Greg Landry - National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and
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40 th Annual Induction Banquet Thursday, June 21, 2012 Thursday, June 21, 2012 Greg Landry June Olkowski TOM Lysiak
Transcript of Greg Landry - National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and
40th Annual Induction BanquetThursday, June 21, 2012Thursday, June 21, 2012
GregLandry
JuneOlkowski
TOMLysiak
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T H E N AT I O N A L P O L I S H AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM was founded in 1973 to honor and recognize outstanding American athletes, both amateur and professional, of Polish descent.
Each year inductees are elected in nation-wide balloting by the NPASHF officers and Board of Directors, past members of the Hall of Fame, and more than 300 members who comprise the NPASHF Sports Panel Council.
Any athlete, male or female, of Polish American heritage (father or mother must be Polish) and meeting the eligibility requirements may be considered for nomination and induction. All amateur athletes are eligible; collegiate athletes not continuing into the professional ranks are eligible two years after their collegiate participation ends; professional athletes are eligible two years after retirement from the sport.
National Polish-AmericanSports Hall of Fame and Museum
2975 East Maple RoadTroy, MI 48083(586) 980-9840
www.polishsportshof.com
Member of the InternationalSports Heritage Association
Contributions are tax deductible as provided by law under Internal Revenue
Service regulation 501(c)(3).
ON THE INSIDE...Message from the NPASHF Chairman NPASHF Executive Officers and Board of Directors ................ 2Stan Musial Scholarship Fund .................................................. 4National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame Trivia Quiz .................................................................................... 72012 Inductee: GREG LANDRy .............................................. 102012 Inductee: TOM LySIAk ....................................................... 162012 Inductee: JuNE OLkOwSkI ............................................. 222012 Voting Results: Top Choices ........................................................................................... 422012 Induction Banquet: Master of Ceremonies and Presenters ........................................... 43Tonight’s Menu and Lineup ............................................................. 44Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award ................................... 46NPASHF Capsule Profiles ................................................................. 49Polish-American Hall of Famers by Sport .................................... 71Our Hall of Fame Voters .............................................................. 76Index to Advertisers Give Them your Business ..................................................................... 87EDITOR James P. Conrad ADVERTISEMENTS: Mike Mandell CONTRIBUTORS: Mike O’Hara, Pat Caputo, Buck Jerzy, Tom Markowski
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NPASHF ExECUTIVE OFFICERS
& DIRECTORSChairman of the Board
JAMES P. CONRADFirst Vice Chairman
GERARD DETTLOFFSecond Vice Chairman TOM MARKOWSKI
Secretary ADAM PROKOP
Treasurer MICHAEL OBLOY
DIRECTORSJames Ciennik IIIWayne CooperDennis CzarnyszkaWally CzechowskiS. Nicholas FrontczakSteve GadzinskiSteve GrausDavid JansenKen KalAllan KasprazakTed Klamerus Robert KowalewskiJohn Makar, Jr.Mike MandellLongine Morawski Hon. Paul ParukMike SherryBob ShoemakerTom SzczepanskiThomas TarapackiEarl WardMichael WilkJoseph WojtasHon. Robert Ziolkowski
BASEBALL
Oscar Bielaski
Stan Coveleski
Art “Pinky” Deras
Moe Drabowsky
Mark Fidrych
Steve Gromek
Ted Kluszewski
Jim Konstanty
Tony Kubek
Whitey Kurowski
Robert Kuzava
Eddie Lopat
Stan Lopata
Greg Luzinski
Bill Mazeroski
Barney McCosky
Stan Musial
Joe Niekro
Phil Niekro
Danny Ozark
Tom Paciorek
Ron Perranoski
Johnny Podres
Jack Quinn
Ron Reed
Jenny Romatowski
Ray Sadecki
Al Simmons
Bill Skowron
Frank Tanana
Alan Trammell
Carl Yastrzemski
Richie Zisk
BASKETBALL
Vince Boryla
Carol Blazejowski
Michael Gminski
Tom Gola
Bobby Hurley
Mike Krzyzewski
Mitch Kupchak
Bob Kurland
Christian Laettner
John Payak
Kelly Tripucka
BOWLING
Johnny Crimmins
Billy Golembiewski
Cass Grygier
Eddie Lubanski
Ann Setlock
Aleta Rzepecki-Sill
BOXING
Bobby Czyz
Stanley Ketchel
Teddy Yarosz
Tony Zale
FIGURE SKATING
Janet Lynn
FOOTBALL
Danny Abramowicz
Pete Banaszak
Steve Bartkowski
Zeke Bratkowski
Bob Brudzinski
Lou Creekmur
Ziggy Czarobski
Mike Ditka
Forest Evashevski
Frank Gatski
Jim Grabowski
Jack Ham
Leon Hart
Vic Janowicz
Ron Jaworski
Mike Kenn
Joe Klecko
Ed Klewicki
Frank Kush
Ted Kwalick
Johnny Lujack
Ted Marchibroda
Lou Michaels
Walt Michaels
Dick Modzelewski
Mike Munchak
Tom Nowatzke
Bill Osmanski
Frank Piekarski
Bill Romanowski
Mark Rypien
Tom Sestak
Bob Skoronski
Hank Stram
Dick Szymanski
Frank Szymanski
Frank Tripucka
Steve Wisniewski
Alex Wojciechowicz
GOLF
Billy Burke
Betsy King
Warren Orlick
Bob Toski
Al Watrous
GYMNASTICS
George Szypula
HOCKEY
Walter “Turk” Broda
Len Ceglarski
Ed Olczyk
Pete Stemkowski
MOTOR SPORTS
Tom D’Eath
Alan Kulwicki
SOFTBALL
Ed Tyson
SPORTS JOURNALISM
Ed Browalski
Billy Packer
SPORTS OFFICIATING
Stan Javie
Red Mihalik
SWIMMING
Chet Jastremski
Kristy Kowal
Joe Verdeur
TENNIS
Frankie Parker
Peaches Bartkowicz
TRACK & FIELD
Bob Gutowski
Stella Walsh
VOLLEYBALL
Andy Banachowski
WEIGHTLIFTING
Norbert Schemansky
Stanley Stanczyk
WRESTLING
Stanley Zbyszko
Wladek “Killer” Kowalski
N ational Polish-American
www.polishsportshof.com
2975 East Maple Road - Troy, Michigan 48083
JAMES P. CONRAD
Board Chairman
(586) 980-9840
Founded in 1973
S p o r t S H a l l o f f a m e
June 21, 2012
Dear Friends:
I am once again pleased to welcome each of you to the annual Induction Banquet of
the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
With the addition of this year’s inductees – star NFL quarterback Greg Landry, top
collegiate basketball player and coach June Olkowski, and high-scoring NHL for-
ward Tom Lysiak – the NPASHF expands its roster of inductees to 126 honored
Polish-American athletes.
In addition to the induction of these honorees, tonight’s event allows us the opportu-
nity to pay tribute to highly-respected sports journalist, the late Tom Kowalski, with
our annual Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award, and to announce the student-
athlete recipients of our annual Stan Musial Scholarship Award.
Founded in 1973, the NPASHF tonight kicks off the start of our 40th Anniversary
celebration, which will culminate with our gala 40th Anniversary Banquet, to be
held in June 2013. You’ll hear more about that event during the course of tonight’s
banquet, and updates will be periodically posted on our Facebook page, or on our
website at www.polishsportshof.com. We hope you are able to join us on that special
night, which promises to be a memorable one.
On behalf of our Board of Directors, I wish to thank all in attendance at tonight’s
banquet, as well as all who have contributed in so many ways to the NPASHF for the
past 39 years. Your support has been overwhelming!
Tonight, I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the evening’s festivities, as we
honor our highly-talented and well-deserving Class of 2012.
Sincerely,
James P. Conrad
Board Chairman
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Stan MusialScholarship Fund
2012 Stan Musial Scholarship Award WinnersOver 50 applicants from 20 states – Each winner will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship check
In 1993, at a tribute marking the 20th anniversary of Stan Musial’s induction into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, Musial and the Hall’s Board of Directors announced the establishment of a scholarship fund in his name to benefit graduating high school students of Polish-American descent. Musial presented the Hall of Fame with a check in the amount of $11,000 which the Board of Directors matched. Proceeds from the yearly NPASHF Golf Outing help to fund the scholarship. Additional money is raised during a silent auction held each year in conjunction with the Hall’s induction banquet. Charitable contributions are also accepted.Eligible recipients must be of Polish-American descent; have a GPA of 3.2 or better; compete in varsity sports; be nominated by their coach and principal; and write an essay on the importance of academics and athletics as it relates to leadership and being a positive role model.To date, the Stan Musial Scholarship Fund has awarded over $55,000 in scholarships.This year, the Hall received scholarship submissions from Polish-American high school student-athletes in twenty states across America. From this outstanding national field, we are pleased to award six $1000 scholarships.
Joshua Napierkowski (Bishop Machebeuf High School, Denver, Colorado)Josh has a 4.35 grade point average and is ranked first in his class of seventy-three. He is a varsity letter winner in football (2 years) and lacrosse (4 years). He has won numerous academic and athletic awards, including being named Academic All-State in lacrosse and football. He is a National Merit Scholar finalist. Joshua’s principal states that “Josh is a student who is absolutely dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of his life.” Joshua will attend University of Notre Dame in the fall.
Christopher Sosnowski (Greenfield-Central High School, Greenfield, Indiana)Chris has a 4.2 grade point average and is ranked seventh in his class of 355. He participates in football and track and field, and he has received academic All-State laurels and All-Conference honors in both sports. He is President of his senior class and an Eagle Scout. Chris’s principal writes “His influence has not only impacted programs, but has impacted and changed the lives of students and members of the faculty.” Chris will attend Valparaiso University in the fall.
Anna Stopa (Morris Catholic High School, Long Valley, New Jersey)Anna has a 4.0 grade point average and ranks fifth in her class of ninety. Anna has been involved in fencing since her freshman year and is captain of the team, received All-Academic distinction and the school has named the “most improved” award in her name. Beyond her academic and athletic accomplishments, she has attended Polish language school for twelve years where she now volunteers as a teacher’s aide. Anna’s principal writes “I can think of no better young person who personifies the character and values that Stan Musial represents.” Anna will attend Boston University in the fall.
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Kevin Teklinski (Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s High School, Orchard Lake, MI)Kevin has a 3.91 grade point average. Kevin is a three year starter on the varsity baseball team and is captain of the team. Additionally, Kevin is a member of the National Honor Society and has been a four year member of the school’s Key Club while also serving as its chaplain. The headmaster at Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s writes “Kevin is one of the most well-rounded, well-mannered and competent students I have ever been associated with. In my 23 years of education, I have never endorsed a candidate more completely and sincerely than Kevin Teklinski.” Kevin will attend the University of Michigan in the fall.
