Year Inducted: 2024
Nominated By: Brad Ranson (brother)
Sports Competed In: Baseball, Basketball
Nominated as: Athlete, Coach, Contributor and Official
High School:
Attended Pueblo South High School...Graduated in 1975.
Achievements:
High School:
● Three-year letter-winner in baseball (1973-75)
● Two-year letter-winner in basketball (1974-75)
● Positions earned during senior year (1975):
- All-City Basketball Team "Player-of-the-Year"
- All-League South-Central League First-Team Basketball.
- 3A State Tournament All-Tournament Team scoring 28 points in All-State game.
- 3A All-State First-Team in Basketball.
- 3A All-State Baseball
- Western All-American High School basketball team.
- Third in the South-Central League in hitting with zero strike-outs the entire year.
College:
Chose the University of Denver from several offers of a Division 1 Athletic Scholarship to play baseball and basketball in 1975-76...He transferred to San Diego State University and graduated in 1980.
Achievements:
College (Basketball):
● DU Game Stats (Freshman): GP 27 FG 117 FGA 267 PCT. 44% FT 69 FTA 86 PCT 81% REB 117 TP 303 AVG 11.2.
● DU Game Stats (Sophomore): GP 27 FG 116 FGA 249 PCT 47% FT 72 FTA 91 PCT 80% REB 94 TP 304 AVG 11.3.
● Ranson was awarded “Defensive Player-of-the-Year” during junior year at SDSU.
● SDSU Game Stats (Junior): GP 26 FG 36 FGA 63 PCT 57% FT 8 FTA 15 PCT 54% AST 63 STL 13 PTS 60 AVG 6.
● Ranson was selected as “Captain of the SDSU Basketball Team” during his senior year.
● SDSU Game Stats (Senior): GP 10 FG 23 FGA 54 PCT 43% FT 19 FTA 25 PCT 77%.
● While at SDSU, Ranson was honored with the Western Athletic Conference All-Academic Team (1979-80).
College (Baseball):
● University of Denver Baseball AVG .298, with four home runs (1976).
● University of Denver Baseball AVG .313 with six home runs (1977).
● Ranson was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (1978).
Notable Events in Athletics:
● During his junior year of high school, Jim sustained a broken ankle during the last week of basketball. The following week, he had the cast off for the state playoffs. Ranson went on to play baseball but had to change positions from SS to 1B.
● Between practices for the All-State High School basketball game in Boulder, Colorado, Jim traveled to Denver and played in a State Legion tournament game with two home runs. Ranson returned to Boulder and scored 28 points in the All-State basketball game the next night.
● While attending the DU, Ranson played a college baseball game in the afternoon and a college basketball game that same evening.
● Notable teams played against during Ranson’s career: UCLA, Colorado State University, UNLV, Indiana State, USC, University of San Francisco, Utah, and Wyoming.
● Ranson competed against the following notable players: Reggie Theus, Darnell Valentine, Richard Washington, Marcus Johnson, KiKi Vanderweghe, Larry Bird, Bill Cartwright, Glen Gondrezick, Al Bubba Baker, and Eddie Hughes.
● At DU, Ranson played with Bob Heaton and Jim Mitchem as freshmen and sophomores before Heaton transferred to Indiana State and Mitchem to DePaul. They played against each other in the Final Four, which included Larry Bird, Mark Aguirre, and Magic Johnson.
● While at SDSU, Ranson played alongside Tony Gwynn in the backcourt.
● Ranson’s career ended when he broke his hand against Tennessee 10 basketball games into his senior year.
● Ranson was a volunteer baseball/basketball coach for ten years.
After College:
● Jim played for the Pueblo Steelers Baseball Club in Pueblo, Colorado (1976)
● He also played in the Midnight Sun game playing for the Alaska Goldpanners (1977).
● Ranson continued participating in the Denver area sports scene, playing in Denver's Pro/Am basketball league, fastpitch softball, and slowpitch.
Personal Affiliations:
● Coaching Denver Youth Sports: Volunteer Coach Denver, Colorado (2006-15)
● Umpired American Legion baseball for high school players in Denver, Colorado.
Contributions:
● Jim has worked predominantly in commercial real estate on both the state and national levels.
● His career has lasted for nearly 40 years, and he has worked for some of the world's largest commercial real estate companies, such as CB Richard Ellis, Newmark Knight Frank, and Grubb and Ellis.
● Currently, Jim is the sole proprietor of Integrated CRE Ltd. He specializes in representing tenants and corporations locally and nationally at this commercial real estate firm.
● Ranson's clients have included Molson/Coors, US WEST/Qwest, AT&T, DeVry University, Excel Energy, and United Artists Theatre Circuit.
● He donated his time, energy, and money to obtain sports equipment for his son's high school teams.
● He also coached his sons in Little League Baseball and Basketball.
Personal:
Pueblo resident for 18 years before moving to Denver after college...Married to Martha for 30 years, with two sons, Ben, 27, and Jack, 23.
