The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m. The Induction Class of 2026 includes four athletes, two coaches and a special achievement honoree.
This is the fourth in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
Click here to purchase tickets to the 2026 SBART Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Whether it was the gridiron or the diamond, Artie Holland knew how to put on a show in Santa Barbara.
Holland was a dual-sport athlete at San Marcos High School in the late 1970s before focusing on baseball for a record-breaking career at Santa Barbara City College and a successful stint as a Fresno State Bulldog.
While he opted to play baseball at the next level, Holland was one of the best football players in program history for the Royals as a linebacker-running back hybrid from 1976 to 1978.
In his senior season, Holland was the defensive anchor for San Marcos and led them to both a Channel League title and a city championship in dominant fashion, earning shutout victories over both Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara High.
While the team found plenty of success, Holland racked up the individual achievements as well to cap off his San Marcos football career.
He was named an All-CIF-SS Division 1 linebacker, the Channel League Defensive MVP, the Santa Barbara News Press High School Football Player of the Year and the Santa Barbara All-Star Football Game MVP.
Throughout his Royal football career, he was a two-time All-Channel League First Team member, a two-time team captain, a two-time Channel League champion and a three-year varsity letterman.
Meanwhile, he played two years of varsity baseball at San Marcos and pulled in All-Channel League honors for both seasons. He also served as a team captain in his senior season.
After graduating from San Marcos as a member of the class of 1979, Holland spent the next two years playing for the Santa Barbara City College baseball program.
He took his game to the next level as a Vaquero, earning a pair of Western State Conference team selections and etching his name in SBCC baseball history during the 1981 season.
Holland, who played first base at SBCC, set a new program record by hitting .431 during his sophomore campaign, a record that still stands today. The jaw-dropping batting average was thanks in part to a 24-game hitting streak during the season, which also was a school record.
As a result of his consistency at the plate, he was named to the All-Southern California team and to the All-California State First Team.
His standout career as a Vaquero drew the interest of Fresno State, and he finished off his playing career with two seasons as a Bulldog in 1982 and 1983.
Fresno State made some waves during Holland’s career, winning a pair of Northern California Baseball Association championships and reaching the West Regional Championship in 1983 after being ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation during the regular season.
Individually, Holland also holds a record at Fresno State, as he belted a home run in five consecutive games in February of 1983 for the first and only time in program history.
From dominating two sports at San Marcos to rewriting the history books at both of his college stops, Holland has plenty to be proud of on his Hall of Fame resume.