Alyzandria Wsolek (Madison Central High School, Madison, Mississippi)Alyx has a 3.98 grade point average and is ranked twenty-fifth in her class of 459. Her involvement in school activities runs the gamut from sports, to government, to Science Olympiad. Her leadership is evident through her responsibilities as president of the Physics and Astronomy Club. Alyx’s most visible success has occurred in the swimming pool – where she is two-time team captain, multiple-time Mississippi state champion, and Mississippi Women’s Open Water Champion. Alyx’s Principal says, “Alyyx is the epitome of the ‘All-American girl.” Alyx will attend the University of Tennessee in the fall.
Elizabeth Zkorek (Reavis High School, Chicago, Illinois)Elizabeth has a 4.4 grade point average and is ranked second in a class of 480. A daughter of Polish immigrants, Elizabeth values her role as a Polish-American citizen – translating for Polish families who are registering at her elementary school. She is the class Salutatorian, is the Girls Varity Tennis team captain where she was conference champion three times in four years, and is a member of a four-time champion Matheletes team. The Superintendent of Elizabeth’s school says “She is absolutely one of the most positive role models to her fellow students and is always ready and willing to jump in and assist wherever needed.” Elizabeth will attend Northwestern University in the fall.
Several 2011 Stan Musial Scholarship winners accepted their awards at last year’s Annual Induction Banquet
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National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame Trivia Quiz
For the third consecutive year, we challenge our readers with the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame Trivia Quiz. As in the past, some questions may prove to be relatively difficult; others will be somewhat easier. We hope you find the quiz to be entertaining, as well as educational.
1. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, founded in 1973, will celebrate its 40th Anniversary next year, in 2013 – but our 2012 Induction Banquet is billed as our 40th annual event. How is that possible?
Two banquets were held in 1990a) The organization was formed concurrently with our first banquet.b) It’s a “new millennium” thingc) It’s a “new math” thingd)
2. Later this year, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame will enshrine two athletes who have previously been inducted into the National Polish- American Sports Hall of Fame. Who are they?
Vince Boryla and Johnny Podresa) Ron Reed and Bill Osmanskib) Pete Stemkowski and Ed Tysonc) Alex Wojciechowicz and Tom D’Eathd)
3. In 1946, the Detroit Tigers acquired Hall of Fame third baseman George Kell in a trade with the Philadelphia Athletics. Which NPASHF inductee did the Tigers give up for Kell?
Barney McCoskya) Whitey Kurowskib) Bob Kuzavac) Stan Lopatad)
4. How many NPASHF inductees have also been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame?
7a) 5b) 2c) 1d)
5. During a 21-month period in the 1940’s, NPASHF Inductee Tony Zale engaged in an epic three-fight championship series with fellow middleweight Rocky Graziano. The fights are still considered to be among the most brutal and exciting middleweight bouts of all time. What was the result of that series of battles?
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a) Graziano emerged victorious in all three fightsb) Zale prevailed by knocking out Graziano in two of the three matches.c) Graziano won two of the three matches.d) The series was split, with one victory, one loss, and a “draw” for each fighter.
6. In the 1980 Burt Reynolds movie Smokey and the Bandit II, this NPASHF inductee plays the role of a truck driver who, with his bare hand, crushes the badge of the sheriff, played by Jackie Gleason. Who is he?
a) Mike Ditkab) Lou Michaelsc) Joe Kleckod) Greg “The Bull” Luzinski
7. As a relief pitcher for the Yankees in the 1950’s, this NPASHF inductee has the distinction of being the only pitcher to earn game-seven “saves” in back- to-back World Series. Who is he?
a) Eddie Lopatb) Johnny Podresc) Steve Gromekd) Bob Kuzava
8. This NPASHF inductee won the 1931 U.S. Open at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, following the longest playoff in U.S. Open history. Name this golfing legend.
Bob Toskia) Warren Orlickb) Billy Burkec) Al Watrousd)
9. Which NPASHF inductee celebrated his induction with a hand stand?
Bobby Czyza) George Szypulab) Chet Jastremskic) Kelly Tripuckad)
10: Darryl Sutter, head coach of the 2012 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, served as “best man” in the wedding of which NPASHF Inductee?
a) 2004 Inductee Ed Olczyk b) 2006 Inductee Mark Rypien c) 2002 Inductee Pete Stemkowski d) 2012 Inductee Tom Lysiak
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Congratulations to the 2012 Inductees
Greg Landry, June Olkowski and Tom Lysiak
Polish Century Club of DetroitPolish Century Club of Detroit
2975 East Maple RoadTroy, MI 48083
Phone: 248.457.9916 Fax: 248.457.9918 Web: PolishCenturyClub.com Email: [email protected]
From the Officers and Membersof the
Congratulations To The 2012 InducteesGreg Landry
June OlkowskiTom Lysiak
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BieBer & czechowskiFor all your Estate Planning and Probate needs
26224 Van DykeCenter Line, MI 48015
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• GREG LANDRy• JuNE OLkOwSkI
• TOM LySIAk
Congratulations to the 2012 National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
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2012 INDUCTEE
GregLandry
By Mike O’HaraDetroitlions.com
Prototype NFL Quarterback
Greg Landry’s long journey in a pro football career that gained him honors and respect as a quarterback and assistant coach began with a ride he hitched from Chicago to Detroit. It was the late summer of 1968, and Landry and fellow Detroit Lions teammate Charlie Sanders had just played in the College All Star Game in Chicago. The annual event, which was discontinued after the 1976 seasons, pitted the top rookies against the reigning NFL champs. Although the college stars came out on the short end of a 34-17 score against the reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in 1968, Landry’s performance drew good reviews. He threw a touchdown pass to Earl McCullough in the fourth quarter. Landry, Sanders and McCullough were members of the Lions’ 1968 draft class. After the game, Landry needed a ride to Detroit to report to training camp. “He didn’t even own a car,” Sanders said recently, laughing. “I
had to drive him home to Detroit. “He hitch-hiked a ride with me. I joked with him. A tight quarterback. I only had $400, and he was a first-round draft pick.” Whatever method of transportation landed Landry in Detroit, he was much ballyhooed as the Lions’ first-round draft pick out of Massachusetts. Landry launched a stellar 15-season career in the NFL, and two more seasons in the old USFL. Landry and Sanders formed a potent quarterback-tight end combination and developed an enduring friendship. Sanders is giving Landry’s introduction speech at the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame banquet. Sanders retired after the 1977 season as the leading receiver in Lions history. Landry played 11 seasons with the Lions (1968-78) before being traded to the Baltimore Colts after the 1978 season.
Landry spent three seasons with the Colts. In 1979, injuries made him a full-time starter on a dreadful Colts team. Landry was one of the few bright spots, with 15 TD passes against 15 interceptions, and was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player. After a one-year retirement in 1982, he came back to play in the USFL – the Chicago Blitz in 1983 and the Arizona Wranglers in ’84 – before retiring again. Once again, he answered the call to arms for one last fling. Late in the 1984 NFL season, the Chicago Bears ran into injuries at quarterback and signed Landry. He started one game – ironically, a 30-13 win over the Lions at the old Pontiac Silverdome in the final game of the season. Landry remained with the Bears through the playoffs, then retired for good and turned to coaching. He had stints in the NFL as an assistant coach with the Browns, Bears and Lions, and also spent two seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of
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Illinois. Landry lives in the Detroit suburb of Troy and works as a manufacturer’s representative. He and his wife Jeannine, a two-time All-American at Massachusetts in gymnastics, have five children – all college graduates. Landry played in an era when the rules didn’t give quarterbacks anything close to the protection they currently enjoy. Quarterbacks were fair game in and out of the pocket – and sometimes out of bounds. Landry played hard and was hit hard and often injured. He never backed down. In many ways, he was the prototype of what NFL franchises currently look for in quarterbacks. He was a pocket passer with the ability to escape the rush and run. “He wasn’t just fast, he was strong,” Sanders said. “He was physically tough. He really was a pocket passer.
“He was big enough and strong enough that if he got out of the pocket, he could do some damage.” Landry got his share of honors, but one singular distinction stands out. Landry made the Pro Bowl for his performance in the 1971 season, making him the only Lions quarterback since Bobby Layne to play in the NFL’s annual all-star game.
Landry has some bookend memories to his career. Because of an injury to Bill Munson, Landry started his first game as a rookie in 1968 – a 59-13 loss at Dallas. He also remembers a highlight from his last game against the Lions 16 years later. “The last game that I played, I
threw a touchdown pass to Willie Gault,” Landry said. “I ended my career on a really good note.” He was two days short of his 38th birthday on that day, and his body was telling him that there would be no more comebacks. “By the end of the game, I was sore and stiff,” Landry said. “I don’t know if I could play another year or not.”
He made a swift transition to coaching, and continued in that role for 12 years. His final year as a coach was with the Lions in 1996. Landry, now 65, grew up in New Hampshire. He grandparents emigrated from Poland. His mother, Felixa “Fannie” Worsowicz, was born in the
United States. She is 91 and living in New Hampshire. Landry had many individual highlights in his career. He passed for 16,052 yards and 98 touchdowns in the NFL and ran for another 2,655 yards and 21 TDs. In his Pro Bowl season of 1971, he threw for 2,237 yards and 16 Touchdowns and rushed for 530 yards and three scores. In 1972, he had 18 TD passes, 524 yards rushing and nine TDs. Those stats were compiled in 14-game seasons. Landry had numerous battles for the starting job in Detroit, but he made his mark from the mid-1969 season
through 1972. He was healthy and entrenched as the No. 1 quarterback. In that span, Landry had a 25-14 won-lost record as a starter with two ties. Joe Schmidt, a Hall of Fame middle linebacker on the Lions’ championship teams of the 1950s, was the head coach, and the roster was stocked with good, young players such as Sanders, Landry, Steve Owens, Mel Farr, Lem Barney, Paul Naumoff and Ed
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Flanagan. In 1970, the Lions caught fire and won their last five games for a 10-4 record and a playoff berth with Landry directing the team. The Lions lost to the Cowboys, 5-0, in the playoff game. With his size (6-4, 210 pounds), strong arm and running ability, Landry was an impressive athlete at the quarterback position. “The period that stands out most is the period from ’70, ‘71 and ‘72,” Landry says now.
