well as its social media presence.

In addition, Anderson has focused on the finances of the CSHOF by leading the effort to achieve 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status, initiating a membership program, creating various fundraisers and establishing an endowment fund for the sustainability of the organization.

Anderson has a keen interest in the sport of auto racing. He has done considerable research on the history of racing in Chautauqua County and, along with Greg Peterson and Randy Sweeney, has produced films, videos and organized reunions at defunct county race tracks. He is especially interested in the history of Stateline Speedway. He created www.statelinelegacy.org and, with Peterson and Sweeney, has produced five movies about the Busti race track and its legendary drivers: Stateline Speedway The First Ten Years; Squirt; Busti Bobby; Sammy; and Jim Scott. He is a former co-host of The Pit Road Show on WHUG Radio.

Anderson was a crew member of Hall-of-Famer Dick Barton’s race team for 30 years. Barton retired in 2014 as the all-time leader at Stateline in feature wins and track championships.

Anderson was the first coach of the Jamestown High School girls soccer team, serving in that role from 1992-2006. He was The Post-Journal Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997 and the Western Niagara Frontier Board of Women’s Soccer Officials Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004. In 2000, he created the Chautauqua County Exceptional Seniors Soccer Games for Boys and Girls, a showcase event still held annually at Strider Field.

Anderson is a founding member of the board of directors of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball team. He is the publisher of the baseball history “Our Game — From Unknowns to Tarp Skunks — 155 Years and Counting of Baseball in Jamestown, New York” (2020). He created the historical posters “Professional Baseball in Jamestown — Where the Stars of Tomorrow Play Today (2011)” and “From Jamestown to The Show (2020).”

Born in 1950, he is a 1968 graduate of Jamestown High School. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SUNY Fredonia. Anderson, a lifelong resident of the area, lives in West Ellicott.