WARREN JABALI (ARMSTRONG)
Athlete - 2013
Warren Jabali
(Armstrong) was a three-time all-MVC player who ranks in the top 20
all-time at Wichita State in scoring, rebounding and assists. Known
during his playing career at Wichita State when he averaged 16.7 points
and 10.8 rebounds per game as Warren Armstrong. He led the team in
rebounding for three consecutive years. At the time of induction into
the Shocker Hall of Fame in 1985, he held the Shocker record for assists
in a game (14 vs. Bradley, 1968), season (194 in 1967-68), and career
(429 from 1965-68). He played professionally in the American Basketball
Association from 1968-75 and was the ABA¹s Rookie of the Year in 1969
and Most Valuable Player of its all-star game in 1973. He averaged 17.1
points per game during his professional career.
HERM BACHRODT
Coach/Administrator - 2013
Herm Bachrodt
came to Wichita in 1951 to become St. Mary's Cathedral High School Head
Basketball Coach for 4 years, moving on to become the first Head
Basketball Coach and first Athletic Director at Kapaun Memorial HS,
where he taught and coached for 12 years. In 1967, he started the
Intercollegiate Athletic Program at Sacred Heart College (now Newman
University) and like Kapaun, became the first Athletic Director and
first Head Basketball Coach. In 1972, he became the Senior Director of
Public Relations for Pizza Hut and authored and directed the Nationally
Recognized Pizza Hut All Star Classic in Las Vegas, NV. He later became
a Pizza Hut franchisee. In recognition of his gifts, Kapaun Mt. Carmel
has named the athletic facility the Coach Herm and Jackie Bachrodt
Athletic Complex. Inducted into the Newman Hall of Fame and KMC Hall of
Fame.
ROLAND BANKS
Administrator - 2006
Roland Banks
retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1974 and joined the Wichita athletics
department. Thirty-two years later he retired after rising to the position
of Special Assistant to the Athletics Director. From 1976 he supervised
equipment operations and was given additional responsibilities of
coordinating outside and university events in Cessna Stadium. Being in
charge of issuing, custody, repair and ordering of equipment and uniforms
for all Shocker athletic teams, he became an integral part of maintaining
relationships with WSU’s former student-athletes. Banks is a member of the
Shocker Hall of Fame.
FRANK ‘PETE’ BAUSCH
Athlete - 2005
One of the
greatest all-around athletes ever at Kansas University was a graduate of
Wichita’s Cathedral High. Pete won nine letters in football, basketball
and track at KU and was a “give-no-quarters” lineman in the NFL, where he
played for the Boston Redskins (1934-36), Chicago Bears (1937-40) and
Philadelphia Eagles (1941). He was the younger brother of Olympic legend
Jim Bausch. Pete was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the
legendary George Halas. Pete returned home and established the Weyl-Bausch
Tire Co.
JIM BAUSCH
Athlete - 2004
The Olympic
decathlon champion has traditionally been acclaimed as the “World’s
Greatest Athlete,” and there was nothing in Bausch’s performance in the
1932 Olympics to say otherwise. He dominated the competition with a world
record point total of 8,462. He said he could have topped 8,600 points
with two healthy knees. He intimidated his competition by passing on his
first three tries in the pole vault and still won it at 13 feet, 2 inches.
He was so far ahead that he only had to jog the final event, the
1500-meter run, to break the world record. James Aloysius Bausch was born
in South Dakota but his family moved to Garden Plain, KS. He transferred
to Wichita’s Cathedral High then attended Wichita University one year
before transferring to the University of Kansas. “Jarrin’ Jim” was twice
named All-America in football and earned the AAU’s Sullivan Award in 1932
as the nation’s best amateur athlete. He was a charter inductee into the
College Football Hall of Fame. He played three years in the National
Football League.
JUDY BELL
Athlete/Administrator - 2006
There was no
glass ceiling in golf’s hierarchy for Wichitan Judy Bell, who in 1996
became the first woman president of the USGA, which had been a “good old
boy” bastion for a century. She had already put a severe dent in the
all-male USGA a few years earlier when she became the first woman on the
Executive Committee. Bell had a brilliant amateur golf career, being
ranked among the top 10 amateurs in the U.S. in the 1960s. She competed in
more USGA events than any other Kansas golfer (38), played on two Curtis
Cup teams, captained two other Curtis Cup teams and one Women’s World Cup
team and tied a record low round in the U. S. Women’s Open at 67. Bell
learned the game under Dave Truffelli at Crestview Country Club and Mike
Murra of Wichita Country Club. She wrote a book, Breaking the Mold, and is
a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Kansas Golf Hall of Fame,
Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
MARK BELL
Athlete - 2014
Mark Bell was
named the best tight end of all-time in the City League by the Wichita
Eagle. He played at Bishop Carroll High School and Colorado State and
where he caught 26 passes, and scored four touchdowns his senior year.
Drafted in the fourth round by the Seattle Seahawks he went on to play
six seasons in the NFL for the Seahawks and Colts. Mark played with his
twin brother, Mike, at both Bishop Carroll High School and Colorado
State and together they were the first set of twins to play in the NFL.
MIKE BELL
Athlete - 2004
Mike and Mark
Bell were one of 10 sets of twins who played in the NFL. Mark played for
Seattle from 1979 to 1982. The two Bishop Carroll High School athletes
starred at Colorado State. In his senior year, Mike was a consensus
All-American. He was the first-round draft choice of the Chiefs in 1979
and played in 133 games before retiring in 1991. From his defensive end
position he made 490 tackles and 52 sacks. In 1992 he was named to
Colorado State’s All-Century team. He is a prominent Wichita businessman
in real estate.
BOBBY BOYD
Athlete - 2004
Nicknamed
“The Rope” for the line drives he hit into the gaps in the outfield, Boyd
was the first black player to sign with the Chicago White Sox in 1950. He
had a nine-year Major League Baseball career with the White Sox, KC
Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Braves. He also managed the
Wichita Rapid Transit Dreamliners to the championship in the 1965 National
Baseball Congress tournament and was the MVP, hitting .423 with seven runs
batted in. He is a member of the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame
and Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
GREG BRUMMETT
Athlete - 2009
A
right-handed pitcher, the Wichita Northwest High grad led the Shockers to
their first national championship . His complete-game 5-3 victory over
Texas in the title contest capped a remarkable senior season in which he
posted a nation-leading 18 victories and was named second-team
All-American. That total tied him with Bryan Oelkers for most wins in a
season by a Shocker. Brummet was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in
1989 and made his major league debut in 1993. That season he had a 2-3
record with the Giants and was traded to the Minnesota Twins, where he was
2-1. He also had several successful seasons in semi-pro ball with the
Alaska Goldpanners, Clinton, Iowa; Liberal and Hutchinson, Kan. After his
playing days he became a head baseball coach and was inducted into the
Shocker Hall of Fame in 1995.
ANGELA BUCKNER
All-Centennial WSU Basketball Star - 2008
Buckner, a Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel graduate, is one
of only five Missouri Valley players to score more than 1,000 points and
grab more than 1,000 rebounds in her career. That earned her a spot on the
Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial team. She was named to the
All-Missouri Valley basketball team three times. She scored 1,382 points
and picked off 1,297 rebounds in four seasons, 2001-2004. A 6-foot-2
center, she was a stalwart in the Shocker attack. She led Kapaun to the
Wichita City League championship three times. Her 1,472 career points were
fourth best in City League history. She was also outstanding in the shot
put, winning state titles three times and finishing second once. She also
tied the state shot put record.
DON CALHOUN
Athlete - 2009
Calhoun was
an All-State and All-America running back at Wichita North High School in
1970. He was also a key figure in Coach Vince Gibson’s veer offense at
Kansas State. He was selected in the 10th round of the NFL draft by
Buffalo in 1974. He was traded to New England where his 5.6 yards per
carry led the American Football Conference in 1977. He had four straight
100-yard games in 1977. He played a total of nine seasons in the NFL and
compiled totals of 3,559 yards rushing and 624 yards on 84 pass
receptions. After his pro career he returned to Wichita and coached at
Friends University for two years.
PETE CANNADY
Administraton - 2011
Pete Cannady was
the first director of athletics for USD 259, the state’s largest school
district, for a quarter of a century. He guided Wichita’s public high
schools through the construction of new facilities and expansion into
girls sports in the 1970s under Title IX. There were no girls’ sports in
USD 259 until 1969. When Pete retired in 1994 he was given the Elmer
(Carp) Carpenter award named in honor of the former South High AD who was
the first president of the Kansas State Secondary Athletic Directors
Association. Cannady was the Assistant Principal at Southeast High when he
was named to the top job in the district in 1969. Cannady grew up in Yates
Center, KS, attended Hutchinson Community College and Colorado State
University of Greeley and did graduate work at Wichita State and Oklahoma
State.
ANTOINE CARR
Athlete - 2004
The
6-foot-9-inch Wichita Heights High School product joined Cliff Levingston
to provide one of the greatest eras in Shocker basketball. The “Bookend
Forwards” led the Shocks to two Missouri Valley titles and the Elite Eight
in the 1981 NCAA Tournament, featuring a triumph over Kansas University in
the “Battle of New Orleans.” In his final game, Carr scored a
school-record 47 points against Southern Illinois. He was known for his
explosive dunk shots, much of his game being played well above the rim. He
was a first-round draft choice of the Detroit Pistons in 1983 but opted to
play in Europe. He later returned to the U.S. for an 18-year run in the
NBA with Atlanta, San Antonio, Sacramento, Utah, Houston and Vancouver.
WSU retired his No. 35 jersey.
JOE CARTER
Athlete - 2004
One of the
unforgettable moments in Major League Baseball was when Carter hit the
home run in the ninth inning to clinch the 1993 World Series title for the
Toronto Blue Jays, giving them back-to-back titles in baseball’s biggest
spectacle. At the time, Carter was the highest-paid player in the Majors
at $5.5 million. In 16 seasons and 2,189 games, Carter had a career
batting average of .259 and 396 home runs. He hit 30 or more homers in a
season six times playing for Cleveland and Toronto. At WSU, he hit 58 home
runs, had a career average of .430 and was named Player of the Year in
1981. He was named All-American three times. Carter is also in the Kansas
Baseball Hall of Fame, Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Shocker Hall of
Fame.
TEX CONSOLVER
Administrator - 2013
Tex Consolver was known as "Mr. Golf in Wichita", Tex served as the head
golf professional at Sim Park (1938-50), MacDonald Park (1951-69), and
Pawnee Prairie (1969-73). He was a great player as well. He is a past
champion of the South Central PGA section, and a four-time senior
champion of the South Central PGA section. His instructive eye nourished
the game of many great golfers and his legacy continues in the hands of
over 10 golf professionals. Tex is quoted as saying "I have never met a
golfer I didn't like." In 1993, Tex was inducted into the Kansas Golf
Hall of Fame.
JOHN CRUM
Contributor - 2013
John Crum’s father-in-law, J. Allen Brazill, built the family's first
bowling center in 1960, and John helped build JOMA Bowing into one of
the leading bowling proprietors in the Midwest. That tradition continues
with his daughter and her husband, Cathy and Frank DeSocio. John’s
vision became JOMA Company, which, as of his induction into the Wichita
Sports Hall of Fame, operates seven centers, from 24 lanes up to 48
lanes, in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. A revolutionary in the bowling
business, John was a pioneer in making bowling centers more than just
about bowling, he turned bowling alleys into entertainment centers.
Inducted into the Kansas Bowling Hall of Fame, Wichita Bowling Hall of
Fame and BPAA National Bowling Hall of Fame.
DAVE DAHL
Athlete/Broadcaster - 2010
Dahl has been
a part of the Shocker broadcasting team beginning in 1980 and as of his
induction into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame has been the color man on
home basketball games for 30 years. His partnership with Mike Kennedy has
been praised as one of the best basketball broadcast teams in Kansas radio
history. A practicing attorney in Wichita since 1977, he teaches in the
entrepreneurship segment of the WSU business school. He is a partner in
the law firm of Johnson, Kennedy, Dahl and Willis. Dahl has also served as
president of the WSU Alumni Association and SASO (Shocker Athletic
Scholarship Organization). Dahl was a basketball walk-on in 1969 at
Wichita State. In 1970 and 1971 his determination twice earned him the
“Most Inspirational Player” award from his Shocker teammates. He also
co-authored the book Starting and Operating a Business in Kansas.” He is a
protege of the late WSU assistant and Wichita Sports Hall of Fame coach
Ron Heller, whom Dahl credits with shaping who he is today. Dahl has also
given legal advice to the athletic departments of WSU and Newman
University.
LARRY DAVIS
Administrator - 2010
Davis went to
work at the National Baseball Congress in 1950 as a part-time ticket
seller and became the right-hand man of legendary founder Hap Dumont. He
was frequently a chauffeur for Dumont who did not drive. Upon Dumont’s
death, there was no better qualified successor than Davis to become
director of the NBC tournament and he handled the job for more than 25
years. He was the one who created the schedule which some days called for
round-the-clock action. Davis died in 2002 in Wichita. Davis has also been
inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame and the NBC Hall of Fame.
LES DAVIS
Coach - 2007
In 50 years
of coaching, 38 at Sedan High School, Davis compiled a state record of
1,522 victories in football, basketball and baseball. He had one of the
longest winning streaks in basketball, 68 consecutive regular-season
triumphs which ended Jan. 3, 2006, in a 43-41 loss to West Elk of Howard.