“We were in the playoffs in 1970, and in ’71 and ’72 we got snake bit with the Minnesota Vikings, but I think we maybe were just a player or two short of going back (to the playoffs). “It looked like our defense was getting a little old. After talking to
Joe Schmidt years later, he was trying to get a couple of defensive linemen to lift it back up to when it was pretty good.” Landry’s running made him a dangerous threat. He had a signal with center Ed Flanagan, another consistent Pro Bowler, for a quarterback keeper when Landry saw the defense in a vulnerable formation. “If I felt I could quarterback sneak, I’d pat him on rear end,” Landry said. “He’d block the first guy, and I’d take it up into the secondary. “I had some big yardage. It was something that nobody was doing. I was the only one doing it.” Landry had a 76-yard touchdown run in 1970 and a 52-yard run in ’71. His style reminded people of the late Don Meredith, the quarterback of the Dallas
Cowboys. In fact, one of the highest compliments Landry received came when Dandy Don once said that Landry reminded him of himself. Injuries began to hit Landry, and they hit hard. From 1973-75, he played only 18 of a possible 42 games with just 13 starts. He recovered in 1976 to play all 14 games and have one of his best seasons, with 17 TD passes, eight interceptions and 234 yards rushing. He was voted the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. “It proved in my mind that I could play at a high level in the NFL,” Landry says now. There’s no doubt about that.
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A large, smiling group gathered for our annual NPASHF banquet photo last year, which included board members, inductees, presenters and others.
Standing, from left to right: Board members Mike Sherry, Ken Kal, Steve Gadzinski, Mike Mandell, Earl Ward, Wally Czechowski, Ted Klamerus, Bob Kowalewski; Special Recognition Award winner Joe Kopicki; presenters Tom Paciorek, Tom McInnes, and Mike Lodish; Master of Ceremonies Tom Ryan; secretary Adam Prokop; board members Bob Shoemaker, Wayne Cooper, Jim Ciennik III, Steve Graus, Longine Morawski, and John Makar, Jr.Seated, from left to right: Board members David Jansen and Hon. Paul Paruk; board chairman Jim Conrad; inductees Steve Javie (accepting on behalf of his father Stan Javie), Tom D’Eath, Art “Pinky” Deras, and Bill Romanowski; vice chairman Jerry Dettloff; treasurer Mike Obloy; board members Nick Frontczak and George Eichorn.
2011 NPASHF Group Photo – The more, the merrier!
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THE POLISH-AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME
IN MEMORY OF
TOM KOWALSKI
THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SALUTES
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The world Tom Lysiak was raised in was surreal compared to National Hockey League players today. He was born in the small, Northern Alberta town of High Prairie, approximately 175 miles north of Edmonton. He didn’t start skating until he was in third grade, and only then because his school took a field trip to the local rink for public skating. He did not see his first NHL game on television until he was 10 years old in 1963 when his family got its first TV. There had been no need for one before that because there were no local television sta-tions until that time. “Even then, the picture was pretty snowy,” Lysiak recalls. The idea he would become a mainstay in the NHL wasn’t
even part of his thought pro-cess. Nor that of his family. At first his father, Joe, who had immigrated to Canada from Poland at the age of five, didn’t think much of Lysiak taking up the sport. “We went to a local game when I was in third grade and saw some of the players making fancy plays and I was really impressed,” Lysiak said. “My mother noticed I had taken in-terest and got me skates and shin pads. When I started to play, I caught onto the game quickly. My mom noticed that first. It took my dad awhile. He didn’t really notice much until one day he was reading the local newspaper and saw my name as the leading scorer.” Lysiak took off as a local hock-ey prodigy, a flight that didn’t end until he had played 14 NHL seasons with the Atlanta
Flames and the Chicago Black-hawks. His last two seasons of major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Lysiak had 46 goals and 97 assists for 143 points, and 58 goals and 96 assists for 154 points. His line mate was future NHL great Lanny McDon-ald.
At the time, players were eli-gible for the NHL Draft at 20, not 18 like currently. Lysiak was the second overall pick in the 1973 NHL Draft by the Atlanta Flames behind only Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin. Lysiak lived up to his lofty sta-tus in the draft. He played in the NHL All Star Game in 1975, 1976 and 1977 for the Flames before being traded to Chicago in 1979. He also served as the Flames’ captain.
2012 INDUCTEE
Tom Lysiak
By Pat CaputoThe Oakland Press/ WXYT-FM
Junior hockey prodigy becomes NHL mainstay
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In 919 NHL games, Lysiak to-taled 292 goals and 551 assists for 843 points. He ranks 96th all time among NHL players in points scored per game, and 96th all time in total assists. He is 60th all-time in assists per game. Lysiak has made Atlanta his home since retiring from the NHL in 1986. It was round-about way that led him so far south to play hockey. “It was well-known I was going to be taken second in the draft, but Montreal held the pick because they had traded for it,” Lysiak said. “I didn’t want to play for Montreal be-cause they were so good then; they always sent their first round pick to Halifax (Montreal’s minor league affiliate). So I let it be known I wouldn’t play for Montreal.” (The WHA was in existence then and Lysiak had been courted by the Los Ange-les franchise).“Cliff Fletcher (Atlanta’s general manager) traded for me. I had never been to Atlanta before, or re-ally thought much about it prior to that, but it sounded good to me. It was a lot warmer than Halifax”
As entrenched as he became in Atlanta, there were frustrations. The Flames were solid for an expansion team, and made the Stanley Cup playoffs four times while Lysiak was on the squad, but were knocked out in the first round each time.
“Most of those series were just three games, and we’d lose the first game, which made it very difficult to come back,” Lysiak said. Lysiak didn’t welcome the trade to Chicago, but adjusted well to coach Bob Pulford’s sys-tem, which demanded more back checking. Lysiak played very well in the playoffs for the Blackhawks, averaging roughly
a point per game during three relatively deep playoff runs. And Chicago made the playoffs each year Lysiak was on the team. “It was different,” Lysiak said. “I would have rather played wide open like the Edmonton Oilers, to be honest, but I was asked to block shots and win-ning draws (face offs) became a very important part of what
was needed from me so we could win, and that was the most important thing. And I still managed to score some goals and do some other things to set up goals.”He drew a 20-game suspen-sion from the NHL in 1983 for tripping a linesman. Lysiak felt he deserved some form of pun-ishment, but it was the longest suspension ever rendered by the NHL at the time, and held up as the record for suspen-
sions many years after-ward. “I think the league was trying to make an ex-ample out of me,” Lysiak said. “But I moved on from it. What could I do?” Lysiak, 59, has remained in the Atlanta area. Mar-ried for 30 years, he has run a bed and breakfast, partnered in a construc-tion company and bred horses before selling his farm and taking life a little easier. “I enjoy hunting, so there are a lot of things to do for me here,” he said. “I wasn’t really into golf, but really got into it after be-
ing here awhile.” Lysiak is glad he played when he did. “I like that hockey better than the cycling of the puck they do today, but I suppose I could have adjusted my game for all the money they are getting these days,” he said with a laugh.
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Congratu lat ionsCongratu lat ionsTom Lysiak
N A T I O N A L P O L I S H - A M E R I C A N S P O R T S H A L L O F F A M E
2 0 1 2
C A L G A R Y F L A M E S H O C K E Y C L U B
AD_TomLysiak.indd 1 12-05-24 3:12 PM
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Congratulations to the 2012 Inductees
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Congratulationsto the 2012 Inductees
Greg Landry, June Olkowski and Tom Lysiak
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2012 INDUCTEE
June Olkowski
By Buck JerzyPast NPASHF Board Chairman
Three decades of hardwood success
June Olkowski was destined to be a great women’s basketball player and a great basketball coach. And was she ever -- in a career that spanned 30 years, beginning with her freshman season at St. Maria Goretti Catholic High School in Philadelphia, and concluding with her final season as head coach at Northwestern University in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.
An All-Stater at St. Maria Goretti, Olkowski was recruited by more than 100 colleges across the country. Back then, schools did not pay for campus visits, so Olkowski narrowed her next move to east coast teams North Carolina State, Maryland, St. Joseph, Old Dominion and Rutgers.
“My parents didn’t have the money to send me out UCLA and Southern California,” she explained.
The recruiting war was won by Coach Theresa Grentz of nearby Rutgers. “June was a six-foot forward. She was a legitimate inside player with guard skills. This was unheard of back in l978,” Grentz said.
Olkowski’s love for basketball developed as she was growing up in Philadelphia. The city was also growing rapidly with women’s basketball talent in the 1970s. “All of my mentors as a player
were guys,” she said. “I have two older brothers and one played on the varsity at the University of Baltimore. I loved playing with the guys and I learned a lot on the schoolyard courts.”
At Rutgers, Olkowski capped a sterling collegiate career by leading the Scarlet Knights to the National AIAW Championship in l982.
“We beat Texas, 83-77, in front of my hometown crowd in the Palestra – the legendary University of Pennsylvania arena built in l926,” she said. “That year, the NCAA held its first tournament, but Rutgers chose to play in the national tournament we had competed in since 1972. That
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was the last AIAW National Tournament.”
As a senior, Olkowski averaged 19.6 points a game and played great defense by hauling in an average of 10.1 rebounds per game. Her four-year scoring average was 14.6 points, and her consistent production at both ends of the court earned Olkowski All-American honors.
She has already been inducted into the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the State of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
“June was a true competitor who was all about integrity and decency,” Coach Grentz said. “People who came to the games loved watching her play basketball. She was an All-American and a national champion –I’d say that was pretty good career.”
Olkowski also was the only Rutgers player to have her uniform number (45) retired.
Following her 1982 graduation, Olkowski began her next step in college hoops – beginning a 22-year run as a coach on the collegiate level – as she was named assistant coach of the women’s varsity team at the University of Maryland. June stayed with the Lady Terrapins for three seasons
before becoming an assistant at the University of Arizona for two years. In 1987, at age 27, Olkowski became the youngest head coach in NCAA women’s basketball history when she was elevated to the top spot of the Wildcat program.
Following her four-year stint (l987-1991) at Arizona,
Olkowski served as an assistant coach at Auburn University for two seasons (1991-93). While she was with the Southeastern Conference team, the Tigers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the l993 NCAA tournament and were ranked No. 10 in the country.
Coach Olkowski had her greatest success at her next
stop – Butler University in Indianapolis. During her six seasons (1993-99) in basketball-crazy Indiana, the Butler Bulldogs averaged 19 victories a season with a 114-56 record (.671). Included was a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1996 and a second round appearance in the WNIT in 1998.
The Lady Bulldogs won the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season championship in l998 and the MCC tournament title in 1996. June Olkowski was named MCC “Coach of the Year” three times during her stay at Butler.
