Sports Hall of Fame Gets New Members
We get the Hall of Fame again in the Ozarks. Here is an article I wanted to share from our own KY3.com . It is a special time for us, because Robin’s uncle, Peter Herschend, is one of the inductees this year. Way to go, Uncle Pete! The Luce family sends their congratulations.
This marks the 15th year that the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductions have been held in Springfield. The Hall itself is located just southeast of the city at Highland Springs. And while former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer and Mizzou tightend Kellen Winslow highlight this year’s induction class, the Ozarks is well-represented. John Bryant has been at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar for over 40 years, producing national powerhouse tennis teams along the way. While Kickapoo’s recently retired Roy Green is Springfield’s winningest basketball coach with two state championships. Former St. Louis Cardinal catcher Tom Pagnozzi is a University of Arkansas product who has his own charity foundation in Fayetteville that provides financial help for youngsters so they can play sports. “To me it’s about changing a person’s life,” said former Arkansas baseball coach Norm DeBriyn about the foundation’s work. “It can happen from just a coach’s or camp director’s comment and I see that happening in children’s lives through Pagnozzi’s charities.” Another charity fundraiser being inducted into the Hall of Fame is Branson’s Peter Herschend. The Silver Dollar City co-founder is a biking enthusiast, and since 1990 he’s raised over $1.2 million in the MS 150 Bike Tour that funds multiple sclerosis research. Robin Creemer, an MS patient and friend of Herschend’s, said, “What he has done through the years and been the number one reason that I have been able to live my life.” High praise indeed. And one other inductee with local ties is Ellen Gale Hopkins Green. Now 92 years-old and living in Florida, the former Springfield resident was a world class swimmer during the 1930′s who won 62 individual titles, broke numerous records, and probably would have been an Olympic athlete had the games not been cancelled twice in the 1940′s because of World War II. But she was definitely a major draw in Springfield. “She was known as the Springfield mermaid,” explained Reba Sims, a local pioneer in women’s athletics. “Not only was she competitively successful, but she opened a lot of pools in the area because they wanted to bring in her following.” Cheryl Burnett, who led the Lady Bear basketball team to two Final Fours, added, “Thousands of people were going to the Fassnight pool to watch an AAU meet with Ellen Gale and her sisters. Can you imagine!” It is a little hard to imagine, but thanks to the Hall of Fame, those days are not forgotten.
Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions