WARREN JABALI (ARMSTRONG)Athlete - 2013Warren 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 BACHRODTCoach/Administrator - 2013Herm 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 BANKSAdministrator - 2006Roland 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’ BAUSCHAthlete - 2005One 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 BAUSCHAthlete - 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 BELLAthlete/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 BELLAthlete - 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 BOYDAthlete - 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 BRUMMETTAthlete - 2009A 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 BUCKNERAll-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 CALHOUNAthlete - 2009Calhoun 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 CANNADYAdministraton - 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 CARRAthlete - 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 CARTERAthlete - 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 DAVISCoach - 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 DOSTERTCoach - 2009For 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" DOUGHTYCoach/Administrator - 2009No 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 DREIFORTAthlete - 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 DREILINGAthlete - 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) DUMONTContributor - 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 DVORAKAthlete - 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 ECKCoach - 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 ECKELSAthlete - 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" EDWARDSAthlete/Coach - 2013Nicknamed “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 FARRELLAthlete - 2005As 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 FIFEAthlete, 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 FRIENDAthlete/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 GLICKMANOwner - 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 GREBEMr. 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 HALLRacing Promoter - 2009C. 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 HENNINGAthlete - 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 HELLERAthlete/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 HIMEBAUGHAthlete/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" HUERTACoach - 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 JAAXAthlete - 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 JACKSONAthlete - 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 JEFFRIESCoach - 2009Jeffries 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 JENSENAthlete - 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 JENSENAthlete/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 JOHNSONAthlete - 2005Cheese 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 JOHNSONAthlete - 2013One 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 JOHNSONCoach - 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 JONESAthlete/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 KENNEDYBroadcaster - 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 KRIWIELAthlete/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. LAWRENCEContributor - 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 FAMILYContributors - 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 LEEPRacer - 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 LEVINGSTONAthlete - 2005No 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 LEWISAthlete - 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 LITTLETONAthlete - 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 LUTKIEAthlete - 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.
HAROLD MANNING Athlete - 2005Harold 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 McBURNEYPioneered 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 McCLINTONAthlete - 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 McDANIELAthlete - 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 McFARLANDContributor - 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 McJUNKINSShocker 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 MILLERAthlete/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 MILLERCoach - 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 MOSIERAthlete - 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 OPPLIGERAthlete/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 PEREZAthlete - 2009Perez 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 ROHLEDERCoach - 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 RYUNAthlete - 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 SANDERSAthlete - 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 SANDERSAthlete - 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 SEXTONAthlete - 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 SHERRODAthlete - 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 - 2005She 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 - 2014Randy 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 - 2006He 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 SMITHSONLed 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 SPENCERAthlete - 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 STALLWORTHAthlete - 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 STANDIFORDBig 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 STEELSMITHFour-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 STEVENSAthlete – 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 TURNERCoach/Administrator - 2009Turner 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 VALENTINEAthlete - 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 VanBLARCOMContributor/Administrator - 2009Mrs. 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
JOSEPH "ARKY" VAUGHANAthlete - 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 WALDIEAthlete - 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 WALLACEContributor - 2013Dwane 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 WILEYAthlete - 2009The 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 WILSONContributor - 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 TEAMTeam - 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 TEAMTeam - 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 TEAMTeam - 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 TEAMTeam - 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 TEAMKansas’ 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 TEAMNational Championship Team - 2009The 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 TEAMNational Champions - 2011When 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:
2010UNITED STATES BOWLING CONGRESS GREAT PLAINS – WICHITA, KS CHAPTER
2011NATIONAL 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:
2011KIRK SEMINOFF WICHITA EAGLE, SPORTS EDITOR
2012 BOB LUTZ WICHITA EAGLE
2013 BILL HODGE WICHITA EAGLE
2014 RICK PLUMLEE WICHITA EAGLE
Wichita Sports Hall of FameSPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS2004 - Mal Elliott 2004 - Larry Rouse 2005 - Robert "Bob" Harrington 2005 - Jon Kardatzke 2006 - Virginia Savage Harrington 2006 - Joe Ruocco 2014 - Victor Savage |