Olkowski’s final stop on the coaching merry-go-round was at Northwestern in the powerful Big Ten Conference. She served five years with the Wildcats (1999-2004) and unfortunately did not have the success she had at her
previous coaching assignments. Northwestern just did not have the talent to compete in the league.
After 22 years as a college coach –seven as an assistant and l5 in the head job – Coach June hung up her whistle to enter the business world. She now works in pharmaceutical sales and lives in Baltimore.
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“Jammin’June” and “Blaze” – NPASHF teammates
In addition to playing eight years in high school and college, June Olkowski had six years of playing women’s basketball on the international level during this time.
In fact, one of her early all-star teammates was Carol Blazejowski, who was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in l994. The two played together for the USA team in the l979 Women’s World University Games in Mexico City.
“Blaze” was the star of the team and led USA to the championship with an average of 18.4 points a game. June was the youngest player on the team at age 18 and averaged 4.3 points in a reserve role. The United States cagers won all seven of their games and beat Cuba, 73-60, for the gold medal.
Olkowski’s other gold medal was won in 1978 when the United States women’s team won the National Olympic Sports Festival tournament.
The 1979 U.S. Collegiate Sports Council (USCSC) World University Games Gold Medal winning team featured two future National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame inductees; 1994 inductee Carol Blazejowski (top row, third from left) and 2012 inductee June Olkowski (top row, far right).
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Congratulations
on YOUR inductioninto the
National Polish-AmericanSports Hall of Fame
from T2C2
Photos courtesy of Rutgers Athletics
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Congratulations June Olkowski!
Assistant Coach – 1985-87Head Coach – 1987-1991
Arizona Women’s Basketball
PROUDLY SALUTES
Class of 2012Greg Landry • Tom Lysiak • June Olkowski
Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award Winner
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Ken KalDeTroiT reD WiNgS
Radio-Play-By-Play announceR
CongratulatesGreg Landry, June Olkowski
and Tom Lysiak
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2012 Voting Results
“First Ballot” candidates Greg Landry and June Olkowski are joined by Tom Lysiak to make up NPASHF Class of 2012
Joining an elite group of athletes elected as “first ballot” candidates on the NPASHF national ballot, Greg Landry and June Olkowski emerged as the top vote-getters in their respective categories, to gain induction into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. Landry and Olkowski are joined by NHL star Tom Lysiak, who was selected by the NPASHF Veteran’s Committee, to make up the induction Class of 2012.
The election of Landry, Olkowski, and Lysiak brings the roster of NPASHF inductees to a total of 126. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1973, and the first inductee was Stan Musial, former St. Louis Cardinal baseball great.Besides Musial, other “first ballot”
candidates elected to the NPASHF are Ted Kluszewski, Stella Walsh, Ed Tyson, Ted Marchibroda, Johnny Lujack, Bill Mazeroski, Carl Yastrzemski, Vic Janowicz, Leon Hart, Phil Niekro, Ron Jaworski, Mike Krzyzewski, Joe Niekro, Steve Bartkowski, Carol Blazejowski, Zeke Bratkowski, Barney McCosky, Frank Tanana, Alan Trammell, Kelly Tripucka, Betsy King, Mike Ditka, Johnny Podres, Steve Wisniewski, Mark Rypien, Christian Laettner, Mark Fidrych, and Art “Pinky” Deras.
Greg Landry was the first quarterback selected in the 1968 NFL Draft, and went on to a stellar 15 year pro career with the Lions, Colts, and Bears. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1971, and in 1976, earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors. Landry received a total of 190 votes, outdistancing baseball great Ryan klesko and rugged NFL lineman Jim Dombrowski in the NPASHF “High-Visibility Sports” category.
June Olkowski, an All-American forward at Rutgers University, also earned gold medals in the 1978 National Olympic Sports Festival and
the 1979 World University Games. At the conclusion of her playing days, June went on to a highly successful 22-year collegiate coaching career at the University of Arizona, Butler University, and Northwestern University. Olkowski topped U.S. Olympic water polo coach Monte Nitzkowski and internationally ranked fencing instructor Janusz Bednarski, who finished second and third respectively, in their ballot category. Nitzkowski and Bednarski have each appeared on the NPASHF ballot since 2008.
Tom Lysiak joins the NPASHF as this year’s Veteran’s Committee selection. Tom was selected as the second overall pick in the 1973 National Hockey League Draft, and went on to star in the NHL for 13 seasons (1973-’86), with the Atlanta Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks. For nine consecutive seasons, he scored 20 or more goals, and on three occasions eclipsed the 30 goal mark.
New candidates will be placed on next year’s ballot to replace those elected this year. Eligible voters are living members of the National Polish-American
Sports Hall of Fame, members of the NPASHF Board of Directors, and the Sports Panel Council, comprised of selected members of the media, sports fans, and the candidates. Anyone may nominate his or her favorite Polish-American athlete or coach by writing to:
Nominating Committee National Polish-American Sports
Hall of Fame2975 East Maple Road
Troy, MI 48083
Athletes must be inactive for a period of two years to be eligible to be placed into nomination, with the exception of those athletes competing in a senior division. Please include background information on the nominee.
Ryan Klesko
Monte Nitzkowski
Jim Dombrowski
Janusz Bednarski
OFFICIAL RESULTS2011 NPASHF ELECTION
NoMiNeeS FroM BASeBALL, BASKeTBALL, FooTBALL, HoCKeY 1. Greg Landry 1902. Ryan Klesko 1523. Jim Dombrowski 1384. Frank Wycheck 1325. Larry Krystkowiak 886. Jerry Korab 757. Jim Peplinski 68
NoMiNeeS FroM ALL oTHer SPorTS1. June Olkowski 1432. Monte Nitzkowski 1273. Janusz Bednarski 1264. Evan Williams 1225. Joe Proski 876. Randy Stoklos 857. Tony Adamowicz 798. Jeff Klepacki 74
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Tonight’s MC and PresentersKatrina Hancock, Master of CeremoniesKatrina Hancock joined the WDIV Local 4 sports department in December 2006. In addition to reporting on Detroit’s always thriving sports scene on Local 4 News, Katrina also stepped into the role of host of the weekly Sports Final Edition show airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. Katrina’s career in the sports broadcasting business reads like a minor-league baseball player’s. She spent her first 17 months in Cheyenne, Wyo., at KGWN (Single-A), a year and a half at KSNT in Topeka, Kan. (Double-A), and three years at WTVG in Toledo, Ohio (Triple-A). She finally got called up to the major leagues in December of 2006 when she accepted the Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter position at WDIV. She’s covered nearly every major sporting event in her ten-year career. Katrina graduated in 2000 from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Bachelor of Science in Communications. Before considering a career in television, she had aspirations of becoming a doctor. The obvious choice at the end of five years of college was sports broadcasting.
STEVE LUDZIK, Presenter for Tom LysiakFollowing an impressive junior hockey career with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey League, Steve Ludzik was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the 28th overall pick of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Steve joined the Blackhawks for the 1981-82, and became a solid contributor for the Hawks for the next eight seasons, playing along side tonight’s inductee, Tom Lysiak, from 1981 to 1986. Following his retirement as a player, Steve began an 11 year coaching career that included Colonial Hockey League Coach of the Year honors during the 1994-’95 season, and a Turner Cup Championship as head coach of the IHL Detroit Vipers in the 1996-’97 season. Steve also served as head coach of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning for two seasons (1999-2001). Steve is the author of the book Been There Done That, which he terms “the most honest book done on hockey,” and has also served as a television analyst on The Score hockey network. Steve is married to his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann, and they have two sons, Steven, 23 and Ryan, 21, both of whom were drafted to the Ontario Hockey League.
ANDREA GORSKI, PRESENTER fOR JUNE OLKOwSKIIn the four years that Andrea Gorski has been at the helm of the Concordia University’s women’s basketball program, the team has shattered the record books both in wins and individual achievements. Coming off a 23-11 record during the 2010-11 season and a first-ever trip to the NAIA National Tournament, the team responded this past year with a 29 win season and the first-ever regular season Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference title in program history. Coach Gorski’s Cardinals were ranked as high as 4th in the national polls, and for the second time in four years, Gorski was named WHAC Coach of the Year. Prior to her success at Concordia, Andrea served for 12 seasons as head coach at Livonia Ladywood High School, racking up an impressive 184-99 record, while earning
numerous Catholic League and Michigan Coach of the Year awards. As a player at Division I Bradley University, Gorski starred for the Braves for four seasons before graduating in 1992. In 1996, Andrea was inducted into the Bradley University Hall of Fame.
CHARLIE SANDERS, Presenter for Greg LandryCharlie Sanders has spent 39 years affiliated with the Detroit Lions organization, including 10 years as a player, seven as a broadcaster, eight as a coach, and the last 14 as a player personnel scout. Drafted by the Lions in the third round from the University of Minnesota in 1968, Sanders was the only rookie that season selected to play in the Pro Bowl and finished second to then-teammate Earl McCullough for NFL Rookie of the Year honors. One of the best tight ends of his era, Sanders caught 336 passes (fifth on the team’s all-time list) during his 10-year career (1968-77) for 4,817 yards. Many of those passes were thrown by the man he introduces tonight, Greg Landry. Sanders appeared in seven Pro Bowls, was twice named All-Pro and missed only 12 games during his career. Charlie is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2007 and is only the seventh tight end in NFL history to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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DINNER
SoupMushroom Noodle
SalaDTossed Green Salad with Ranch & Italian Dressing
Rye BreadENTREE
Breaded pork ChopsKielbasa & Kraut
Stuffed Cabbage with Tomato Saucepierogi (potato, Cheese, Kraut,and Meat)
poTaToReal Mashed potatoes
VEGETaBlEGreen Beans almandine
DESSERTRaspberry Sherbet
Coffee, Tea
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
o say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed, at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight, o’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night, that our Flag was still there. o say, does that star-spangled Banner yet wave o’er the land of the free, and the Home of the Brave?
JESZCZE POLSKA NIE ZGINELA
Jeszcze polska nie zginê³a, Kiedy my ¿yjemy. Co nam obca przemoc wziê³a, Szabl¹ odbierzemy.
Marsz, marsz, D¹browski,Z ziemi w³oskiej do polski.Za twoim przewodemZ³¹czym siê z narodem.
przejdziem Wis³ê, przejdziem Wartê, Bêdziem polakami. Da³ nam przyk³ad Bonaparte, Jak zwyciê¿aæ mamy.