The 73-year-old Davis had 316 victories in football, 694 in basketball and
512 in baseball, including a state title in 1973. In 1979 Sedan reached
the Class 3A basketball title game, losing in overtime. Davis is an
alumnus of Wichita North High (1951) and Friends University (1956). He
coached at Grenola, Greeley and Towanda high schools and one year was head
baseball and assistant football and basketball coach at Friends. His
basketball teams featured full-court zone pressure defense.
LARRY DOSTERT
Coach - 2009
For 16 years
Dostert's Bishop Carroll High School cross country teams and individuals
dominated the distance running scene in the Wichita City League. He won 12
league titles (10 in a row) and claimed state crowns in 1986 and 1993. He
also produced three individual state champions in Patrick Goebel (19880),
Randy Staats (1989) and Eric Bachman. Staats and Bachman established state
records the years they won. Dostert's teams qualified for the state meet
every year he coached. Dostert came to Kansas from Phoenix, Ariz., to play
junior college basketball but was lured into distance running through
community programs, which he organized and ran. He also worked as the
Bishop Carroll athletic director.
"GOOSE" DOUGHTY
Coach/Administrator - 2009
No person has
worked longer or more diligently in the interest of tennis in Wichita than
Charles (Goose) Doughty. He is the “guru” of tennis, especially among
disadvantaged youths in the city. That is why one of the city’s newest
public tennis facilities at McAdams Park is named the Goose Doughty Jr.
Tennis Facility. It has six lighted courts with a nearby parking lot.
Doughty is also a successful coach in basketball at Wichita Heights High
School for 17 years from 1978 to 1995 with a 250-120 record. He retired
after 32 years with USD 259. He also served as tennis coach at Southeast
High School and head women’s tennis coach at Friends University. He heads
up the Goose Doughty Foundation that underwrites a program that emphasizes
cultural diversity in tennis.
DARREN DREIFORT
Athlete -
2007
One of the greatest players
ever to don a Shocker uniform. He led WSU to the 1993 College World Series
championship game and captured the 1993 Golden Spikes and R. E. “Bob”
Smith awards. He was the No. 2 pick in the 1993 draft by the Dodgers. A
two-time All-American, he led WSU to three College World Series
appearances, including runnerup finishes in 1991 and 1993. He became the
WSU career leader in ERA at 2.24 in 78 appearances. He was a prolific
hitter. He rose quickly through the LA system and became the Dodgers’
closer in 1994. He experienced a series of injuries and surgeries, missing
one and one-half seasons. He had a 12-9 season as a starter in 2000 with a
4.16 ERA. He is a member of the Shocker Hall of Fame and the Kansas
Baseball Hall of Fame.
GREG DREILING
Athlete - 2006
An imposing
center on the Kansas University team from 1984 to 1986 was the 7-foot-1
graduate of Wichita’s Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School. He helped lead KU to
the Final Four in 1986, then played 10 years in the NBA, seven with the
Indiana Pacers, who drafted him in the second round. He later played with
the Dallas Mavericks. In 1985, he was KU’s MVP and was selected for the
World University Games U. S. squad. He scored 1,209 points and grabbed 650
rebounds in three years at KU. His 57.2 shooting percentage ranks No. 5 on
KU’s all-time list. He also blocked 138 shots. Dreiling first signed with
Wichita State but transferred to KU after his freshman season.
RAY (HAP)
DUMONT
Contributor - 2004
Every year
baseball teams from across the country converge on Lawrence-Dumont Stadium
in Wichita to compete in the National Baseball Congress tournament,
conceived in the 1930s by Hap Dumont, a former sports writer. He staged a
state tournament in 1931 and it was successful for a few years. When the
old stadium burned, he made a deal to go national if the the city would
build a new stadium. With the help of the WPA, the city built the stadium
in 1935, and the NBC has been a fixture ever since. Dumont brought in
famed pitcher Satchel Paige for the inaugural event. Many future Major
Leaguers have competed in the NBC. It became a rich source for Major
League scouts. Dumont was a promoter who devised many innovations,
including a 20-second clock on pitchers and a home-plate duster. The NBC
championship is coveted by teams everywhere, and it became a lucrative
business supplying baseball equipment to amateur teams.
RIC DVORAK
Athlete -
2007
Ric Dvorak is one the greatest
defensive lineman ever to play at Wichita State. From 1970 to 1974 Dvorak
dominated every offensive lineman who tried to block him. Dvorak was a
first- team all Missouri Valley Conference player for three years and
honorable mention All-America his senior year. He had more that 200
unassisted tackles and more that 200 assisted tackles at WSU. Dvorak was
the MVC Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and runner-up MVC Defensive
Player of the Year in 1973. In 1974, Dvorak was drafted by the New York
Giants in the 3rd round. He played from 1974 to 1977 for the Giants and
finished his career with the Miami Dolphins. He is a member of the Shocker
Hall of Fame.
STEVE ECK
Coach -
2014
Steve Eck has
served head basketball coach at Butler Community College, Redlands
College, Cowley County Community College, Hutchinson Community College
and as the Associate Head Coach at NCAA Division I University of
Missouri-Kansas City. However, Eck is best known for the success he had
prior to coaching at the junior college level at Wichita South High
School, where he led his team to an incredible 10 consecutive Wichita
City League titles from the 1986-1987 season to the 1995-1996 season.
During that time, Wichita South posted a staggering record of 227-15,
including a 153-7 mark in league play. His teams reached the state Final
Four eight consecutive seasons, winning six state championships. Wichita
South still holds the city league record of 51 straight consecutive wins
in league action. As of this induction, Eck is the highest winning
percentage coach at the high school level in the country with at least
200 wins and has an overall record of 785 wins and 109 losses.
REUBEN ECKELS
Athlete -
2011
Reuben Eckels is
one of the top pass catchers in Wichita State history. He finished his
career as the Shockers all-time leader in reception yardage with 2,068
while ranking second in catches with 123. He was a key performer in WSU's
13-10 upset of Kansas in 1982, catching six passes for 87 yards including
a 33-yarder on the game-winning touchdown drive. He also was an
outstanding kick returner, averaging 18.5 yards on kickoff returns for his
career. Reuben was named the MVC Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in
1980 and was an all-conference in 1981, 1982 and '83. At Wichita Southeast
High School, he won two state championship track titles and led Southeast
to two football state championships in 1978 and 1979. Eckels also played
two seasons for the Ottawa Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
Reuben has been inducted into the Shocker Hall of Fame.
ALBERT R. "MONK" EDWARDS
Athlete/Coach - 2013
Nicknamed “Monk”
for his big build, A.R. was known as a legendary Kansas prep coach. He
was a three-sport star at Kansas State in a football, basketball, and
baseball from 1925 to 1928. Also, “Monk” was an outstanding minor league
player for Providence, RI and Independence, KS, Omaha, NE, and Pueblo,
CO., in the 1930s. It was reported he once led all minor league players
in hitting, causing foes to shift their defenses just as they did
against Ted Williams. In football, he coached an unbeaten Wellington
team in 1938, then coached Wichita North for 18 years. As head coach at
Wichita North from 1939-42 and 1946-56 “Monk” went 93-33-10. In the
1960’s “Monk” became a P.E. instructor and football/wrestling coach at
Wichita Southeast. Inducted into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame, Kansas
Baseball Hall of Fame and Wichita North Hall of Fame.
JEFF FARRELL
Athlete - 2005
As a 1954
graduate of East High School, Jeff Farrell won three state swimming titles
swimming for his coach, Bob Timmons. Farrell then swam for the University
of Oklahoma where he earned All-American honors. But it was at the 1960
Olympic games in Rome, where Farrell shined. As a swimmer on the 400
medley and the 800 freestyle relay teams, Farrell won gold medals in both
races while setting world records in both races.
NATASHA FIFE
Athlete,
Administrator, Educator - 2008
Fife followed her golf pro
father into the sport of golf and spent 13 years as women’s athletic
director at Wichita State University. She has played several roles with
the Kansas Women’s Golf Association. She is a member of the Kansas Golf
Hall of Fame, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Wichita State Hall of
Fame. She won five Kansas Women’s Amateur golf titles, three Broadmoor
golf crowns and seven Kansas Senior Women’s Golf championships. She has
also served as the KWGA president and served many years as golf course
rater and rules official. She still works as rules official and scoreboard
operator at KWGA functions. The Natasha Fife Women’s Golf Scholarship is
awarded annually to a member of the WSU women’s golf team.
OWEN FRIEND
Athlete/Administrator - 2007
For 30 years,
Wichitan, Owen Friend has fanned the flames of Kansas’ proud baseball
heritage as president of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame, which was
founded in 1932 as the Baseball Oldtimers Association. Few people are as
steeped in baseball lore as Friend, who for 21 years between 1944 and
1964 played in the big leagues and minors with seven seasons in the majors
with the Browns, Tigers, Indians, Red Sox and Cubs. He played on 17
different minor league clubs and managed eight farm teams. In 1954 he led
the American Association shortstops in double plays with 108 for
Indianapolis. He drove in 104 runs for Muskegon in the Central League in
1948. The Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame is housed in the Wichita Sports
Hall of Fame.
THE GARVEY FAMILY
Benefactor – 2010
Willard
Garvey and his wife Jean, along with other family members have donated
land, finanial resources and buildings to universities, YMCA’s, swimmers
and kid basketball players over the years. Willard was a member of
Michigan University’s swim team during his college days and a hard-working
local representative of the Amateur Athletic Union during the 1950s and
paved the way for young swimmers to compete with teams in area cities.
They eventually founded the Wichita Swim Club which produced several
college and Olympic champs and record-setters. On the same ground as the
swim club, they created the Independent School, a model non-public school
in 1980. The Garvey Family also donated 57 acres of land that the south
YMCA now sets, along with other gifts to area YMCA’s. The Garvey Family
has made contributions to Wichita Collegiate and their gym is named in
their honor. Friends University has also honored the Garvey Family by
naming their gym after them for their dedication to the Falcon sports
department. In 1994 Garvey Family donated what is now the Garvey Sports
Center near Harry and Oliver for use by Wichita’s Biddy Basketball
organization, one of the largest and most successful Biddy programs in the
country.
MILT GLICKMAN
Owner -
2007
Local scrap metal dealer Milt
Glickman brought professional baseball back to Wichita after an absence of
12 years. In 1970 he headed a group of 17 investors who bought an
expansion franchise in the American Association and created the Wichita
Aeros, who represented the city for 14 years under working agreements with
the Indians, Cubs, Rangers, Expos and Reds. The Aeros won one pennant in
1972. Glickman and his wife Gladys were known for their philanthropy.
Glickman said he lost more than a million dollars supporting the Aeros. He
sold the franchise to Bob and Mindy Rich, who moved it to Buffalo, N.Y.,
then brought it back in 1989 as the Wranglers, who competed in the Class
AA Texas League. He eventually bought out the remaining investors over a
several year period and was the sole owner for most of the time. While he
lost a fair amount of money running the team, he got more than that in
enjoyment in being involved in Wichita baseball, and it was a big part of
his and his mother's social life. He also "blessed" the games with not
only his attendance at virtually every home game, but he also was known
for his baseball and non-baseball humor. Examples of his clean jokes: Did
you know baseball was mentioned in the Bible? In the Big Inning... Why
does it take longer for a runner to get from second to third base than
from first to second base? Because there is a SHORT STOP in between.
Glickman was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
GUS GREBE
Mr.
Excitement - 2008
A veteran sportscaster in Colorado, Illinois and
California, Grebe came to Wichita’s KFH from Los Angeles in 1965 and in
1966 became the Voice of the Shockers. He aired Shocker basketball and
football until 1973, when he went to KCMO to do the Kansas City Chiefs
games. He was exciting and excitable to fans of that era. He would stand
throughout football games and lean out the window of the press box. A net
was placed under the window to catch him in the event he fell out. Grebe
covered the tragic air crash of WSU’s 1970 football team. He was in the
plane that did not crash.
DAVID HAAS
Athlete - 2012
David Haas
was one of the most durable and successful pitchers in Shocker history.
Drafted by the Detroit Tigers and played three seasons in the majors,
posting a 7-5 record. In 2008 his 49 career victories ranked second on
all-time WSU list. Led the Shockers into the 1988 College World Series
with a 14-5 record and beat Florida in the first round. Won 10 straight as
a freshman and posted a 12-1 record. His 353 strikeouts fourth best among
Shockers. Also among all-time Shocker leaders in appearances (84), games
started (59), complete games (22), innings pitched (457) and winning
percentage (.831). Three times All-Missouri Valley and 1988 MVC Pitcher of
the Year.
C. RAY HALL
Racing Promoter - 2009
C. Ray Hall
carries on a tradition of over 50 years of auto racing at the legendary 81
Speedway in Wichita. Five times he has been named the South Central Auto
Racing Promoter of the Year and in 1997 won the national honor. The Hall
family has operated the track since the early 1960’s. Bill Hall turned
operation of 81 Speedway over to son C. Ray in 1971. C. Ray has served as
president of the O’Reilly/National Championship Racing Association, which
has sanctioned events since 1975 in 13 states. In 1995, Hall formed a
division known as “Cruiser Cars,” featuring a two-person team with the
driver at the steering wheel and brake and the passenger at the throttle.
