At 5’3” and weighing 140 pounds, Satoshi “Fibber” Hirayama is considered the greatest pound-for-pound athlete in Fresno State history. Hirayama grew up in Exeter and was a two-sport star for the Monarchs: football and baseball. He would also play both of those sports at Fresno State, lettering in football from 1949-1951 and in baseball from 1950-1952.

A three-time all-conference player in baseball for the Bulldogs, Hirayama was on that 1951 team that went 36-4. He stole 36 bases during that 1951 season, five of which came in a single game against Cal Poly.

Years later, Hirayama would play for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan where he was a two-time all-star.

In 2017, Fresno State retired the No. 3 jersey that Hirayama wore during his Bulldog career.

There is a story about how Hirayama earned the nickname, “Fibber.” Supposedly, when he was very young, he could not pronounce “February.” That was the month in which he was born. He said, “Fibber” instead of “February” and the nickname stuck.

Fibber Hirayama was a 1989 inductee into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame. He passed away on September 15th, 2021 at the age of 91