Marsz, marsz...
oBIaD
ZupaZupa Grzybowa
SalaTaZielona Salata z Sosem Majonezowym i Wloskim
Chleb Zytni DaNIE GloWNEKotlet Schabowy
Kielbasa z Kapusta Golabki w Sosie pomidorowym
pierogi ( z ziemniakami, serem, kapusta i miesem) ZIEMNIaKI
ZiemniakiWaRZYWo
Zielone Fasolki z MigdalamiDESER
Malinowy Sorbet Kawa, Herbata
ENJOy DINNEr
JOIN US IN SINGING OUr NATIONAL ANTHEMS
NATIONAL POLISH-AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM40th Annual Induction Banquet Program
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TONIGHT’S LINEUPWElCoME JaMES p. CoNRaD Board Chairman, NpaSHF
MaSTER oF CEREMoNIES KaTRINa HaNCoCK WDIV-TV SpoRTS aNCHoR
aMERICaN aND polISH Sung by DEBRa FRoNTCZaK NaTIoNal aNTHEMS accompanied by ED paZ
MaTT DoBEK ToM KoWalSKISpECIal RECoGNITIoN aWaRD presented by Walt paliga accepted by Carol Kowalski
pRESENTaTIoN oF DaVID JaNSENSTaN MuSIal SCHolaRSHIp aWaRDS NpaSHF Board Member
INVoCaTIoN MSGR. STaNlEY MIlEWSKI Chancellor Emeritus, orchard lake Schools
DINNER MICHal (MIKE) SaMoSIuK american polish Cultural Center Chef MalGoRZaTa (MaRGaRET) WoJCIECHoWSKI american polish Cultural Center General Manager
pRESENTaTIoN oF 2012 INDuCTEE ToM lYSIaK presented by Steve ludzik player, Coach, author pRESENTaTIoN oF 2012 INDuCTEE JuNE olKoWSKI presented by andrea Gorski Head Women’s Basketball Coach Concordia university
pRESENTaTIoN oF 2012 INDuCTEE GREG laNDRY presented by Charlie Sanders Teammate / NFl Hall of Famer
popRaWINY (afterglow) uNTIl 11 p.m.
NATIONAL POLISH-AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM40th Annual Induction Banquet Program
46
NATIONAL POLISH-AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME
Matt Dobek Special Recognition awaRD
ToM KoWALSKiSome saw Tom Kowalski as gruff; a bit intimidating at times. But what one always got from Kowalski was honesty. There was no fluff, no hidden agendas. Kowalski went for the jugular when he dug for a story and when the story was finished you knew it came from the heart. He had a passion for sports and there was never any question where Kowalski stood on any topic. Kowalski, whose nickname was “Killer”, covered the Detroit Lions for 30 years, first with the Oakland Press and then with Booth Newspapers. His work with Lions broadcaster Dan Miller on FOX 2 and his guest appearances on WDFN AM 1130 brought Kowalski closer to his readers and added a face and a voice to a longtime beat reporter who loved his job. Kowalski died on Aug. 29, 2011 at age 51.
Oakland Press sports reporter Paula Pasche was deeply saddened, as many were, by Kowalski’s death. Pasche said the two started at the Oakland Press at the same time, 1978, and that it was Kowalski who showed her the ropes when Pasche moved to the sports department in the late 80s. “He was a close friend of mine, almost like a big brother,” Pasche said. “We were neighbors for many years and played many rounds of golf. He made me a better person and I miss him every day.” Kowalski won many awards and this year he’s a finalist for the Professional Football Writers Association’s McCann Award which is presented to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage. He was a voting member for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and since his passing the media rooms at the Lions’ Allen Park facility have been named in his honor. Born and raised in Farmington, Kowalski played basketball growing up and competed in a number of Gus Macker 3-on-3 tournaments. But Kowalski found his niche writing and talking about sports. “He was a writer from the day he was born,” his sister Carol Kowalski said. “He always had to have a newspaper. He went to the hospital one time and he made sure we brought him a newspaper to read. “He had an awesome sense of humor. He was always a skinny kid and I used to beat him up. Then he got older. I was into sports too, and one time we were playing football on the front lawn and there was about an inch of snow on the ground; that wet kind. By the time we got done all of the grass was gone. He got in trouble for that. He was older.” Kowalski earned the respect from his peers through his straight-forward reporting style. More times than not his would be the first question presented at a news conference. Miller began working with Kowalski in ‘97 and it was Kowalski who made helped Miller ease his way into the Detroit sports scene. “He was a guy you had to get to know,” Miller said. “He was the perfect mix of arrogance and humility. Everything was open with him. Tom did his job. He had this look that said, ‘I have something to say and you had better listen’. “If you had all of his charisma and personality, and didn’t have the information, it wouldn’t work. He was a natural. He was engaging. He was knowledgeable. But he was also like that guy on that corner stool in a bar. He was approachable. That was his charm. “He cared about his job, covering the Lions. He was competitive. With all of the beat writers in town, you had to be competitive.”
For his intense dedication, devotion, and service to sports, the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame proudly presents its 2012 Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award to Tom Kowalski.
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PAST RECIPIENTS SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD 1989 Mike Sitkowski Tony Lutomski
1990 Sue kruszewski Hardy Bernie witucki
1991 Joel Mason walt Bazylewicz
1993 John Gavie Dick Tracewski
1994 Bernie Holowicki Chet Jawor
1995 Dorothy kukulka Edward Zalucki
1996 Edith Glusac Mack Phillips
1997 Hank Gniewek Max kurland
1999 Hamtramck 1959 Little League world Champs
2000 Msgr. Stanley Milewski Greg Bzura
2001 Father Ted Blaszczyk Ron kalczynski
2002 Ted klamerus Ed Pett
2003 Matt Dobek Frank Suchyta
2004 Art Robbie George Barcheski
2005 Leo Obloy Chet kuskowski
2006 Ted Piascik
2007 Stan Drall
2008 Buck Jerzy
2009 Al Sobotka
2010 George Eichorn
Nikki Nemitz
2011 Joe kopicki
This photo, taken in 1993 at the 20th Anniversary of Stan Musial’s induction into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, captures (from left) Lillian Musial, Stan Musial, Ted Klamerus, Ed Pett, and Helen Pett enjoying the festivities on the campus of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s College, site of the first NPASHF museum. Sadly, Lillian Musial and Ed Pett both passed away within the past year, at the ages of 91 and 93, respectively.
This past December, the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame lost one of its founding members, with the death of Edmund Pett, at 93 years of age. Ed was truly one of the driving forces behind the NPASHF since its inception in 1973, serving as secretary of the organization for more than 30 years. Ed’s dedication, enthusiasm, and wonderful sense of hu-mor will be greatly missed.
In Memoriam
Ed Pett (1918-2011)
Founding Board Member 2002 Special Recognition
Award Winner
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Includes18 Holes of Golf with Power Cart
Continental Breakfast, Refreshments on the Course, Steak Dinner, Prizes
Agenda Continental Breakfast 8am - 9am Shotgun/Scramble 9am Buffet Dinner 2pm
LocationCracklewood golf Club
18215 24 Mile Rd. % Macomb, Michigan
For More Information Call Bob Kowalewski 248.528-1920 Wally Czechowski 586.754.1450
THE 34th ANNUAL GOLF OUTING
SUPPORTING THE NPASHF SCHOLARSHIP FUND
FRIDAy, August 17, 2012Golf Package: $99 per person
Edmund Browalski 1973 - 1974
Rev. Ted Blaszczyk 1975
Richard Gamalski 1976 - 1985
Donald Horkey 1986 - 1988Buck Jerzy 1989 - 1991
Board ChairmenNaTiONaL POLisH-amERiCaN
sPORTs HaLL Of famE
Raymond Rolak 1992
s. Nicholas frontczak 1993 - 1995Earl Ward
1996 - 1999Hon. Paul J. Paruk
2000 - 2006James P. Conrad
2007 -
In July, 2011, the NPASHF lost a true friend and dedicated supporter with the death of Art Robbie. In the photo above, taken at our 2011 Induction Ban-quet, Art (4th from left) poses with fellow Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award winners, Ted Klamerus, George Eichorn, Joe Kopicki, and Buck Jerzy
The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame Special Recognition Award, presented annually since 1989 to individuals who demonstrate “extraordinary dedication, devotion, and service to sports,” was re-named in 2011, in honor of our departed colleague, Matt Dobek, himself a recipient of the award in 2003. In the photo above, 2011 recipient Joe Kopicki accepts the award, presented to him by members of the Dobek family. Pictured (from left) are NPASHF Board Chairman Jim Conrad, 2011 recipient Joe Kopicki, Matt’s brother Mick Dobek, his mother Mary Ann Dobek, and brother Mark Dobek.
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DANNy ABRAMOwICZInducted June 11, 1992 Although he had set all kinds of records for pass-catching at Xavier University (120 catches, 1,685 yards, 14 touchdowns), he was regarded as too “small and slow” by
NFL scouts. Selected by the New Orleans Saints—420th out of 445 players picked in the 1967 NFL draft—Abramowicz parlayed grit and an uncanny ability to catch any ball thrown in his general vicinity into an outstanding nine-year career (1967-1975) as a wide receiver for New Orleans, San Francisco and Buffalo. He enjoyed his greatest success with the Saints, where he led the league in 1969 with 73 receptions for 1,015 yards and set a record for catching at least one pass in 105 consecutive games (1967-1974). He wound up his career with 369 receptions for 5,686 yards and 39 scores.
ANDy BANACHOwSkIInducted June 18, 2009
Andy Banachowski served as head coach of the UCLA woman’s volleyball team for 43 years. He has been part of 12 volleyball National Championships, including 6
women’s titles as head coach, 4 men’s titles as assistant coach, and 2 others as a player. In 1972, ’74, and ’75, Banachowski coached both the men’s and women’s teams to NCAA titles. For years he was an Olympic advisor, and in 1993 was head coach of the U.S. team for the World University Games that won the silver medal. In 2009, Banachowski coached the Bruins to their 11th consecutive 20-win season, bringing his career coaching record to an amazing 1106-301 (.786 winning percentage). He was inducted into the National Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1997.
PETE BANASZAkInducted June 9, 1990 A native of Crivitz, Wisconsin., where he starred in football, basketball and track, and a stellar running back for three years for the University of Miami (Florida), Banaszak played his entire 13-year pro
football career with the Oakland Raiders. Not a flashy runner, resembling more a bulldozer, Banaszak produced spectacular stats: 3,767 yards in 963 carries; 52 touchdowns (47 on short-yardage plunges, five on passes) and 121 receptions for 1,022 yards. He scored two TDs in the Raiders’ Super Bowl IX victory against Minnesota. In 1975, he tied O. J. Simpson for an NFL-leading 16 TDs.