81 Speedway has hosted virtually every traveling series that runs on dirt,
many on national TV. In 2006, C. Ray was inducted into the 81 Speedway
Hall of Fame.
DOROTHY HARMON
Administrator - 2014
Dorothy
Harmon is a pioneer for women in sports. Following graduation in 1946
from WU, she began her career at WU’s public relations office. She moved
to the athletic department and became the first woman assistant athletic
director in the country. Her duties included assisting the athletic
director with financial records, coordinated athletes’ academic and
eligibility records. Following the 1970 WSU football plane crash in
Colorado, Mrs. Harmon was named interim athletic director. She kept the
WSU sports department operating while helping families and friends of
crash victims and survivors. Mrs. Harmon was inducted into the Shocker
Hall of Fame in 1981.
JESSE HARPER
Coach/Administrator - 2014
Jesse Harper
lived 41 of his 77 years in Wichita and the state of Kansas. He attended
the University of Chicago and played football under the immortal Amos
Alonzo Stagg from 1902 to 1906. From 1906 to 1913 he coached at Alma
College and Wabash College going 25-13-6. In 1913 he became head coach
and athletic director at Notre Dame, guiding the Irish to an undefeated
season that first year. He resigned at the age of 33 after the 1917
season. When the parents of Harper's wife needed help with their
20,000-acre ranch near Sitka, KS in early 1918, Harper, then only 33,
left the Irish with a 34-5-1 record after five years. He handed the head
football coaching job over to Knute Rockne and moved to Wichita. Harper
and his family lived at 1103 N. Emporia (now a parking lot for Via
Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus) and managed the
ranch from there until 1931. When Rockne died in a plane crash, Harper
accompanied his body back to South Bend. The school also re-hired Harper
on the spot as athletic director, a position Rockne also had held.
Harper stayed only through 1933 before moving to the ranch near Sitka,
where he remained until he died of a heart attack in 1961. He also
served on the Wichita University Athletic Council sharing his knowledge
of sports. Harper was born December 10, 1883 and died July 1, 1961.
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Special thanks
to Wichita Eagle on this bio.
WARREN HARDY
Administrator - 2010
Warren Hardy
was born and raised in Hutchinson, Ks. A graduate of Hutchinson High
School in 1971, he played on the varsity football, basketball and golf
teams. Hardy attended and graduated from Hutchinson Community Junior
College and Southwest Missouri State on a golf scholarship and in 1972 won
the prestigious Prairie Dunes golf championship. After college, Hardy
played on the PGA mini-tour in 1978 & ’79. After his stint in professional
golf he became a radio DJ on top 40 station in Hutchinson from 1980 thru
’83. In 1984 his love affair with auto racing began and he has never
looked back. Hardy started his career in auto racing with 81 Speedway in
1984 as infield announcer. In 26 years with 81 Speedway, thru his Wichita
Sports HOF induction, Hardy has been the voice and face of 81 Speedway.
His many years of relating to the race fans of central Kansas has been
very important in the success of 81 Speedway. He has hosted or co-hosted
numerous local auto racing television & radio shows in Wichita area. As of
his induction into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame, Hardy is also the
voice of the O’Reilly/NCRA Racing Series.
ED HENNING
Athlete - 2014
Ed Henning is
one of the greatest Wichita bowlers of all-time. From 1992 to 2011 in
USBC sanctioned competion, his average was always above 200 and in fact,
Ed averaged over 230 in 12 of those years. He was named USBC Wichita
Bowler of the year five times in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2005. Ed was
also on the USBC All-Star team seven times. He bowled 34 USBC sanctioned
300’s and 23 USBC 800 series. In 2009, Ed was inducted into the USBC
Chapter of the Wichita Bowling Hall of Fame.
RON HELLER
Athlete/Coach - 2006
Whether
playing for or coaching the Shockers or coaching Friends University, or
doing color broadcasts for WSU, the congenial Heller was a constant on the
Wichita basketball scene for 47 years. At 6-foot-7, he was a three-year
starter and All-Missouri Valley Conference forward in 1960 and 1961. As a
senior, he was the Shockers’ leading scorer at 17.4 points per game, but
was renowned as a rugged defender and rebounder. After his playing days,
he joined the coaching staff and was assistant coach for 12 years. He was
assistant to Coach Gary Thompson when the 1964-65 Shockers reached the
Final Four. He also served as assistant coach under Harry Miller. He was
later head basketball coach and director of athletics at Friends
University. He is a member of both the Shocker and Friends University Halls of
Fame.
BILL HIMEBAUGH
Athlete/Administor/Coach - 2011
Bill
Himebaugh played football, basketball, baseball and golf at Friends
University. He was the Kansas conference golf champion in 1954 and 1955
and the district golf champion in 1955. After graduating from Friends,
Bill became a physical education teacher, coach and athletic director for
the Wichita public schools. While at South from 1971 to 1980, Bill’s teams
were 142 and 57 and won three consecutive state championships in 1978,
1979 and 1980. During his 30-year career in education, he was recognized
as the Wichita Junior High School Coach of the Year five times and Wichita
High School Coach of the Year two times. Bill was the Wichita High School
Coach of the Decade in the 1970’s and received three consecutive Awards of
Achievement from the National Basketball Coaches of the United States in
1978, 1979 and 1980. Additionally, Bill was awarded the Kansas High School
Athletic Director of the Year in 1985 and has been inducted into the
Kansas Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and Friends Athletic Hall of Fame.
BOB HODGSON
Athlete - 2012
Bob Hodgson
was regarded as a ball player with a deadly hook shot using either his
left or right hand. Hodgson was inducted into the Shocker Hall of Fame in
2002. As a first-year player in 1953-54, he averaged 9.6 points per game
on WU’s 27-4 first time ever NIT squad. At 6-6, Hodgson ranked, at the
time of his Shocker Hall of Fame induction, 24th all-time in points
scored. He was also 19th among all-three-year players with 1,112 points.
He earned second team All-MVC in 1954-55, and his career scoring average
of 13.7, ranked 21st among WSU 1,000-point scorers at the time of his
induction. Hodgson was known as WU’s all-everything candidate as a senior
when he averaged a double-double, leading the team in scoring, with 17.5
points and 11.5 rebounds.
JUSTIN HROMEK
Athlete - 2010
First bowler
in the 95-year history of the ABC Masters tournament to bowl back-to-back
300 games, accomplished in 1991. In 1994, Hromek won the U.S Open title
in Troy, Mich., to give Wichita State University alumni their second major
championship with a 267-230 victory over Parker Bohn. Rick Steelsmith
started it in 1987 by capturing the ABC Masters in Niagara Falls, N.Y. WSU
products now own seven major titles. Hromek won three other events: the
1988 International Youth Bowling Championships in Manila, The Philippines;
the 1992 PBA Seniors/Touring Pro doubles in Belleville, Ill., and the 1995
Reno Hilton Classic in Reno, Nev. He was a member of WSU’s 1987 national
championship team and national tournament MVP and first-team All-American
in 1988. Hromek is also in the Kansas Bowling Hall of Fame and the Wichita
Bowling Hall of Fame.
MARCELINO "CHELO" HUERTA
Coach - 2013
"Chelo" Huerta served as football coach at Tampa 1952-61, Wichita State
1962-64, and Parsons 1965-67. His coaching record was 98-58-3, a winning
percentage of .626. Huerta served in the armed forces in World War II,
then played football at Florida 1947-1949. His 1963 team at Wichita
State had a 7-2 record, was co-champion of the Missouri Valley
Conference, and ranked second in the nation in total offense. He was
inducted to the University of Florida Hall of Fame, University of Tampa
Hall of Fame, Florida Sports Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of
Fame.
CORENE JAAX
Athlete - 2006
Eight-time
All-American Corene Jaax was the backbone of a group of outstanding women
who twice were runnersup in the national AAU championship and finished in
the top four 10 times between 1929 and 1945. They played under several
names – Wallenstein-Raffman, Thurstons, Merchantettes and Boeing
Bombshells – but the key players on most of the teams were half a dozen
from area high schools. Jaax was one of 16 named to the original Women’s
Basketball Hall of Fame selected by the Helms Athletic Foundation. Jaax,
who also played under the married names of Smith and Donahue, was
graduated from Maize High School in 1928. She also coached the Boeing team
in the 1940s. Other Wichita stars were Dee Noel, Ruth Ott, Hazel
McConnaughy, Bonnie Harwood, Myrtle Brockert, Jo Fetcho and Mae Ceuervorst.
RANDY JACKSON
Athlete - 2011
Randy Jackson
was the heart and sole of the 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team.
He was one of eight WSU football players to survive the Oct. 2, 1970 plane
crash in the Colorado's Rocky Mountains just west of Denver. The plane
crash killed 31 people including players, coaches and supporters. Randy’s
plane was one of two planes flying from Wichita to Logan, Utah, for an
Oct. 3 game versus Utah State. Not only was Randy the heart and sole of
the WSU football team, he was also the outstanding player on the team.
Randy was drafted in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by Buffalo and
played one season for the Bills. He also played a seasons for the San
Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. A knee injury ended his football
career and he started teaching and coaching basketball and track at
Robinson Junior High School in 1977. Randy retired in 2008 and at the time
of his retirement, he was the 2nd all-time winningest middle school
basketball coach in Greater Wichita City League history. Randy Jackson
died in 2010.
WILLIE JEFFRIES
Coach - 2009
Jeffries
broke new ground when he was named the first African-American head coach
in NCAA Division I football in 1979. At the time, it was huge news that
this color barrier was finally broken. That’s when he took over the
Wichita State football program. In five seasons he compiled a 21-32
record. He also coached at South Carolina State and Howard University
where he had a highly successful career and went 179-132-6 overall. While
Jeffries was NCAA’s the first black coach in 1979, African-American
football boosters bemoan the fact that even in today there are not enough
black head coaches at the NCAA’s highest level, with good cause. Jeffries
is an inductee in the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
MARK JENSEN
Athlete - 2007
Jensen was
inducted into the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2002. He honed
his on-lanes skills in Wichita thanks to his father Woody, a bowling lanes
owner and Kansas Baseball Hall of Famer. Mark’s first pinnacle was winning
an ABC Tournament eagle in doubles with Mark Lewis in 1988 as well as
being a part of the team all events champions. The righthander helped
Wichita’s Chilton Vending win an ABC team title in 1989 and owns four
other top 10 finishes. He compiled a 200-plus average for nearly 30 years
in that event. Jensen also won the inaugural 2001 FIQ World Senior Open
Masters title in Reno and three senior division titles in the 2001
Tournament of the Americas. Mark is a member of both the Kansas and
Wichita Bowling Halls of Fame.
WOODY JENSEN
Athlete/Contributor - 2004
Forest
Docenus (Woody) Jensen played nine seasons in the Major Leagues and posted
a .287 lifetime batting average and a sparkling .972 fielding average with
only 39 errors in 1,471 chances. Jensen’s best season was 1935, when he
batted .324 and drove in 62 runs. In 1936, Jensen made a National League
record 526 putouts, a record which stood for 26 years. Jensen was born in
Bremerton, Wash., but lived much of his life in Wichita. He was a member
of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. Jensen rarely walked, setting a
National League record of 696 at-bats in 1936, a record which stood until
1969 when Matty Alou registered 698. Jensen’s 696 is still among the best
in the Major Leagues. He played minor league baseball for the Wichita
Aviators in 1930, when he met his wife, Lola. They returned to Wichita in
1940 and he was president of the Wichita Braves and Wichita Indians in the
1950s. He became the owner of Rose Bowl East and Rose Bowl West, two
bowling establishments. Woody is an inductee in both the Kansas and
Wichita Bowling Halls of Fame.
CHEESE JOHNSON
Athlete - 2005
Cheese
Johnson was a fan favorite at WSU from 1976 to 1979. As the MVC Newcomer
of the Year in 1976 and all MVC 1977 through 1979, Johnson led the
Shockers in scoring three years and led WSU in rebounding one year. With
1,907 points scored in his career, Johnson ranks fifth in career scoring
for the Shockers. He also made 52% of all his field goal attempts in his
WSU career. He is an inductee of the Shocker Hall of Fame.
FRANCIS JOHNSON
Athlete - 2013
One of the great
all-around athletes of his era, he lettered three years in three
different sports. As a member of the basketball team, he helped lead
Wichita University to the Central Intercollegiate Conference
co-championship in 1933 as the team finished 14-2. His older brother,
Gene, served as coach of the university teams during his playing days.
He earned greater notoriety in basketball after his college days,
earning AAU All-America honors in 1935, 1936 and 1938. He was a regular
on the 1936 Olympic basketball squad which won the gold medal for the
United States in Berlin. Shocker HOF.
GENE JOHNSON
Coach - 2013
As head basketball coach of Wichita University from1928 to 1933, Gene
Johnson compiled a 74-24 record in his five years with the Shockers.
Coach Johnson’s winning percentage of .755 ranked third among all
Shocker basketball coaches at the time of his induction into the Shocker
Hall of Fame in 1987. He led the Shockers to a Central Intercollegiate
Conference co-championship in 1933 and the team finished second three
times and third once. Coach Johnson left Wichita University for a
distinguished coaching career in the AAU ranks, coaching the McPherson
Globe Refiners to a national title and later coaching the Wichita
Vickers. Coach Johnson was one of the game's great innovators, Johnson
is credited with inventing the full-court zone press. He was selected as
assistant coach of the first United States Olympic basketball team in
1936, which won a gold medal for the U.S. in Berlin, Germany. Also
inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
GRIER JONES
Athlete/Coach - 2007
Jones won
golf championships in 1960s in the Kansas Amateur, the National Collegiate
Athletic Association and won the PGA Tour qualifying tournament and was
Rookie of the Year. After capturing the NCAA title while at Oklahoma
State, he won almost three-quarters of a million dollars on the PGA Tour
before opting to stay home with his family. In his first 10 years as coach
at Wichita State, he has won seven Missouri Valley titles and took his
team to the NCAA playoffs four times. Four times he has been named Coach
of the Year in the Missouri Valley. He was the first head pro at Wichita’s
Terradyne Country Club and Resort.
MIKE KENNEDY
Broadcaster - 2011
Mike Kennedy
is known as "The Voice of the Shockers", calling basketball, baseball and
football games on radio and television since the mid-1970s. He began his
announcing career as a Wichita State student calling games on university
station KMUW. He joined the Shocker broadcast team on radio and television
in 1976 while at KAKE-TV/Radio. Mike got his big break when he took over
the full-time play-by-play chores at KAKZ Radio in 1980. His broadcasting
highlights include the 1989 NCAA College World Series championship, 1981
NCAA Midwest Regional basketball victories over Iowa and Kansas and the
13-10 football victory over Kansas in 1982. Mike is also known as a
historian of Shocker athletics, his research has been used frequently to
update records of Shocker teams and former athletes. As of this induction
he has been honored seven times by his peers as the Kansas Sportscaster of
the Year. He is an inductee in the Shocker Hall of Fame, Kansas Baseball
Hall of Fame and the Kansas Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
EDDIE KRIWIEL
Athlete/Coach - 2004
Kriwiel was a
highly successful quarterback at WSU who set 12 school records. He has
since become one of the most successful high school coaches of all time in
football and golf. His football teams won nine state titles at Kapaun Mt.
Carmel and a mythical crown at West High before Kansas had a playoff
system. His golf teams, both boys and girls, at Kapaun have won a record
20 state titles. He is a member of the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame, the
Shocker Sports Hall of Fame and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
MAYOR CHARLES S. LAWRENCE
Contributor - 2013
The ballpark at Island Park in the 1920’s and 30’s was the hottest ticket
in Wichita. However, the stadium was built mostly of wood and a fire at
Island Park in the early 1930’s, left Wichita with out a baseball
stadium. Charles S. Lawrence, Wichita mayor from 1929-1930, 1933-1934,
understanding the importance of a world class baseball park, led the
city to move and build a new stadium within the Wichita city limits. The
construction of the stadium was a WPA project; which employed workers
during the depths of the Great Depression. Lawrence Stadium was named
after his father, R.E. Lawrence, one of Wichita's pioneers. The name was
change Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in 1972 to include and honor “Hap”
Dumont, the founder of the NBC. Mayor Lawrence was born: Oct 10, 1876.
Died: Sept 20, 1934.
THE LEVITT FAMILY
Contributors - 2013
The Levitt Family, life long residents of the city of Wichita, will long
be remembered by Wichitans as the owners of Henry’s, an up-scale men’s
and women’s clothing stores from 1911 until 1993. Henry’s clothing store
sponsored men’s basketball teams that won three consecutive national AAU
titles in the 1930, 1931, and 1932 at a time when colleges and
corporate-sponsored teams competed in the same tournament. In large part
through their efforts, the first “roundhouse” basketball arena was built
in the nation, where WSU basketball is currently played. Levitt Arena on
the WSU campus became a reality in 1955, through the encouragement and
leadership of this family, particularly Henry Levitt, after whom the
arena was posthumously named in 1969. In 2004, the “Roundhouse’ was
renamed Koch Arena after a $6 million endowment from Charles Koch. The
Levitt Family was inducted into the Shocker Hall of Fame as charter
members in 1979.
HAROLD LEEP
Racer - 2007
In the 1960s
and 1970s one of the most consistent winners on tracks in Kansas and
Oklahoma was Harold Leep, a Wichita bowling lanes owner. Leep won the
National Jalopy Championship at Hutchinson five times (1961, 1967, 1972,
1983 and 1984). He won super-modified titles at Wichita in 1965, 1966,
1967 and 1969, won at Oklahoma City in 1969, 1971 and 1972 and at Tulsa in
1969. He raced sprint cars with the IMCA, BCRA, USAC and NCRA from the
late 1950s into the 1980s, winning NCRA championships in 1972, 1973 and
1976. He was inducted into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Iowa in 2000 and
the National High Banks Hall of Fame in Belleville, Kan., in 2002 and the
81 Speedway Hall of Fame.
CLIFF LEVINGSTON
Athlete - 2005
No question, Cliff Levingston was one of
the best basketball players to ever take the court for the Shockers.
From1979 to 1982, Levingston scored 1,471 points and grabbed 965
rebounds. That makes Levingston the eighth leading scorer in Shocker
history and the fourth leading rebounder. In 1982, Levingston was a first
round draft choice of the Detroit Pistons and played 12 years in the N.B.A.
Levingston also played for the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and the Denver
Nuggets. Levingston is an inductee of the Shocker Hall of Fame.
MARK LEWIS
Athlete - 2006
The
phenomenal story of Wichita State University bowling teams added another
chapter in March of 2004 when Coach Mark Lewis received the sport’s
highest honor, induction into the American Bowling Congress National Hall
of Fame. Lewis has been involved with the WSU program for more than two
decades. He was part of the school’s first men’s championship team in
1980. In 1988, Lewis won the Team USA National title, earning a spot on
Team USA, and became the only U.S. male to bowl in the Olympics in South
Korea. He won the 1987 National Amateur title and has won four ABC
National titles. From 1995 to 1997 Lewis was head coach of the national
team of the United Arab Emirates, leading them to their first FIQ World
Championship medal in Reno, Nev., in 1995. He and Coach Gordon Vadakin
have made WSU’s program one of the more successful in the nation with 14
titles, 7 men’s and 7 women’s. Lewis is an inductee in both the Kansas and
Wichita Bowling Halls of Fame.
CLEO LITTLETON
Athlete - 2004
Littleton was
named third-team All-American in his senior year but was all-Missouri
Valley all four years that he played. He set the school career scoring
record at 2,164 points. He also set career records for free throws made
(642) and scoring average (19.0). The former East High School star led the
1953-54 Shockers to a berth in the National Invitation Tournament for the
first time. An iron man, Littleton played in 184 consecutive games without
a miss from his sophomore season in high school to his senior season at WSU. He was drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons of the NBA. His No. 13 is
one of five that have been retired by WSU. Cleo is an inductee in both the
Shocker Hall of Fame and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
DON LOCK
Athlete - 2010
Wichita-born
Don Lock played his college ball at Wichita University. He broke into the
majors at age 25 and had an eight-year career, four seasons with the
Senators, three with the Phillies and one with the Red Sox. An outfielder,
the 6-foot-2 Lock had good power, hitting 122 career home runs, and drove
in 373 runs. In 1963 and 1964, he hit 55 homers and drove in 160 runs for
the Senators. He had a career batting average of .238. His defense was
superb, with a sterling .976 fielding percentage. Lock led the Eastern
League in home runs (35) and runs batted in (117) in 1960. He was also
adept at drawing bases on balls. He also played basketball for the
Shockers under legendary coach Ralph Miller. Lock has been inducted into
the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame and the Shocker Hall of Fame.
MORRIS LOLAR
Athlete - 2010
Lolar was a two-time first team All-American for Friends University and
All-City player at South H.S. who went on to play five years in the
Canadian Football League. His first four years (1994-97) in Canada he
played for the Edmonton Eskimos, who captured the Grey Cup in 1993 and
were runners-up in 1996. Then he played one year with the Winnipeg Blue
Bombers in 1998. After his playing career, Lolar coached at Friends
University, Wichita North and Wichita Northwest High Schools. He also
served as defensive backs coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce before
becoming the defensive coordinator at Wichita East High School. Lolar has
also coached professional indoor football as a head football coach and
defensive coordinator
BOB LONG
Athlete - 2014
A three year letterman in basketball at Wichita University from 1959 to
1963, Bob Long switched to football when his basketball eligibility ran
out. As a senior, he tied the record for most touchdown receptions in a
season with nine in 1963. Long was named All-Missouri Valley Conference
and received Honorable Mention All-American honors. His WU football
talent propelled him on to an NFL career, playing for the Green Bay
Packers and Coach Vince Lombardi. In 1967 and 1968, Long was a receiver
on the first two Super Bowl championship teams. He was inducted into the
Shocker Hall of Fame, 1981.
GORDON LONG
Coach - 2012
Gordon Long has more all-time basketball wins, in the Greater Wichita City
League, at the junior high school / middle school level than any other
coach. Coach Long coached at Brooks Junior High School from 1968 to 2000.
Some of the players that played for Coach Long were Darnell Valentine,
Calvin Alexander, Cortez Barnes, Darren Dreifort and Rashad Washington.
While exact numbers of wins and loses are not fully available due to lack
of records being kept at the junior high school level, due to his
longevity and number of Wichita City League Junior High School
Championships, it is an accepted fact that his win total is the leader in
coaching wins. Interestingly, his nearest competitor in total wins at the
junior high school level was Randy Jackson, the basketball coach at
Robinson Junior High School and a 2011 Wichita Sports Hall of Fame
inductee.
SARA LUNGREN
Athlete - 2010
Sara Lungren
has won nearly every award possible when it comes to Missouri Valley
Conference volleyball. She has been named two-time Missouri Valley
Conference Player-of-the-Year…named three times to the All-Missouri Valley
Conference team...Named honorable mention All-Region...Named first team
All-Missouri Valley Scholar-Athlete...Named Academic All-District VII
team. She was an instrumental part in making WSU the premier volleyball
team in the MVC. In her senior year, 2007, the WSU volleyball team would
advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to
volleyball power Nebraska in Lincoln. Her career included a 3.2 kill per
game average, .33 aces per game, 2.78 digs per game and .63 blocks per
game, while hitting .257. She was only the sixth player in Shocker history
to record over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
CHARLIE LUTKIE
Athlete - 2006
Charlie was a
larger-than-life figure whose son and nephews followed him into auto
racing. He won races from the 1940s to the 1970s all over the Midwest in
almost every category, including midgets, stock cars, track roadsters,
sprint cars, jalopies, semi-late modifieds and super-modifieds.
He was famous for more than just racing. A former professional wrestler,
for years, he was the Sedgwick Country jailer under former Sheriff Vern
Miller. He also ran Miller’s successful boxing program.
Lutkie won the United Speedways of America Sprint Car championship in 1959
and in 1962 captured the National Jalopy title in Hutchinson. He and his
son Mike both won feature races at the Cowley County Fairgrounds half-mile
dirt track in 1968. Charlie was driving his #43 1956 Chevrolet. Nephews
Tom and Steve Lutkie also won late-model feature races at Cowley County in
1975 and 1976, respectively. Charlie is also an inductee in the 81
Speedway Hall of Fame.
HAROLD MANNING
Athlete -
2005
Harold
Manning was a skinny, 115-pounder at Sedgwick High School and a tireless
runner. His high school coach noticed he was not winded after winning the
mile run. He asked him to run another quarter mile, then another and
another. He still was not winded. Manning began running longer races, and
winning. In the 1936 Olympic trials in New York, he set a world record of
9:08.1 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. In the Berlin Olympics, he was
violently seasick on the voyage was plagued with the flu. A Finn broke his
world record. Manning finished fifth in 9:11.2. Still much in demand, he
ran in London and Paris. Manning won many events competing for Wichita
University and played on the Shocker basketball team. He returned to
Sedgwick and married, and later played drummer in his wife’s band. Harold
is a Charter member of the Shocker Hall of Fame.
JOHN MATOUS
Coach/Player - 2012
John Matous
grew up in Wichita and graduated in January, 1950 from North High School.
After retiring from teaching and coaching Coach Matous came home to
Wichita. Coach Matous played end for Monk Edwards and in the three years
he played at North, the Redskins record was an amazing 23-1-3. In 1954
Coach Matous began a college football career at Pittsburg State playing
for Carney Smith. In 1955 he was moved from end to quarterback and in 1957
led Pittsburg State to the NAIA national football championship. After
graduation, Coach Matous coached high school football at Adrian, MO, Udall
and Larned, KS and in 1964 was named the head football coach at Hutchinson
Community Junior College. From 1964 to 1978 Coach Matous won 97 games,
lost 49 and tied 6. His teams won two Jayhawk championships and finished
as runner-up four times. Coach Matous coached 12 NJCAA All-Americans,
including Mack Herron, Mo Lattimore, Jack Morris and Paul Savage. Coach
Matous has also been inducted into the Hutchinson Quarterback Club Hall of
Fame.
ARTHUR McAFEE JR.
Morehouse’s 514-Game Winner - 2008
The former Wichita
East High and Wichita State player coached basketball 40 years and retired
in 2000 ranked among the nation’s top 18 small-college coaches with 514
victories. He coached for 35 years at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.
Between 1989 and 1992, his teams were 90-30, reaching the NCAA Division II
Final Four in 1990. In 1999 he was third vice president of the National
Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and in line to become president
in 2001-02 but retired before reaching that office. Ninety-five percent of
his players received their degrees.