JANE “PEACHES” BARTkOwICZInducted June 24, 2010
Peaches Bartkowicz, the 1960’s tennis phenom from Hamtramck, Michigan, began her rise to world tennis prominence by winning 17 age
group titles as a junior, including the Wimbledon Girls’ Singles title in 1964. Over the next seven years, Peaches dazzled the tennis world, earning three medals in the 1968 Olympics (one silver and two bronze), and a Fed Cup Championship in 1969, with a 7-0 record in Fed Cup singles play. In 1970, Bartkowicz combined with Billy Jean King to win the final (and deciding) doubles match against Virginia Wade and Winnie Shaw, clinching the Wightman Cup for the United States. As a professional, Bartkowicz won 14 tournaments, and achieved a world ranking of 8th in 1969. She has been inducted into the United States Tennis Association / Midwest Hall of Fame and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
STEVE BARTkOwSkIInducted June 10, 1993
The California native was a consensus All American quarterback at the University of California, leading the nation his senior year with 182 completions for 2,580 yards
and 12 touchdowns. The No. 1 player selected in the 1975 NFL draft, Bartkowski played 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before ending his career with Washington and the Los Angeles Rams, retiring in 1986. “Peachtree Bart” compiled outstanding individual records while Atlanta struggled mainly in mediocrity. In 1978, Bartkowski threw for a team-record 3,199 yards. In 1980, he passed for 31 TDs to lead the Falcons to its first divisional title. In 1981, he set a new team record with 3,830 yards. In 1983, he was the top-rated passer in the NFL: 274 completions for 3,167 yards, 22 TDs and just five interceptions. His career totals: a 56% completion rate (1,931 for 3,455), 24,122 yards and 156 touchdowns.
OSCAR BIELASkIInducted June 9, 2005
The son of a Polish immigrant who died in the Civil War as a captain in the Union Army, Bielski also joined the Union Army and learned to play baseball during lulls
between battles A true pioneer, in 1872 Bielaski became the first Polish American to play major league baseball when he joined the Washington Nationals of the National Association. In 1873 he played outfield for the Washington Blue Legs,
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leading the team in bases on balls and had a .283 batting average. He played with Baltimore Canaries in 1874 and then joined the Chicago White Stockings winning the first ever National League pennant in 1876. Baseball records show that his professional career ended after the 1876 season with a .243 lifetime batting average. Bielaski died in Washington DC in 1911 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
CAROL BLAZEJOwSkIInducted June 9, 1994
A natural athlete who outplayed boys during her All State high school days, she became a trail-blazer for women’s sports in the U. S. “Blaze” ended her four-year
(1974-1978) career at Montclair (N. J.) State as the leading scorer in women’s Division I college basketball history, scoring 3,199 points (31.7 career average per game). She scored 52 points in a game played at Madison Square Garden—still a single-game record for that venue—when Montclair State beat Queens College 102-91. Her awards and achievements were many including Collegiate Player of the Year in 1978, first team All American three straight years, captain of the U. S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team in 1980 (the year the U. S. boycotted the Games in Moscow), and MVP and scoring title honors in the professional ranks. She was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.
VINCE BORyLAInducted May 31, 1984
A basketball All American at both Notre Dame and Denver universities, Boryla went on to two decades of pro basketball success as a player, coach and general manager. The
East Chicago, Ind., native was a freshman All American at Notre Dame, and a member of the 1948 U. S. Olympic Gold Medal team in London. After the Olympics, Boryla enrolled at Denver where he was the nation’s fourth leading scorer. He played for five years with the New York Knicks in the NBA, later coached the team and served as its general manager and chief scout. He was the chief operating officer of the NBA’s Denver Nug gets.
ZEkE BRATkOwSkIInducted June 8, 1995
A native of Danville, Ill., Edmund Raymond “Zeke” Bratkowski turned down, at his father’s insistence, an offer to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers and headed for the
University of Georgia, where he set numerous conference and NCAA records in passing and punting. In 1952, as a junior, he led the nation in passing; the next year, as a senior, he led the country in punting with a 42.6 average. “Zeke” played 14 years in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams and, from 1963 to his retirement in 1971, the Green Bay Packers. Bartkowski and Bart Starr developed a close professional relationship. Bratkowski became known as “super sub” as the backup to Starr in the Packers’ 1967 and 1968 championship years. His career stats: 762 completions (51.2 percent) for 10,291 yards and 65 TDs, and a 38.7 average on 90 punts. Bratkowski has remained in the game for a number of years as a respected quarterback coach.
wALTER “TuRk” BRODAInducted June 9, 2005
Broda grew up in Manitoba and developed as a player in the Detroit minor league system. Acquired by the Maple Leafs in 1936 for $7,500, Broda went on to become
one of the greatest goalies of all time. He played all 14 seasons in Toronto (1936-52), his career briefly interrupted by a two year stint in the army. Loved by his teammates and fans for his outgoing style Broda twice won the Vezina trophy as the National Hockey League’s top netminder. He helped the Maple Leafs win five Stanley Cup Championships and he earned berths on three All-Star teams. Broda excelled in the playoffs with 13 shutouts in 102 games, posting a phenomenal 1.98 GAA. In 1967 Broda became the first person of Polish heritage to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
EDMuND BROwALSkIInducted June 3, 1982
Thee founder of the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame, “Big Ed” was a catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league system before becoming a
sports columnist and writer for over 40 years with the Detroit Polish Daily News. From 1973-1985, Browalski was the official scorer at Tigers Stadium. His last scorekeeping chore was the final game of the 1984 World Series. He was chairman
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and executive secretary of the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He also served as president of the Greater Detroit Bowling Association, Detroit Old Timers Bowling Association and the Bowling Writers Association of America. He died Jan. 3, 1985.
BOB BRuDZINSkIInducted June 9, 2005
A native of Freemont, OH Brudzinski played football at The Ohio State University from 1973-1976. During his years there he played on 4 Big Ten Championship Teams
and in three Rose Bowls and one Orange Bowl. The 6’4” 230 pound lineman was named a consensus All-American in 1976 and was a two-time all Big Ten selection. Brudzinski was a first round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1977 and played 13 years in the NFL – the first four with the Rams and the final nine with the Dolphins. Switching to linebacker in the pros, Brudzinski played in three Super Bowl games (with the 1979 Rams, the 1982 and 1984 Dolphins). It was with the Dolphins that he made his mark playing on the famed “Killer Bee” defense. He was Miami’s leading tackler and recorded over 600 career tackles. Brudzinski was named to the Dolphins Silver Anniversary team.
BILLy BuRkEInducted June 9, 2005
Born William Burkowski in Union City CT, Burke played on the PGA Tour with great success. His first tour victory came in his second year on tour winning the
prestigious North-South Open in 1928. Playing with a slightly unorthodox grip because of the loss of parts of two fingers on his left hand, Burke made golfing record books when he won the 1931 U.S. Open at Inverness in Toledo. He was the first person to win a major playing steel-shafted clubs and he did it by outdueling George Von Elm in a 72 hole playoff. It was the longest playoff ever played. He won 10 times on the tour and twice finished third in the Masters. Burke was also considered one of the finest Ryder Cup team members of his era being undefeated in Ryder Cup play in 1931 and 1933. He was inducted in the PGA Hall of Fame in 1966.
LEN CEGLARSkIInducted June 10, 1993
When he retired in 1992 after 34 years of coaching (14 at Clarkson, 20 at Boston College), Ceglarski was college hockey’s all-time winningest coach with a record of
673 victories, 339 defeats and 38 ties. An outstanding high school hockey player, Ceglarski went on to All American honors at Boston College, NCAA champs his sophomore year. The Massachusetts native began his coaching career at Clarkson University in upstate New York (the Knights made it to the NCAA title game twice), and was a member of the U. S. squad that won a silver medal in the 1952 Olympics. In 1972, he returned to his Alma Mater as head coach and compiled only three losing seasons in 20 years. His 1986-87 team set a school record with 31 victories and only nine losses. Many Ceglarski-coached players went on to the pro ranks. He was elected to the U. S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
STAN (kOwALEwSkI) COVELESkIInducted June 10, 1976
Coveleski won 214 games and lost 141 in a 14-year career in the American League, primarily with the Cleveland Indians.
Known as a perfectionist on the mound, Coveleski did not believe in striking out batters. “Why should I throw seven or eight times to a batter when I can get ‘em out with a single pitch?” he said. He pitched three complete-game victories, allowing five hits a game, in the 1920 World Series as the Indians defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers.
LOu CREEkMuRInducted June 7, 2001
Lou Creekmur was an All-Pro offensive lineman for Detroit who played in two divisional playoff games and four NFL championship contests for the Lions. Lou
was selected to eight consecutive Pro Bowl classics from 1950 through 1957. The former college star at William and Mary was a major part of the Lions’ NFL championship teams of 1952, 1953 and 1957. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
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JOHN (kRZyMINSkI) CRIMMINSInducted June 10, 1976
Crimmins thrilled bowling fans by sharing in every conceivable bowling title—team, doubles, singles and all-events in local, state and national competitions. The
1941 season was a particularly rugged test. In a stretch of eight weeks, he won four major tournaments in four states: the Buddy Bomar Classic in Dallas, the Skang Mercurio Singles Tournament in Cleveland, the first National All Star Tournament in Chicago (on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941) and the Rose Bowl Singles Classic in California. From 1936 through 1940, he averaged 215 for 45 games to win the Elks National Tourney. In four decades, he was a winner of nearly 100 bowling titles in major tournaments. Crimmons averaged 195 in 40 American Bowling Congress tourneys.
ZyGMONT CZAROBSkIInducted June 12, 1980
Johnny Lujack, Terry Brennan, Emil Sitko, John Panelli—to name a few—made the yardage and the headlines, but their paths to the end zone were strewn with the blood,
sweat and humor of linemen like Zygmont Czarobski. Coming out of Chicago’s Mt. Carmel High School, Czarobski played at Notre Dame before and after the war, helping the Irish win three national championships. In the last two post-war years of Czarobski’s career, Notre Dame won 17 and tied one, the storied deadlock with Army. Czarobski was a 1947 All American.
BOBBy CZyZInducted June 18, 2009
Bobby Czyz, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team, was prevented from competing that year in Moscow due to the U.S. boycott of those games.
Passing up numerous college scholarship offers, the 18 year old high school senior from Wanaque, New Jersey instead turned professional, promptly winning his first 20 fights as a middleweight. After moving up in weight, Czyz captured the IBF World Light Heavyweight Title in 1983 and the WBA Cruiserweight Title in 1991. In 1995, Czyz added the World Boxing Union Super Cruiserweight title to his long list of ring accomplishments. He retired from boxing with an impressive won-lost record of 44-8, with 28 knockouts. Following retirement, Czyz worked for the next ten years as a highly respected boxing commentator for the Showtime network.