ROSS McBURNEY
Pioneered Wichita Tradition - 2008
Star 6-foot, 3-inch center on the 1925 Wichita High
(now East) team which won the National High School championship in
Chicago, Ill., in 1925. He then led Wichita University to third place in
the National AAU tourney in 1929 and later was a key figure on Wichita
Henry’s teams in 1930-31 that won national AAU titles en route to a record
three crowns in a row (1930-32). He was named as center on the National
AAU first team. He played for Wichita U from 1926 to 1929 and was the
first WU player to be named to an All-America team. He became an
insurance agent in Wichita and Halstead.
CURTIS McCLINTON
Athlete - 2006
McClinton
scored the first AFL TD in Super Bowl I and the Wichita North grad went on
to lead the Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas City Chiefs to gridiron glory.
There was always a strong undercurrent that made this quiet man more than
he appeared. At KU, he was part of one of the greatest backfields in the
school’s history. With John Hadl at quarterback and Bert Coan at running
back, McClinton was primarily a blocking back. But he still rushed for
1,377 career yards and was a 1961 All-American. The 1960 Jayhawks romped
through the league, destroying Colorado and previously unbeaten Missouri,
but were forced to forfeit both games when the league ruled Coan
ineligible for illegal incentives. In 1961, McClinton and Hadl led KU to a
victory over Rice in the Bluebonnet Bowl. McClinton played eight seasons
with the Chiefs and is in the team’s Hall of Fame as well as the Kansas
Sports Hall of Fame and the KU Athletic Hall of Fame.
XAVIER McDANIEL
Athlete - 2004
The X-Man was
the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both scoring (27.2)
and rebounding (14.8) in 1984-85. He stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 205 but
played much bigger. His “smash-mouth” style made him one of Wichita
State’s all-time greats. He was drafted in the first round by the NBA’s
Seattle SuperSonics and helped lead them to the playoffs three times. He
played in the NBA for 12 seasons, averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds per
game. He is one of only five players who have won two NCAA rebounding
titles. He was twice named first-team All-America. McDaniel also played
for the Boston Celtics as well as the Phoenix Suns and the New Jersey
Nets. McDaniel is in the Shocker Hall of Fame and the Kansas Sports Hall
of Fame.
"BUFFALO" BOB McFARLAND
Contributor - 2011
Wichita has
never had a super fan like “Buffalo” Bob McFarland. A 1965 Wichita
Southeast High School graduate, Bob also graduated from Cameron University
in Lawton, OK in 1970. After a two year stint in the Army from 1971 to
1973 and a tour of Vietnam, Bob returned home to Wichita and became the
greatest fan Wichita has ever known. Beginning in 1974, on a full time
basis, Bob began attending Southeast sporting events. Not just a few
sports, but all sports. Not just varsity events, but junior varsity and
freshmen games as well. Not just the state championship teams, but also
the teams that struggled. It didn’t matter to Bob, because all Southeast
teams and student-athletes are important to him. Bob would sometimes
attend up to 10 Southeast sporting events per week. It is estimated that
Bob has attended over 5,500 Southeast sporting events as of his induction
into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame.
PRINCE McJUNKINS
Shocker
Football Legend - 2008
The first player in NCAA history to rush for 2,000
yards and pass for 4,000 was this Wichita State quarterback. He was a
master at running Coach Willie Jeffery’s option offense. He concluded his
college career by leading WSU to an 8-3 record in 1982, the school’s best
mark in 21 years. McJunkins’ No. 1 uniform was retired. He and Linwood
Sexton are the only two WSU football players so honored. An elusive yet
strong 170-pounder, McJunkins set WSU and Missouri Valley Conference
records for total offense with 6,591 yards. He was honored as the MVC
Player of the Year in both 1981 and 1982. Upon his induction into the
Shocker Hall of Fame in 1989, he held or shared career records for most
points, rushing attempts, total offense and plays, and ranked third in
rushing yards with 2,047 and second in passing with 4,544.
DUWANE MILLER
Athlete/Coach - 2011
Coach Duwane
Miller is Wichita’s most successful high school wrestling coach and a
great wrestler in his own right. As a wrestler he was the 1961 NCAA
champion at 123 pounds at OU. After finishing school, Duwane later became
the head wrestling coach at Kapaun from 1973 to 1986 and again from 1990
to 1996. His success is unmatched in City League history. His teams won 14
Greater Wichita City League championships and eight state championships.
He also coached four of the best Wichita wrestlers of all-time. Neil
Keller and Pat Spencer won three state wrestling championships while Roy
Oeser each won four state wrestling championships. One of Coach Miller’s
greatest honors came in 2004 when he was inducted into the National
Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Ok as a Kansas Lifetime Service To
Wrestling honoree. He is also an inductee in the Kanas Wrestling Coaches
Hall of Fame.
RALPH MILLER
Coach - 2004
In the 1950s
and early ‘60s, Wichita State opponents dreaded the raucous crowds and the
yellow glow of The Roundhouse. What they feared more was the constant
full-court, zone pressure defense of Coach Miller’s Shockers, who scored
many of their points by forcing foes into turnovers and shooting layups.
Miller used zone pressure to fashion a career in which he won 674 games
and championships in three conferences. An all-around athlete at Chanute
High and the University of Kansas, Miller began his coaching career at
Wichita East High in 1948, winning 63 games and one state title in three
years. Then he went to Wichita University and put together a 220-133
record in 14 seasons. He also coached at Iowa University and Oregon State,
retiring as the sixth winningest coach in NCAA history. He was the
National Basketball Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1982, took nine teams to
NCAA tournaments and five to the NIT. Miller was inducted into the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
JOHN MOSIER
Athlete - 2007
Big, strong,
poised, confident. Mosier dominated games for Coach Eddie Kriwiel at West
High at quarterback. He was a triple threat who passed, ran and kicked
extra points as West went 18-0 during the two seasons he was a starter,
and won a mythical state championship. Mosier was all-state in 1965. He
was also All-City in basketball in 1966 and led West to a 19-2 record and
a City League title. Then he went to Kansas University and became the Big
Eight Conference’s Newcomer of the Year at tight end. He was one of six
all-conference players on KU’s 9-2 team in 1968 that lost to Penn State in
the Orange Bowl, where he caught five passes for 77 yards. Mosier spent
three seasons in the National Football League playing with Denver,
Baltimore and New England.
PINKY MULLENS
Athlete - 2012
Pinky Mullens
moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1951 and went to see his first car race with
his step-father at Cejay Stadium in Wichita in the early 1950s. Racing was
now in his blood. Pinky raced all over the midwest, but his racing home
was 81 Speedway where he finished second in the season points championship
each of the years 1970, 1971, and 72. He was fifth in 1973 and third in
1974, 1975, and 1976. Also, he won the “Midwest Stock Car Championship” at
81 Speedway in 1971, 1972, and 1973. He also won the late model stock car
points championship at 81 Speedway in 1973. In 1975, he was recognized for
being the only driver to finish in the top five in points at 81 Speedway
for ten consecutive years. Pinky loved kids and kids loved Pinky. His most
beloved title is not a racing championship title, but the title, “King Of
Kids”. In 2000 Pinky was inducted into the 81 Speedway Hall of Fame.
AUGGIE NAVARRO
Contributor - 2013
Auggie Navarro served 31 years as head golf pro at Sim Park Golf Course
from 1968 to 1999. Among his accomplishments, he achieved a lifetime PGA
membership and set a U.S. record low golf score of 14 under par 57 in
1982. Auggie also played in several PGA and Senior PGA tournaments
through the years. He learned his trade as an assistant pro at MacDonald
Park under Tex Consolver before becoming Sim Park’s pro. After his
retirement, in 1999, he continued to play golf up to two weeks before
his death at the age of 82, June 2, 2012.
LAFAYETTE NORWOOD
Athlete/Coach - 2014
Lafayette
Norwood was a long time basketball and golf coach at Wichita East,
Wichita Heights, Johnson County Community College and KU. His 1976-77
Heights basketball team is considered the best in Kansas high school
history. It was undefeated, while winning a state championship with
players like Antoine Carr and Darnell Valentine. As of his induction,
Norwood has been the head golf coach at Johnson County Community College
since 1992. As a basketball player, Norwood won a state championship at
Wichita East under Ralph Miller in 1951. He continued his playing at
Cowley CCC and Southwestern College. He played one season of
semi-professional basketball with the Wichita Vickers in the National
Industrial Basketball League. Norwood also played 17 years of AAU
basketball with the May Builders in Arkansas City. Inducted into the
Cowley CCC Hall of Fame, Southwestern Hall of Fame, Wichita Biddy
Basketball Hall of Fame, Kansas Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, Wichita
East Hall of Fame and Oklahoma AAU Basketball Hall of Fame.
ROD NUCKOLLS
Athlete - 2012
Before
graduating from Bishop Carroll in 1975, Rod Nuckolls won two golf state
championships. After Carroll, Rod led Wichita State to consecutive
Missouri Valley Conference championships in 1977, 1978 and 1979 and
claimed league medalist honors in 1980. He three times qualified for the
NCAA Golf Championship. He was named honorable mention All-American in
1978 and 1979, and earned third-team honors in 1980. After graduating from
Wichita State, Nuckolls played five years on the PGA tour, earning three
top 10 tournament finishes, before returning in 1985 to head the Shocker
golf program as coach. In his first season he guided the Shockers to the
Missouri Valley Conference championship and was named MVC Coach of the
Year. In 1987 he was named head professional at Willowbend Golf Club in
Wichita. In 1990 Rod was inducted into the Shocker Hall of Fame.
NADINE OPPLIGER
Athlete/Administrator - 2011
Nadine
Oppliger owned and operated Thunderbird Bowl from 1974 to 2009. The holder
of many bowling titles in Kansas, she is also in the USBC record books for
shooting a 826 series at the age of 67. In 2004 Thunderbird Bowl was the
host center for the team event of the 85th WIBC National Championship
Tournament. Over 40,000 bowlers competed here representing all 50 states
and many different countries. Nadine rolled the first ceremonial ball for
that tournament. In 2002, Nadine was given the Walt Delozier Ambassador
Award. Two years later, Nadine was named the WIBC Bowling Proprietor of
the Year. Nadine is an inductee of the Wichita USBC Hall of Fame and
Kansas State Womens USBC Hall of Fame. Sadly, Nadine passed away in 2009
at the age of 80.
JASON PEREZ
Athlete - 2009
Perez was a
standout guard at WSU from 1996 to 2000 and played professionally for four
years in Belgium, England and Germany. At the time of his induction, Perez
held the school record for steals and ranked No. 6 on the career scoring
chart, with 1,839 points and a 15.7 points per game average over his four
years. He is the only Shocker to ever be named the Shocker team MVP all
four years and Perez was named to the first team All-Missouri Valley team
after his senior season and was runner-up in voting for Missouri Valley
Player of the Year.
LAWRENCE PETE
Athlete - 2012
Lawrence Pete
was a powerful 285-pound lineman for South and a two-year starter in
football as a defensive tackle. He also won a state shot put title in
1984. Then he became a fixture for four seasons as a defensive lineman at
the University of Nebraska, leading the team with 10 sacks in 1988. He was
drafted by the Detroit Lions and played in 61 National Football League
games, recording three and a half sacks. He is the uncle of brothers
Arthur and Bryce Brown of Wichita East High, who are considered among the
best future football prospects in the United States. After he retired from
pro football he became a financial specialist for the First National Bank
in Omaha, Neb. Inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
KIM ROENTVED
‘The Rocket’ Rocked
- 2008
The sturdy Dane was not only the greatest defender in
the history of the Major Indoor Soccer League but also the highest scoring
defender. Teammates alluded to Roentved’s strength as Herculean. Called
‘The Rocket’ because of the ferocious velocity of his shot, he played 19
seasons in the MISL and the National Professional Soccer League, 14 with
the Wichita Wings, four years as player-coach. He helped make the Wings
the longest running pro soccer franchise in the U.S. at 22 years. He
appeared in more MISL All-Star games than any other player, scored 380
goals and was the league defender of the year three times. After he
retired from soccer, Roentved became part owner of a Kansas City company
that sells roof coatings and floor coatings worldwide.
MAUREEN ROHLEDER
Coach - 2011
Maureen
Rohleder is a winner. As head volleyball coach at Bishop Carroll High
School from 1992 to 2004, her record is unmatched by any other City League
volleyball coach of her era. During her 13 years as head volleyball coach
at Bishop Carroll, Maureen won 10 Greater Wichita City League volleyball
championships and four state volleyball championships in 5A. Maureen
coached many great players while at Bishop Carroll, and one of her best
players was Lisa Donovan, who was the setter for two of the State
Championship teams that Maureen coached. Lisa later played at East
Carolina University. Maureen’s desire to win, her ablility to teach proper
techniques and her relationships with her players has come full circle
with her induction into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame.
RAY ROMERO
Athlete - 2010
While at
Wichita North HS, Ray Romero was a standout in three sports. In 1949,
Romero won the Kansas HS wrestling championship in the heavyweight
division. He was also a member of the state champions track and field team
while at North. However, football was his game. Romero was recruited by
Kansas State to play fullback and he was a three year letterman. In 1951,
he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and Romero became the first
Mexican-American to play professional football in the National Football
League. His NFL career was cut short by being drafted into the Army.
Romero still played football in the military and was selected to the 1952
All-Army Football Team and the All-Services Football Team. Inducted into
the Wichita North Hall of Fame in 2007.
JIM RYUN
Athlete - 2004
Ryun had a finishing kick that often left the world’s best middle distance
giants of his day in his dust. In June of 1964 he became the first high
school runner to break four minutes in the mile, posting a 3:59.0 in the
Compton Relays. In the 1965 Compton Relays, Ryun finished third at 3:56.8,
only four-tenths of a second behind former world record holder Peter Snell
of New Zealand. Then Ryun hit his stride. He broke the world record in the
mile twice, running 3:51.3 in 1966 and breaking his own record in 1967 at
3:51.1. He was named Sportsman of the Year in 1966 by Sports Illustrated
and won the AAU’s Sullivan Award as the best amateur athlete. He also held
world records in the 1500 at 3:33.1, the half mile at 1:48.3 and anchored
the KU sprint medley relay team to a 3:15.2 world record. He was a member
of three U.S. Olympic teams, 1964, 1968 and 1972. He is a member of the
National Track and Field Hall of Fame. Ryun became a professional
photographer, then ran successfully for a seat in the U.S. Congress
representing northeast Kansas.
BARRY SANDERS
Athlete - 2004
Sanders’
career took him from an obscure football player at Wichita North High to
the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma State University and to fame as perhaps the
greatest running back in the history of the National Football League. Some
still tout straight-ahead battering ram runners, but as an open-field ball
carrier Sanders had no equal. Most good backs can juke and make a tackler
miss but Sanders could put on two or three fakes and leave an opponent
wondering which way he went. He gained 1,417 yards in his senior season at
North, 2,628 yards in the 1988 season at OSU and 15,269 yards during his
career with the Detroit Lions. His senior season totals at OSU set NCAA
records for yards rushing, points (234) and rushing touchdowns (39). Four
times he led the NFL in rushing and became the No. 3 rusher all-time.
There is little doubt that he would have become the all-time NFL rushing
leader if he had not simply walked away from the game in 1999 without an
explanation.
DICK SANDERS
Athlete - 2006
Sanders found
success in three sports at Wichita North High and at Wichita University.
He led North to mythical state titles in baseball and football in 1949,
before the playoff systems were begun. At WU he played quarterback and
defensive back in football and was a member of Coach Ralph Miller’s first
basketball team in 1951-52. A slick-fielding Shocker shortstop, he signed
a contract with the New York Yankees following his junior season in 1952
and played in the Yankees and Dodgers organizations for eight seasons.
Following his pro career, he played and coached semipro baseball clubs in
Wichita. He was also a respected basketball and football official in the
Missouri Valley and Big Eight conferences for 20 years. He is a member of
the Shocker Hall of Fame, National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame and the
Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
PAUL SANAGORSKI
Coach - 2012
Paul
Sanagorski created the baseball program at Newman University in 1978 and
by 1983 had led the school to a berth in the World Series of the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. He was a one-man gang who also
developed the baseball facilities at Newman. He led the program for 23
years and notched 766 victories. In 2000 the Miami Marlins offered him a
job as hitting coach in their organization and later with other MLB clubs.
He has also worked with the members of Friends University’s baseball
program. Sanagorski’s drive and enthusiasm made Newman one of the most
respected collegiate baseball programs in the Midwest. Inducted into the
Newman Sports Hall of Fame and the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
HANK SCHICHTLE
Athlete - 2012
Hank
Schichtle is considered one of the best QB to ever play at WSU. Schichtle
was the quarterback of the 1963 Missouri Valley Conference champion
Shocker football team. He is the best QB to ever play at WSU in terms of
QB completion percentage and efficiency. He is also in the WSU QB top 10
for passing yards, completions and TD passes. He was also named All-MVC
and Honorable Mention All-America. Schichtle spent five years in the NFL
with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, as well as the British
Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. In 1981 he was inducted
into the Shocker Hall of Fame.
LINWOOD SEXTON
Athlete - 2004
Sexton was a
gifted black football player who broke the color barrier at Wichita
University as a running back in the 1940s. He was a three-sport star at
Wichita East High and a three-time All-Missouri Valley running back at WU
(1945-47). His 1,995 career rushing yards were fourth all-time and 2,260
all-purpose yards were ninth at WSU. His No. 66 jersey was retired during
his senior season. He is a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and
the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame. He was presented the 1977 Alumni
Achievement Award by the WSU Alumni Association and several scholarships
have been endowed in his name. He is a past member of the WSU Endowment
Association and the Board of Trustees as well as the Kansas Board of
Regents.
AUBREY SHERROD
Athlete - 2007
The smooth-stroking lefty could score from
exceptional range. The home-grown WSU star finished his career as the
school’s sixth-leading scorer with 1,765 points. He started all but one
game in four years as the Shockers piled up 84 victories and captured MVC
regular-season and post-season titles. He averaged 18.5 points as a senior
in 1984-85. One of the more noted outside “bombers” in Shocker history.
Twice shot better than .500 from the field in a season and compiled a .493
career shooting percentage. His 148 steals were the most by a Shocker. He
was a second-round selection of the Chicago Bulls in the 1985 draft.
Sherrod was inducted into Shocker Hall of Fame in 1994.
JEFF SMITH
Athlete - 2005
Jeff Smith was an outstanding running back
at Southeast High School. As a three time All-City running back and two
time All-State player, Smith led Southeast to a 33 – 2 record and two
State Football Championships. Smith rushed for more than 1,000 yard in
both 1978 and 1979. Smith elected to attend the University of Nebraska
and gained nearly 2,000 years for the Cornhuskers and was All-Big Eight.
He was just elected to the University of Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame.
Smith played four years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa
Bay Buccaneers.
MARILYNN SMITH
Athlete/Coach - 2005
She won three Kansas Amateur golf titles in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and the
national collegiate crown in 1949 playing for Kansas University. A pioneer
of women’s golf who signed articles of incorporation that created the
Ladies Professional Golf Association at the U.S. Open at Wichita’s Rolling
Hills Country Club in 1950. She won two majors (1963-64 Titleholders) and
22 titles on the LPGA Tour and served as LPGA president three years. A
member of the Kansas and Texas Golf Halls of Fame, Kansas Sports Hall of
Fame and LPGA Teachers Hall of Fame.
RANDY SMITH
Athlete -
2014
Randy Smith is one of the greatest all-time long distance runners in
Kansas History. In 1971 at the Kansas State High School Track
Championship meet, running for Wichita East H.S., Smith won both the
mile and two-mile races. During his senior year Smith’s best mile time
was 4:09.4 and his best two mile time was 8:57.8 establishing a new
Kansas two mile record and placing him 15th on the all-time national
list for a high school runner. Smith took his talents to Wichita State
winning 14 MVC Championships in both cross country, indoor and outdoor
track. He was a three-time NCAA All-American winning titles in cross
country (five mile) indoor (two mile) and outdoor track (3000 meter
steeplechase). In 1975 & 1976 Smith won USA National Championship titles
in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Smith was a member of two USA
International Track Teams, representing the United States oversees in
the 3000 meter steeplechase. Smith was fifth in the 1975 World Track &
Field Championships held in Helsinki, Finland. He placed first in the
USA-Russia Track & Field Games held in Kiev, Moscow recording a career
best in the steeplechase of 8:26.0. He also placed first the
USA-Poland-Czech Track & Field Games held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Additionally Smith placed fifth in the University World Games held in
Rome, Italy. Randy Smith is charter inductee into the Shocker Hall of
Fame and the Wichita East Hall of Fame.
ROGER A. SMITH
Athlete -
2006
He set the all-time record in the Grand American trapshoot in 1983. The
only target he missed was his 30th and his 399x400 stands alone as the
All-Around record for the tournament. The next two years he scored 976 and
971 and became the first to capture it in two and then three straight
years. These are among the many feats which earned him enshrinement in the
Kansas Trapshooting Hall of Fame and the American Trapshooting Association
Hall of Fame. He was a 10-time All-American. He earned Trap and Field
All-Around Average Awards in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981. Smith began
registering in trapshoots in 1967, one year after Mark Heinz, his
brother-in-law, introduced him to the sport. He collected his first Grand
awards after 200s in 1974 at the Dayton Homecoming championship, and top
AA laurels in the Singles Class race.
GENE SMITHSON
Led
Shocker Revival - 2008
Smithson came in like a
whirlwind and went out in a storm. Meanwhile, he took the Shockers to new
heights in basketball – a trip to the NCAA’s Elite Eight in 1981, a
victory over Kansas University in the “Battle of New Orleans” in 1981, two
Missouri Valley titles and a 155-81 record. The 1982-83 team had a 25-3
record and was 17-1 in the Valley, but was unable to compete in the NCAA
tournament because it was on probation. His teams featured Antoine Carr,
Cliff Levingston and Xavier McDaniel, three of the finest players ever to
don the black and gold. Smithson had six winning seasons in his 11 years
at WSU. He later became head coach at Central Florida Community College.
DARYL SPENCER
Athlete - 2004
Spencer was
that rare shortstop who could hit with power and he wielded his power for
a decade in the National League and for several more years in Japan.
Spencer struggled to make the starting lineup in his days at Wichita East
High and on other amateur teams. But he never gave up and finally landed
on a Class D professional team in Pauls Valley, Okla. That is where he
suddenly began to hit home runs. The New York Giants bought his contract
in 1951 and Spencer spent six years with the National League club in New
York and San Francisco. His best season was 1958 when he hit 17 homers and
drove in 74 runs for San Francisco. He later played for the Cardinals,
Dodgers and Reds and hit a total of 105 home runs and had 428 RBI during
his Major League career. Then he went to Japan and became one of that
nation’s top sluggers and made the all-star team twice. He also coached in
Japan. Spencer has lived in Wichita since his playing days ended. Spencer
is an inductee in both the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame and NBC Hall of
Fame.
DAVE STALLWORTH
Athlete - 2004
The silky
smooth Stallworth could drive to the basket on any defender. Dave the Rave
led the Shockers to season records of 19-8, 23-6 and 21-9, including two
NCAA Tournament appearances (1964 and 1965) and one National Invitation
Tournament (1963). He was graduated at mid-term and did not appear in the
1965 NCAA event but helped get them into the field. The 6-foot-7 forward
set nine school records, including a scoring average of 24.2. He also set
a school record 46 points in one game against Cincinnati in 1963. He
played seven seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Baltimore
Bullets before retiring because of a heart ailment. Dave is an inductee in
both the Shocker and Kansas Sports Halls of Fame.
MARK STANDIFORD
Big Boom
in a Small Package - 2008
The Wichita North High School
product is the all-time home run leader (69) in Wichita State University’s
powerful program. At 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, he was an All-America
catcher in 1988 when he hit 28 homers and helped lead the Shockers to the
College World Series. He also excelled in high school as the only
four-time all-City League player in history. He was named to the Wichita
Eagle’s Top 11 all-state football team as a quarterback and defensive back
and was a starter on North’s basketball team. His career stats are 333
hits, 313 runs and 301 runs batted in. He was drafted by the San Francisco
Giants and played two seasons in the minor leagues. In 1994, he opened
Sluggers, a 60,000 square foot building that is home to a variety of
sports leagues. Mark is also an inductee in the Kansas Baseball Hall of
Fame.
RICK STEELSMITH
Four-Time
WSU All-American Bowler - 2008
Steelsmith was the first bowler
ever to be named All-America four straight times – twice with Vincennes
University and twice with Wichita State University. Through the 2006-7
season he had earned more than three-fourths of a million dollars on the
Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Owns two career PBA Tour titles,
including the 1997 PBA National Championship. Also won the 1991 National
Doubles event with Teata Semis and the 1987 American Bowling Congress
Masters. Has cashed in 251 of 372 career events, is 9-19 in 20 TV
appearances in singles. Has made 150 match-play appearances. Was PBA
Rookie of the Year in 1988. Lives in Wichita with his wife and two
children and is involved with the WSU bowling program as a coach.
Steelsmith is an inductee in both the Kansas and Wichita Bowling Halls of
Fame.
GENE STEPHENSON
Coach -
2014
Gene Stephenson took a college baseball
program that in 1977 had been dormant for seven years and built it into
a team that is consistently among the top teams in the nation, usually
in the top 10. WSU played in four College World Series championship
games in 1982-89-91-93 and won the College World Series in 1989. WSU has
qualified for the CWS seven times, for regional competition 28 times and
won 26 MVC championships. Stephenson’s teams have produced 55
All-Americans that were named to 159 different All-American teams. The
Shockers had 157 first team All-MVC players and 92 second team All-MVC
players. Also, 27 academic All-Americans were produced, which leads the
nation at the time of this induction. Coaching for 36 years at WSU, from
1978 to 2013, Stephenson won 1,837 games, while losing only 675 with 3
ties for a 75% winning average. That is an average of 51 wins per
season, which is the best in NCAA D-I history. At the time of this
induction,160 WSU players have signed MLB contracts, with 34 players
making it to the majors. When Stephenson left the program, approx. $20
million had been privately raised and there was still $2.3 million left
in the building and operation fund. He was also inducted into the
National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
PHIL STEPHENSON
Athlete -
2005
Phil Stephenson played college baseball
for WSU from 1979 to 1982. Stephenson hit 57 home runs in his career, 91
career doubles and 25 triples. He also established an incredible NCAA
record of hitting in 47 consecutive games in 1981. In 1982, he hit a
team-leading .399 with 30 doubles and had 87 stolen bases, which led the
country that year. These statistics gained him both national and Missouri
Valley Conference Player of the Year honors. He was also named first-team
All-American as a first baseman in 1981 and 1982. Stephenson played in
the Major Leagues from 1989 to 1992 with the Chicago Cubs and the San
Diego Padres. Stephenson is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
JOE STEVENS
Athlete - 2010
Joe Stevens was one of the best high school and college
basektball players in Wichita during the 1950’s. Stevens was a quick, high
scoring guard and great free throw shooter at Wichita North HS from 1951
to 1954. In 1954, Stevens led North HS to a 63-55 victory in the state
championship game against Kansas City Wyandotte while scoring 35 points in
the championship game. Stevens then took his talents to University of
Wichita. At the time freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball.