TOM D’EATHInducted June 23, 2011
Tom D’Eath has excelled in the sport of hydroplane racing as a famed driver, designer, and builder. As a driver, he has won national championships in nearly
every class of hydroplane racing. He is the winner of three APBA Gold Cups (1976, ’89 and ’90) and added Prince Edward Canadian Gold Cup titles in 1974, ’76 and ’80. He remains the only three-time winner of both. In 1988, Tom was named APBA “Outstanding Driver” while piloting the famous Miss Budweiser. When he retired in 1991, D’Eath was sixth on the all-time list of unlimited victories with 16. He was inducted into the Unlimited Hydroplane Hall of Fame in 1997, the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Motor Sports Hall of Fame of America in 2000.
ART “PINky” DERASInducted June 23, 2011
In the annals of Little League Baseball, Deras is arguably the greatest player of all-time. The Hamtramck, MI team reached the World Series finals in 1959, having won
nine of ten tournament games by shutout. In the finals Deras tossed a one-hit, 5-0 shutout against Puerto Rico, hit a grand slam in a 7-1 victory over Hawaii, and threw a three-hit 12-0 victory over West Auburn, CA in the championship game. Deras’s single season pitching statistics were staggering: 18 starts, 18 complete game victories, 16 shutouts, 10 no-hitters, 298 strikeouts (only 26 outs in the field), and just 10 walks in 108 innings. At the plate he hit 13 home runs in 13 tournament games, giving him 33 for the season, along with 112 RBI and a .641 average. Two years later Deras led Hamtramck to the Pony League World Series Championship.
MIkE DITkAInducted June 7, 2001
Mike Ditka was an All-American tight end at Pitt before being drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears in 1961.“Iron Mike” was named Rookie of the Year and earned
All-Pro honors 6 consecutive seasons in his 12 year pro career. Ditka won a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys in 1970 and retired in 1972. Ditka then entered coaching with the Chicago Bears and was named NFL “Coach of the Year” in 1985 and 1988. Under Ditka, Chicago won the Super Bowl in 1985. Ditka is only one of two men to have won a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Ditka was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
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MOE DRABOwSkyInducted June 10, 1999
Born in Poland, Drabowsky’s parents moved to the United States when he was three years old. Moe fell in love with baseball as a youngster and went on a
17-year career (1956-72) in the major leagues. He oirginally signed out of Trinity College in Connecticut and began his pitching career with the Chicago Cubs. He later played for the Braves, Reds, Royals, Orioles, Cardinals and White Sox. Pitching mostly in relief, his lifetime record was 88-105. However, he racked up a ton of saves long before major league baseball began compiling this important statistic. Drabowsky’s greatest years were 1966 and 1970 when he helped the Baltimore Orioles win two World Series titles. He played a big role in the four-game sweep over Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970, winning game two with six and one-third innnings of brilliant relief work. The right-hander earned run average in the two Fall Classics was a phenominal 0.90. Drabowsky hurled two one-hitters in his career. In one of those near perfectos, the only hit came off the bat of fellow Polish Hall of Famer Ted Kluszewski of the Cincinnati Reds.
FOREST EVASHEVSkIInducted June 8, 2000
”Evy‘s“ a thle t ic career began a t Northwestern High School in Detroit and took him all the way to Iowa City, where he made his fame as head football coach
at the University of Iowa. In between he had an important stop in Ann Arbor and lettered in both baseball and football at the University of Michigan. During his three seasons for the Wolverines, Evashevski started all but four games at quarterback and was All-Big Ten each year. He gained his most fame as the blocking star for All-American running back Tom Harmon. For three seasons (1938-39-40) the duo led Michigan to 19 victories against only four losses and one tie. With Evashevski leading the way, Harmon went on to win the Heisman Trophy in their senior year. Evashevski turned down pro football to join the college ranks as a coach. He was an assistant at Michigan State for three years (1947-48-49) and then was named head coach at Washington State. After only two years at WSU he took over at Iowa. The rest is history as “Evy” led the Hawkeyes to Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl victories in 1956 and 1958. In nine seasons his Iowa teams posted a 52-27-4 won-lost-tied record. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
MARk “THE BIRD” FIDRyCHInducted June 18, 2009
Mark Fidrych, nicknamed “The Bird” due to his resemblance to a famous Sesame Street character, took the baseball world by storm in 1976. After getting his first
start in mid-May, Fidrych went on to compile a 19-9 record, with a 2.34 E.R.A. and 24 complete games. He was selected as the American League’s starting All-Star Game pitcher, was named A.L. Rookie of the Year, and finished 2nd in Cy Young Award balloting. Capturing the imagination of the country with his appearance, simple lifestyle, and on-field antics, Fidrych earned cover appearances on Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, and Rolling Stone magazine. After winning his first six starts the following season, Fidrych fell victim to a “dead arm” and managed only 10 victories over the next four years. He retired in 1981 at age 29, four years before it was determined that his arm problems were the result of an undiagnosed and untreated torn rotator cuff.
FRANk GATSkIInducted June 1, 1989
In 12 years playing professional football, Gatski snapped the ball as center in 11 champion-ship games, coming out on the winning side eight times. He played with
the Cleveland Browns (1946-1956) and ended his career the next year with the Detroit Lions. Seven of his rings were won with Cleveland (four in the All American Football Conference, three in the NFL); the eighth came in Detroit’s conquest of his former teammates in the 1957 title game. In 20 years of high school (in Farmington, W. Va.), college (two years at Marshall College, one year at Auburn) and pro football, Gatski never missed a practice, a game or even called a time-out. In 1985, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
MIkE GMINSkIInducted June 12, 2003
A 6-11 center, Gminski played 14 seasons in the NBA. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets as the seventh overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft. He had an outstanding
career at Duke where he was named ACC Player of The Year for the 1979-80 season. A two-time All American he’s the school’s all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker. Gminski played seven seasons for the Nets and averaged 16.4 points and 8.8 rebounds his final season there before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets made the NBA playoffs five times with Gminski in uniform. He averaged 16.9
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points and 10 rebounds his first season with the 76ers then averaged 17.2 points the next helping Philadelphia capture the Atlantic Division title. He’s one of a handful of NBA players to score more than 10,000 points and grab more than 6,000 rebounds.
TOM GOLAInducted June 23, 1977
The greatest basketball player in Philadelphia’s LaSalle High School, where he scored 2,222 points, Gola went on to similar “greatest ever” praise at
LaSalle College. He was named All American in each of his four years in college (1951-55), scoring 2,461 points and gathering 2,201 rebounds to lead LaSalle to a 102-19 record, the NIT title in 1951, the NCAA crown in 1952 and runner-up in the NCAA in 1955 to Bill Russell-led San Francisco. In a 10-year NBA career with the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knickerbockers, Gola led the Warriors to the world championship his rookie season, scored over 8,000 points and was named All Pro five times.
BILLy GOLEMBIEwSkIInducted June 4, 1981
The 5-foot-8 bowling star set an example of how little men can accomplish big things in sports. When he was but 20 years old, “Billy G.” had the nation’s highest average,
226.The Grand Rapids (Mich.) native was American Bowling Congress Masters Champion in 1960 and 1962. He won four Professional Bowlers Assn. tournaments in the 1960s, and was named to four No. 1 All American teams selected by bowling publications. He had five sanctioned 300 games. In 25 ABC tournaments, he averaged 200.
JIM GRABOwSkIInducted June 10, 1993
A hard-running fullback at Illinois, Grabowski became the Big Ten’s all-time rushing leader when he graduated with 2,878 yards. He rushed for 100-plus yards
in a single game a dozen times. An Academic All American in the classroom, Grabowski slashed for 125 yards and a touchdown to pace the Illini’s 1964 Rose Bowl victory over Washington and take the game’s MVP trophy. He collected two Super Bowl rings in a five-year career with the Green Bay Packers. Injuries ended his playing days in 1971.
STEVE GROMEkInducted June 4, 1981
A native of Hamtramck, Mich., where he played softball in high school and baseball on Detroit’s sandlots, Gromek was converted from an infielder to a pitcher
in the minors and went on to a 17-year career (1941-1956) in the American League with Cleveland and Detroit. He won 123, lost 108 and compiled a 3.41 ERA in 447 games. His greatest moment came in the 1948 World Series when he out pitched Johnny Sain before nearly 82,000 people at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium to give the Indians a 2-1 win over the Boston Braves. The game was played in one hour, 31 minutes.
CASS GRyGIERInducted May 31, 1984
Grygier began his bowling career in an auspicious way by rolling three 300 games within the first two years. A quiet person, he was a member of the Detroit Stroh’s
team that won the ABC tournament in Peoria, Ill. He and Phil Bauman won the international doubles title in Berlin, Germany, in 1936. He won the Petersen Classic in Chicago in 1942. Grygier, elected to the Detroit Bowling Hall of Fame in 1962, won nearly a hundred championships in city, state and midwest competitions.
ROBERT GuTOwSkIInducted June 12, 1980
Gutowski owned several California state high school pole vault records when he came to Occidental College, where he set a world mark of 15 feet, 8-1/4 inches in 1957.
At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, he won a silver medal with a vault of 14 feet, 1/2 inch, 11 inches below gold medalist Bob Richards. In addition to being one of the fine aluminum pole vaulters, Gutowski also was an outstanding long jumper and sprinter. He was killed in an auto accident Aug. 2, 1960.
JACk HAMInducted May 29, 1987
One of the great linebackers in pro football history, Ham played his entire gridiron career in his native state of Pennsylvania: high school in Johnston, All American at
Penn State, and 12 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was a member of four Super Bowl championship teams
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and was All Pro nine straight years. He intercepted 37 passes in his career, including 32 during the regular season, third highest in NFL history among linebackers when he retired in 1983. Ham was the only unanimous defensive choice on the NFL’s Team of the Decade for the 1970s.
LEON HARTInducted October 15, 1988
Between 1946 and 1957, Leon Hart’s gridiron accomplishments are awesome: won the 1949 Heisman Trophy; named All American three years at Notre Dame;
played on Irish teams that in four years never lost a game and won three national championships; helped the Detroit Lions to three NFL titles; and won All Pro honors in 1951 for defense AND offense. One of Hart’s memorable TD catches came in 1948 against Southern California.The prototype of the modern tight end, he took a short pass from (NPASHF 1997 inductee) Frank Tripucka and broke eight tackles enroute 40 yards to the end zone.