Still, Stevens scored 1,295 points in three years. His points total still
ranks him in the top 20 all time at WSU even though most other top 20
scorers played four years. His 16.6 points per game average over his
career is still in the top 10 of all-time WSU scorers. Stevens was
All-Missouri Valley Conference in 1956, 1957 and 1958.
JOHNNY STEVENS
Athlete – 2011
Long-hitting Johnny Stevens is the only Kansas golfer to win state crowns
in three different age brackets. He hit the trifecta with the Kansas
Junior Championship in 1960, the Amateur in 1960 and 1962 and the Senior
Amateur in 1993 and 2008. He won the Missouri Valley Conference individual
title in 1962 and 1964 playing for Wichita University and was an
All-American in 1962, 1963 and 1964. Stevens also captured the
Trans-Mississippi Mid-Amateur in 1997. He spent two years on the PGA Tour
and earned top 10 finishes in the Buick Open and Canadian Open. Johnny and
partner Nick Onofrio won the Trans-Miss fourball title in 1982. Stevens is
a real estate developer who has also developed golf courses, including
Willowbend Golf Club in Wichita. As of his induction the Stevens family
owns a record 17 state titles. No other family comes close. He has been
inducted into the Shocker Hall of Fame, Kansas Golf Hall of Fame and the
Wichita East Hall of Fame.
PAUL STOVALL
Athlete - 2013
A Wichita native, Paul Stovall, played Biddy Basketball, but did not play
high school basketball. Trouble followed Paul Stovall in his earlier
years and during a stint at Hutchinson Correctional Facility, Pratt
Comm. College basketball coach, Jim Douglas, saw Paul play in a
recreational game. After his release, Coach recruited Paul to Pratt CC.
At Pratt, from 1968 to 1970, Paul became one of the most dominate
players in NJCAA history. At the time of his Wichita Sports Hall of Fame
nomination he is still the #13 NJCAA all-time scorer with 1,758 points
and a 30.3 points average per game. He is also the #2 all-time rebounder
with 1,288 rebounds and an unbelievable average of 22.2 rebounds per
game. After Pratt, Paul played at Arizona State University. Paul led the
Sun Devils in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage during both
his junior and senior seasons. He ranks first all-time among two-year
players in ASU history in scoring average at 19 points per game, total
rebounds 647 and rebounding average 12.4 per game and he earned
first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors following the 1971-72
season. He played two seasons (1972–1974) of professional basketball in
the NBA and ABA. He averaged 4.6 points per game in his career,
competing for the Phoenix Suns and San Diego Conquistadors. In 1978 he
died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 29. Inducted: Wichita Biddy
Basketball Hall of Fame; Pratt Comm. College Sports Hall of Fame;
Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame.
CARL TAYLOR
Coach - 2012
Carl Taylor is a basketball coach who demands much from his players, both
on the court and off. Coach Taylor was named the Wichita Southeast head
basketball coach in 1992 and as of his induction into the Wichita Sports
Hall of Fame, has amassed 315 wins to make him the all-time winningest
coach in Wichita City League history. Coach Taylor’s teams won three 6A
basketball state championships in 1999, 2003 and 2008. His teams also were
either runner-ups or had third place finishes an amazing five times in
1995, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2005. He has coached some of Wichita’s best
high school basketball player such as Rashad Washington, Tony Brown, Jeff
Martin, and Dupree Lucas.
GARY THOMPSON
Coach - 2013
Gary Thompson is an East graduate, class of 1950. Coach
Thompson played basketball for Ralph Miller at East and was a part of
the 1948 State Championship runner- up team. After graduating from East,
Coach Thompson played basketball for the Shockers from 1951-54. He
worked as an assistant to head coach Ralph Miller from 1957-64. Coach
Thompson went on to compiled a 93-94 record in seven seasons as head
coach at Wichita State from 1964-71. He guided the Shockers to the Final
Four in his first season as coach, at the age of 32, and was named the
Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year in 1965. Thompson led WSU
to its first No. 1 ranking on Dec. 14, 1964. The list of players he
coached at WSU includes: Warren Armstrong, Terry Benton, Greg Carney,
Nate Bowman, Dave Leach and Dave Stallworth. Inducted: Wichita East Hall
of Fame in 2012.
JAMIE THOMPSON
Athlete - 2006
In his junior year, Thompson turned in a
definitive performance by hitting all nine of his field goal attempts and
all 10 of his free throws. That helped propel Wichita State University to
a 100-94 victory over Michigan, which was ranked No. 2 and the time. He
stood only 6-foot-3 and was not swift afoot, but his quick release and his
deadly accuracy made him one of the most feared Shockers. He was a key to
the success of the 1964-65 WSU team which won the Missouri Valley title,
beat Oklahoma State in the Midwest Regional title game and became the only
Shocker squad to reach the Final Four. Thompson scored 36 points in the
NCAA semifinal loss to UCLA. He is still the Shockers’ free throw accuracy
leader at 85.3 percent. He was equally adept on the golf course as on the
basketball court. He was runner-up in the Kansas Amateur golf tournament in
1964 and finished second twice in the Missouri Valley Conference
tournament. Thompson is a Shocker Hall of Fame inductee.
BOB TIMMONS
Coach - 2005
As the head track coach and swimming coach
for East High School, Bob Timmons touched many lives. His most famous
East High School athlete was the mile world record holder, Jim Ryun.
Olympic swimming gold medal winner in the 1960 Rome games, Jeff Farrell
was also coached by Coach Timmons. Coach Timmons left East High School
and coached track and cross-country at Kansas University.
ROY TURNER
Coach/Administrator - 2009
Turner had a
long, storied career in soccer on the field and as a coach and
administrator and in the last decade made a name for himself as director
of the Wichita Open event on the PGA’s Nationwide Tour. Turner came to
Wichita in 1979 as coach of the Wichita Wings of the Major Indoor Soccer
League. He coached for seven years, taking the Wings to the playoff
semifinals five times, then became president and made the Wings the
longest running soccer franchise in the U.S. He resigned in 1996. The
franchise finally ceased to exist after the 2000-01 season, ending a run
of 21 years.
GORDON VADAKIN
Coach - 2004
After a successful career as a collegiate bowler at
Wichita State, Gordon Vadakin joined the Shockers as head coach in 1977.
Vadakin coached 11 of the program’s 13 national collegiate bowling
championship titles and his Shocker teams are consistently ranked among
the best in the nation. Vadakin is a member of TEAM USA’s coaching staff
and leads a series of successful summer youth bowling camps that attract
young bowlers from across the country and overseas. Vadakin prides himself
on developing collegiate bowlers who are successful on the lanes and in
the classroom. This year, a record 12 Shocker bowlers were honored as
Academic All-Americans, earning a 3.5 GPA or higher. Nationally recognized
as one of the top collegiate bowling programs in the country, Vadakin’s
program has produced such PBA stars as Rick Steelsmith, Justin Hromek,
Lonnie Waliczek, Chris Barnes and Patrick Healey Jr. Vadakin is an
inductee of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame as well as both the
Kansas and Wichita Bowling Halls of Fame.
DARNELL
VALENTINE
Athlete - 2004
Valentine was
Wichita’s first McDonald’s All-American in 1977 playing for a Wichita
Heights team which many consider the best prep team in Kansas history. He
averaged 26 points for a 23-0 Heights team that clinched the state Class
5A championship with a 40-point victory in the title game. At Kansas
University, he was named All-Big Eight four times and averaged 15.4 points
per game. He was drafted in the first round by the Portland Trailblazers
and during a nine-year NBA career, which also included stints with the Los
Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, scored in double figures four
times while averaging 5 assists. He was such a force as a penetrating
point guard that he forced KU nemesis Coach Jack Hartman of Kansas State
to create a 3-2 zone defense specially designed just to try to stop
Valentine. After his pro career, he became the regional representative for
the NBA Players Association and the liaison between the players and the
union on the West Coast.
LILLIAN VanBLARCOM
Contributor/Administrator - 2009
Mrs. Irving
(Lillian Garlock) VanBlarcom served as national chair of AAU Women’s
Basketball from 1929 to 1954 and brought the championship tournament to
Wichita’s Forum 12 times between 1928 and 1953. She was a former player
for Friends University who provided the stage for five different Wichita
women’s teams to finish among the top four 10 times in 16 years, including
runnerup finishes by the Thurstons in 1931 and 1938. The teams were
Wallenstein-Raffman and Thurstons, the Southern Stage Lines, Merchantettes
and Boeing Bombshells. VanBlarcom was inducted into the Helms Foundation
National Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
in 1967 as a contributor.
JOSEPH "ARKY" VAUGHAN
Athlete - 2013
“Arky” Vaughan began his professional career in Wichita, KS at the age of
19 with the 1931 Wichita Aviators. It would be his only minor league
season. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Vaughan in 1932. Over the next
ten years, he was an eight-time all-star and led the majors in hitting
in 1935, with a .385 average. Vaughan also played four seasons with the
Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1952, he drowned while fishing with a friend. In
1985, Vaughan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown,
NY.
MARC WALDIE
Athlete - 2007
Wichitan Marc
Waldie (Wichita HS East) reaped many honors as a mainstay on the Ohio
State men’s volleyball team in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with an
Olympic gold medal in the 1984 Games. He was an outstanding middle blocker
who was named to the all-tournament team in the NCAA playoffs in
1975-76-77. He was also named to the Ohio State University Sports Hall of
Fame and was honored with a spot on the National Volleyball All-Era team
which covered the period from 1978 to 2002. Several times he was named
captain of the U.S. National team. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a
four-year record of 89 victories and only 18 losses. He was the 1976 Ohio
State University Player of the Year and three-time All-American.
DWANE WALLACE
Contributor - 2013
Dwane Wallace
was a graduate of Wichita University in 1933. He served as chief
executive officer of Cessna Aircraft Company from 1936 to 1975. His love
of WSU sports moved Dwane to become involved with turning WSU into a
NCAA football power. His leadership and his financial contribution was
the driving force in the expansion and modernization of then Veterans
Field. The first football game of the 1969 season in the new named
Cessna Stadium was against Utah State, a game the Shockers won 17-7. He
has been given the University of Wichita Alumni Achievement Award,
Engineering Alumni Award, the coveted “Uncommon” award from the Wichita
Chamber of Commerce and the Kansan of the Year Award from the Native
Sons and Daughters of Kansas. In 1979, Dwane was elected into the
Shocker Hall of Fame as a charter inductee.
GENE WILEY
Athlete - 2009
The 6-foot-10
Wiley was an inside force for Wichita State basketball teams from 1960 to
1962. He led the 1961-62 Shockers to a berth in the National Invitation
Tournament in New York’s Madison Square Garden. In one game against
Bradley he pulled down 26 rebounds. Three times he grabbed 20 or more
rebounds in a game. His 302 rebounds in 1962 ranked among the top five
career season totals for WSU and his career total of 695 ranked in the top
10. He played NBA ball with the Los Angeles Lakers and in the ABA with
Oakland and Dallas. He was inducted into the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame
in 1981.
CHET WILSON
Contributor - 2011
In late 1940,
Chet Wilson started a small business in his basement. He purchased a
Montgomery Ward lathe and began to grind camshafts. In 1964, he opened a
full service custom garage in Wichita. While building a successful
business, Chet built cars and racers. In the 1950’s, Offienhauser-powered
engines were dominating auto racing. In 1954, Chet bought a midget and
"stretched it" to run with the sprint cars. He powered this "stretch
engine" with a rebuilt V8 Ford engine. He customized an Offenhauser
crankshaft and also made a special camshaft from a broken truck axle. The
first time this car ran, driven by Frank Lies, it won everything but the
trophy dash. Still referred to as "the fastest Ford in the country" it
earned the nickname "The Offy Killer". The rest is now history. Chet
passed away in February 1977 at the age of 59. Chet has been inducted into
the 81 Speedway Hall of Fame, Highbanks Hall of Fame, Nebraska Auto Racing
Hall of Fame and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
HERM WILSON
Coach - 2010
From 1966 to
1983, Herm Wilson was highly regarded internationally at Wichita State as
one of the premier developers of track and field talent. His Shocker cross
country teams dominated the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1970s,
winning five consecutive league championships and four Shocker cross
country teams under his guidance qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Wilson coached nine All-Americans in cross country and track, and produced
87 individual conference champions and one of those All-Americans was 1972
Olympic long jumper Preston Carrington. The 1972 Shocker outdoor track
team captured the Missouri Valley Conference championship and 10 other
track squads under Wilson finished as league runners-up. Wilson was active
on a national level, serving on the Olympic Development Committee as a
member of the distance running staff and he also served on the coaching
staff of the USA track team at the 1979 World University Games. For 12
years, Wilson directed the USTFF and USA-TFA national outdoor meets
conducted in Wichita. In 1996 Wilson was inducted into the Shocker Hall of
Fame.
CHRIS WIMMER
Athlete - 2014
One of the top players in Greater Wichita Athletic League history, Chris
Wimmer hit .533 as a senior at East High in 1989. He led the Blue Aces
to a 23-2 record and a state runner-up finish. Following his senior
season, the Boston Red Sox drafted Wimmer in the 12th round of the MLB
draft. Instead of signing with the Red Sox, Wimmer enrolled at Wichita
State, where infielders P.J. Forbes, Mike Lansing and Pat Meares forced
him to the outfield. Wimmer responded by hitting .322 with 30 stolen
bases and was named a Freshman All-American. As a sophomore in 1991,
Wimmer moved to second base and hit .401 with an NCAA-leading 125 hits
and an NCAA-leading 99 runs. He helped the Shockers to a runner-up
finish in the College World Series and was named second team
All-American. Following the 1991 season, Wimmer was selected to play in
the Pan-American games in Havana, Cuba. He hit .385 for a USA team that
won the bronze medal. In 1992, Wimmer hit .366 with 52 steals and was
again named an All-American. Along with teammate Darren Dreifort, Wimmer
was named to Team USA and played in the Olympic games in Barcelona,
Spain. Also during the summer of 1992, Wimmer was drafted by San
Francisco in the eighth round of the MLB Draft. He signed with the
Giants and reached the AAA level. As of his induction, Wimmer serves as
a scout for the Detroit Tigers and has been inducted into the Shocker
Hall of Fame, Wichita East Hall of Fame, Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame
and the Wichita Biddy Basketball Hall of Fame.
LYNETTE WOODARD
Athlete - 2004
Woodard led the U. S. team to the gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games.
She also qualified for the 1980 team but the U.S. boycotted the 1980
Olympics which were staged in the USSR. The 6-foot tall product of Wichita
North High School broke many records as a four-time All-American at the
University of Kansas, averaging 26.3 points per game. Woodard was far
ahead of her time. A women’s pro league snapped her up out of college in
1981 but it fizzled and she played pro ball in Japan and Italy. In 1985
she made history by signing on as the first woman star of the world-famous
Harlem Globetrotters. In 1988, Woodard led the U.S. team to the gold medal
in the University Games. In 1997, at age 37, she joined the newly formed
Women’s National Basketball Association and played for Cleveland and
Detroit before retiring in 1999. In 2000 she became assistant coach of the
women’s team at KU. Woodard is an inductee in the Naismith Basketball
Hall of Fame.
JAY WOODSIDE
Athlete - 2005
Jay Woodside
graduated from West High School and began a racing career in 1955.
As one of the most successful racers of his era, he raced for 29 years
before retiring from active racing, but remained in racing in various
capacities. From 1975 through 1981, Woodside finished in the top
three of all races he entered a staggering 82 per cent of the time.
Woodside has been elected to five Racing Halls of Fame, including the
Sprint Car Hall of Fame and 81 Speedway Hall of Fame.
1970 WICHITA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM
Team - 2004
This election to the Wichita Sports Hall Of Fame is to honor the 31 WSU
football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane
crash October 2, 1970. This election also honors all those who carried
on, both on the football field and thru life. The plane crashed near
Silver Plume, Colorado, en route to a game with Utah State University in
Logan, Utah. The Memorial ’70 sculpture is located on Alumni Drive near
18th and Hillside on the Wichita State University campus.
1964-65 WICHITA STATE BASKETBALL TEAM
Team - 2005
The biggest game in Wichita
State's basketball history came December 14, 1964, when No. 1-ranked
Michigan edged the No. 2 Shockers on a 35-foot buzzer-beater by 6-foot-5
Cazzie Russell in Detroit. WSU's 6-foot-7 All-American Dave Stallworth
and 6-10 center Nate Bowman ran out of eligibility after the first
semester. WSU was 13-3 before the semester break and 8-6 afterward.
Without their stars, the Shockers still won the Missouri Valley title
and won the Midwest Regional, beating Hank Iba's Oklahoma State Cowboys
to reach the Final Four, where they lost twice. With Stallworth and
Bowman they averaged 87.2 points, without them 73.1.
1989 WICHITA STATE BASEBALL TEAM
Team - 2006
Gene Stephenson began
building his collegiate baseball empire at Wichita State in the 1970s
and it reached its peak in 1989 when the Shockers beat perennial power
Texas University to claim the World Series title in Omaha. The
breakthrough year made the Shocks a perennial national contender and
earned them the status to be host to six regional tournaments in the
following eight years. In 1989 the Shocks set a school record 24-game
winning streak and were ranked at high as No. 3. The heroes of the title
run were pitcher Greg Brummett, All-American and Series MVP who ended
his WSU career with a 13-game winning streak; All-American catcher Eric
Wedge, All-American infielder Pat Meares, and key series of blows by
normally light-hitting designated hitter Mike Wentworth.
1925 WICHITA HIGH (EAST HS) BASKETBALL TEAM
Team - 2007
Eight young
basketball players put Wichita on the basketball map in 1925 by
capturing the national interscholastic crown in Chicago, drubbing a team
from El Reno, Okla., in the title game, 27-6. That Wichita team produced
center Ross McBurney and guard Berry Dunham, who anchored powerful
Wichita U. teams of 1927-28 and led the Wichita Henrys to a record three
straight national AAU championships (1930-31-32). Other members of the
Wichita High team were Cy Crosette, Howard Fullington, Tom Churchill,
Paul Fowler, Jack Barrington and George McCormick. Churchill became a
driving force on Oklahoma University’s undefeated 1928 team and an
All-American for OU in 1929.
1977 HEIGHTS BASKETBALL TEAM
Kansas’ Greatest High School Team? - 2008
Arguably the finest prep
basketball team the state of Kansas ever produced featured the two
undisputed best players in the history of Wichita Heights – Darnell
Valentine and Antoine Carr. The 1976-77 team was undefeated at 23-0 and
pounded Kansas City Wyandotte into submission even before halftime of
the state championship game. The Falcons jumped to a 25-0 lead and won
by 40 points, 92-52. Valentine went on to Kansas University where he was
All-Big Eight four years in a row and became a punishing penetrating
guard and agile defender. Carr soared to greater heights as a power
forward for Wichita State’s two Missouri Valley titles and a berth in
the NCAA’s elite eight in 1981. Both Valentine and Carr also had long
careers in the NBA.
1978 SOUTHEAST BASEBALL TEAM
National Championship Team - 2009
The only
Kansas Class 5-4-3A prep baseball state champion team to go undefeated
(23-0) was Coach Jim Deckinger’s two-time city and two-time state champs
(1976 & 1978). The 1978 team was honored as national champions by
Collegiate Baseball magazine, beating out many teams from warmer climes.
The title and trophy were sponsored by a distributor of Easton bats. The
seven seniors won 57 of 59 games over three years. All seven won college
scholarships, including Jim Thomas, star infielder and coach at WSU; Kevin
Clinton, (son of major leaguer Lou Clinton), who played for Kansas U.;
Doug Hoppock, who excelled at football and baseball at Kansas State, and
Steve Boyer, Weston Schartz, Mark Reynolds and Mark Nordyke. The 1978
Buffs outscored opponents 155 runs to 25.
THE WICHITA ADVANTAGE
WORLD TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONS
Team - 2010
In 1993, the
city of Wichita climbed to the top of the world of tennis when the
Advantage claimed the crown in World TeamTennis by beating Newport Beach,
N.J., 26-23, in the title match. The Ads’ biggest triumph, however, was
over the Atlanta Thunder and Martina Navratilova, 25-18, in the semifinals
of the league playoffs. The Advantage was coached by Wichita’s own Mervyn
Webster, a member of the Shocker Hall of Fame, and featured local net
stars Buff Farrow and Julie Steven along with Lori McNeil and T. J.
Middleton. Wichita faced other greats such as Mats Wilander, Jimmy
Connors, Lindsay Davenport and Billie Jean King during its four-year run
(1991-94) in the league. The Ads played their matches in the Century II
Convention Center.
1988 CHILTON BOWLING TEAM
National Champions - 2011
When you
think of “who’s who” in Wichita Bowling, you need to look no further than
the 1988 Chilton National Bowling Championship team. Winning the American
Bowling Congress National Championship in Jacksonville, Fl was no small
feat with thousands of teams competing. Chilton Bowling Team members
include Gordon Vatikin, Mark Jensen, Mark Lewis, Rick Steelsmith & Paul
Waliczek. This team includes four inductees (Vatikin, Jensen, Lewis and
Steelsmith) already in the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame as of this team
induction. Also, three member of this 1988 National Championship team (Vatikin,
Jensen and Lewis) have been inducted in the United States Bowling Congress
Hall of Fame. In 1989 this same Chilton team won its second American
Bowling Congress National Championship with only one member of the team
changing.
WICHITA SERVICE AUTO GLASS
1964 National Baseball Congress Champs Team - 2012
The Wichita Service Auto Glass team had a strong run in the NBC Tournament
in the 1960s, highlighted by their title run in 1964. With brilliant
relief work by John Gabler, a three-game winner that year, the Glassmen
used defense to clinch the title and produced a Most Valuable Player in
outfielder Dick Sanders, an inductee of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
Members of the Glassmen who are in the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame are
Sanders, Gabler, Dick Casidy, Larry Foss, Fred Kipp, Vern Orndorff,
Leonard Kelley, Bill Morris, Fritz Brickell, catcher Clyde Girrens and
owner Dee Hubbard, who saved the NBC Tournament by purchasing a major
interest in it after the death of founder Ray “Hap” Dumont in 1972.
Hubbard helped get the NBC over the hump but preferred sponsoring teams
than owning the NBC and later gave up his ownership in the NBC.
1942 WICHITA AERO COMMANDO
PRO FOOTBALL TEAM
Team - 2013
The decision to sponsor a football team at the professional level was made
by John MacCullough, Aero Parts owner following an indirect request by
President Roosevelt. The President requested that sports be continued as
much as possible. Remember, at this period of history some of the
greatest athletes of the time were going off to war. Athletes like Ted
Williams and Bob Feller were enlisting to fight for their country. In
the same announcement came word that the team would be led by
player-coach Frank “Pete” Bausch, younger brother of famed Olympic gold
medal winner in the 1932 decathlon, James Bausch. What a great hire.
“Pete” Bausch was considered one of the best centers in the NFL-NFC in
the 30”s. Bausch was a graduate of Wichita’s Cathedral High and one of
the greatest all-around athletes ever at Kansas University. He won nine
letters in football, basketball and track as a shot putter at KU and was
a two time All-Pro lineman in the NFL-NFC, where he played for the
Boston Redskins (1934-36), Chicago Bears (1937-40) and Philadelphia
Eagles (1941). Also, pro football brought Ralph Miller to Wichita as a
QB and a job working in the personnel department of Aero Parts Company.
Ralph Miller was one of the most sought after athletes in the nation
after his senior season at Kansas in 1941. He was drafted by the
Brooklyn Dodgers, but did not sign with the national league baseball
team. After pro football, Ralph went on to a great basketball coaching
career. Coach Miller was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of
Fame in 1988. The Wichita Aero Commandos played eight games in 1942. Six
games were against military bases and the final two games were against
big time NFL-NFC teams. The team was successful on the field of play,
but lasted only one season.
2011-12 FRIENDS UNIVERSITY
MEN'S-WOMEN'S CC/TRACK TEAMS
Team - 2014
With six KCAC championships in both men’s and women’s cross country,
indoor track and outdoor track, these six 2011-12 teams swept all
competition on their way to perfection. Head cross country and track
coach Brad Peterson recruited both runners and field event athletes to
put these championship together. When the men won the cross country
championship, they ended a 31 year winning streak of championships by
Southwestern College. The same for men’s outdoor track and field, when
the Friends men ended a 29 year winning streak of championships, again
won by Southwestern College. The men’s teams were led by senior Javier
Ceja, a three time All-American and on the women’s side, two time
All-American junior Jordan Arnold led the way.

The Wichita Sports Hall of Fame
Organizational Inductees:
2010
UNITED STATES BOWLING CONGRESS
GREAT PLAINS – WICHITA, KS CHAPTER
2011
NATIONAL BASEBALL CONGRESS
WICHITA, KS
2012
GREATER WICHITA CITY LEAGUE
2013
KANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME
2014
GREATER WICHITA OFFICIALS
ASSOCIATION
The Mal Elliott Sports Media Award:
2011
KIRK SEMINOFF
WICHITA EAGLE, SPORTS EDITOR
2012
BOB LUTZ
WICHITA EAGLE
2013
BILL HODGE
WICHITA EAGLE
2014
RICK PLUMLEE
WICHITA EAGLE
Wichita Sports Hall of Fame
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS
2004 - Mal Elliott
2004 -
Larry Rouse
2005 - Robert "Bob" Harrington
2005 - Jon Kardatzke
2006 - Virginia Savage Harrington
2006 - Joe Ruocco
2014 - Victor Savage