BOBBy HuRLEyInducted June 8, 2006
The son of legendary high school coach Bob Hurley, Sr., Bobby Hurley began playing basketball at an early age. Making up for his lack of size with quickness, great
ball handling skills and aggressiveness, Hurley starred under his fathers’ tutelage at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, where his teams posted an amazing four year overall record of 115-5. In his senior year, Bobby earned McDonald’s All-American honors, and led his team to a perfect 32-0 record and a number one national ranking. As the only point guard recruited by Coach Mike Krzyzewski that year, Bobby began a storied collegiate career at Duke University, which included records for the most assists in NCAA history (1076), most assists in NCAA tournament competition (145), and most NCAA tournament 3-pointers (42). He led the Blue Devils to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1991 and 1992, and was named Final Four MVP in 1992. Bobby was selected by the Sacramento Kings as the 7th overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft. A near-fatal car accident 19 games into his rookie season shortened his promising professional career, and he retired in 1998.
VIC JANOwICZInducted May 29, 1987
Still considered the most versatile player in Ohio State University football history, Janowicz was a triple threat: running as a halfback, passing and kicking, and
playing safety on defense. His greatest season came in 1950, his junior year, when he won All American honors and the Heisman Trophy. Janowicz was a rarity in professional sports, playing both baseball and football. He signed a bonus with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953. After two years during which he saw little action, Janowicz signed with the Washington Redskins. He was the NFL’s second-leading scorer for the 1955 season. His football career ended when he was severely injured in a near-fatal automobile accident. He died Feb. 27, 1996, in Columbus.
CHET JASTREMSkIInducted June 14, 2007
Earning All-American honors at Indiana University for three consecutive years (1961-1963), Chet Jastremski was considered the world’s premier breaststroker. Using
a narrow “whip” style kick that revolutionized the sport, Jastremski set 12 world records and 21 American records, while winning 16 National AAU Championships. He captured a gold medal at the 1963 Pan Am Games, and earned bronze in the 1964 Olympics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard breaststroke, Jastremski was named “Breaststroker of the Year” in 1965, 1966, 1970 and 1971. Having earned his medical degree at I.U., Dr. Chet Jastremski served as team doctor for the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team, and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1997.
STAN JAVIEInducted June 23, 2011
Stan Javie enjoyed a remarkable 30-year career as an official in the National Football League. From 1951 until his retirement in 1980, Stan was considered to be one
of the NFL’s premier officials, despite being one of the few on-field officials to wear eyeglasses. As a back judge, Javie officiated in four Super Bowls (Super Bowl II, VIII, X and XIV), becoming one of the first NFL officials to achieve such a distinction. His last game worked prior to his retirement was Super Bowl XIV in 1980. Stan’s son Steve, who carried on the high officiating standard set by his father as a highly-respected National Basketball Association referee, refers to his father
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as “a man with great integrity and conviction…the greatest teacher of officiating I have ever come across.”
RON JAwORSkIInducted June 13, 1991
An outstanding high school quarterback in the Buffalo area and at Youngstown State, “The Polish Rifle” carved himself a niche as one of the game’s top quarterbacks in
17 years of pro football, 10 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He completed 2,187 of 4,117 passes for 28,190 yards and 179 touchdowns. In 1980, Jaworski was named NFL Player of the Year for leading Philadelphia to a 12-4 record and the NFC title. He tossed 27 TD passes and had only 12 interceptions in 451 attempts.
MIkE kENNInducted June 8, 2006
Born in Jackson, Michigan and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Mike was recruited as a 206 pound offensive lineman by the University of Michigan in 1974. Twice
named All Big Ten (1976 and 1977), Kenn helped the Wolverine to three Big Ten Championships and appearances in the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and two Rose Bowls. Growing to 6 feet 7 and 286 pounds, he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft. He starred in the NFL for 17 seasons (1978-1994), all with the Falcons, and holds the team record for most games started with 252. During his entire professional career, he missed only nine games due to injury. A punishing blocker, Mike earned the respect of his peers, being named to five consecutive Pro Bowls from 1980 to 1984.
STANLEy (kIECAL) kETCHELInducted May 31, 1984
Few men in boxing stirred the emotions as did Ketchel. Turning pro at the age of 16, bull-strong and cat-quick, Ketchel twice won the world middleweight champion-
ship. He KO’d “Twin” Sullivan in the first round in February 1908, lost the title to Billy Papke the following September, but regained it in November 1908 from Papke. One of Ketchel’s most memorable battles was a 20-round draw with Jack Sullivan in Butte, Mont., in 1906. In 1909, he took on heavyweight champ Jack Johnson, who enjoyed a 36-pound advantage. Ketchel had the champ on the floor, but Johnson rose to KO Ketchel with what is described as one of the most vicious punches ever thrown in boxing. In 61 bouts, he scored 46 knockout victories and lost only four times. Ketchel,
who was admitted to boxing’s Hall of Fame in 1954 and to Michigan’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1959, was shot to death on a Missouri farm in 1910.
BETSy kINGInducted June 8, 2000
Golf’s Betsy King became only the sixth woman to be inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. She is a superstar on the pro golf circuit and
already a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association Hall of Fame. The Pennsylvania native has won six major championships, including two U.S. Opens, and is one of the game’s leading money winners with career earnings of more than $6.5 million. Before turning pro, Ms. King led Furman University to the Women’s NCAA golf championship in 1977. She has 34 pro tournament victories and was named “Rolex Player of the Year” three times. Ms. King also has been named to five Solheim Cup teams, the women’s equivalent to the men’s Ryder Cup squad.
JOE kLECkOInducted June 10, 1999
Joe Klecko, who grew up in a blue collar town near Philadelphia (Chester, Pennsylvania) was a truck driver, boxer and semi-pro football player (under the name
Jim Jones) before he began his collegiate career at Temple University. Because of his strength and speed as a middle guard at Temple, Klecko was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the NFL draft. He led the league’s rookies that season with eight sacks. Klecko, at 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, was the first member of the “New York Sack Exchange,” which became the most feared defensive front four in the early 1980s. In 1981 Klecko finished the season with 20-1/2 sacks, was named to his first Pro Bowl team and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He has played defensive end and tackle, plus nose guard, and was the first NFL player to be named to the Pro Bowl at three different positions. Klecko played much of his career for fellow Polish Hall of Famer Walt Michaels, who took over the Jets in 1977 and turned a struggling team into a contender. They made it to the AFC championship game in 1982, only to lose to Miami, 14-0, on a rain soaked field. Injuries to both knees ended his career in 1988 after one season with the Indianapolis colts.
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EDwARD kLEwICkIInducted June 3, 1982
Born in Pittsburgh but reared in Hamtramck, Mich., where he starred in baseball and foot-ball, Klewicki went to Michigan State University, where he was an All American
defensive end and the Spartans’ MVP in 1934. He was a member of the 1935 world champion Detroit Lions, the first year of a four-year NFL career.
TED kLuSZEwSkIInducted June 13, 1974
At Indiana University, burly Ted Kluszewski concentrated on football, where he achieved Big Ten honors as an end. But he turned his attention to baseball in 1946 when he
signed with Cincinnati. Two years later, he began a 14-year major league career at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels. He enjoyed his greatest success in his 10 seasons with the Reds, so much so that he was voted first baseman on the “Greatest Reds Team Ever” by sports fans in Cincinnati. He hit .300 or better seven years in a row, had five seasons of 100 RBI or more, and in 1954 led the NL with 49 homers and 141 RBI. Traded to the White Sox in 1959, he helped the team to the World Series, where he established a Series record for a six-game set of 10 runs-batted-in (he hit three homers and batted .391).
CASIMIR (JIM) kONSTANTyInducted June 12, 2008
Armed with a wicked slider and change-up, Jim Konstanty pitched for five teams during his 13-year major league career (1944-1956), while compiling a career record of
66-48, with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games. As a relief specialist for the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies “Whiz Kids”, Konstanty appeared in a then-record 74 games, winning 16 and earning 22 saves, as the Phillies captured the 1950 National League pennant. Konstanty added 15 strong World Series innings that year, with a 2.40 ERA against the powerful New York Yankees. For his remarkable efforts in 1950, Konstanty was elected to the NL All-Star team, received the AP Athlete of the Year and The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Awards, and became the first relief pitcher to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award. To this date, only three other relievers (Rollie Fingers, Willie Hernandez, and Dennis Eckersley) have ever received this honor.
kRISTy kOwALInducted June 24, 2010
Kristy Kowal, a standout swimmer for the University of Georgia from 1997-2000, led the Lady Bulldogs to NCAA Team Championships in 1999 and 2000.
She was the first woman in SEC history to win conference titles in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke four years in a row. A three-time Academic All-American, Kowal won eight individual NCAA Championships, and in both 1999 and 2000 was named NCAA “Swimmer of the Year.” In the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Kowal won the silver medal in the 200 meter breaststroke. She set one world record and eight American records, and was the first female in U.S. history to win a world championship in the 100 meter breaststroke. Kristy was named the 2000 NCAA Woman of the Year, a prestigious title based upon both academic and athletic achievement, as well as community service.
wLADEk “kILLER” kOwALSkIInducted June 14, 2007
Standing 6’ 7” and weighing 275 pounds, “Killer” Kowalski is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. During a career that began in 1947 and continued
for thirty years, Kowalski competed in more than 6,000 bouts. Along the way, he amassed a phenomenal number of professional titles, including numerous National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Championships, 8 International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) Championships, a WWWF World Tag Team Championship (with Big John Studd), a U.S. Tag Team Championship (with Gorilla Monsoon), and many more. Renowned for his quickness and agility, despite maintaining a reputation as one of the most vicious and fearsome of all professional wrestlers, Kowalski has been inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame, The Ring Chronicle Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Hall of Fame.
MIkE kRZyZEwSkIInducted June 13, 1991
Duke University’s basketball program—since his arrival in 1980—has the indelible Coach K brand: 11 straight seasons of at least 23 wins (1984-1994), 14 upper-
division finishes in the past 15 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference, five straight NCAA Final Four berths, and in 1991 and 1992, back-to-back national titles, the only coach
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since John Wooden to do that. During the Krzyzewski era, Duke has averaged 24 wins a season. A native of Chicago, Krzyzewski was a three-year letterman at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. His former Army coach, one Bobby Knight, offered him an assistant coaching position at Indiana. One year later, Krzyzewski returned to West Point, where in five years he had a 73-59 record and a pair of NIT appearances. Krzyzewski was an assistant coach of the 1992 U. S. Olympic Team in Barcelona. His Duke Blue Devils won another NCAA title in 2001.
TONy kuBEkInducted June 3, 1982
Kubek had outstanding success in the minor leagues before moving up to the New York Yankees in 1957 to begin a nine-year career (1957-1965), all with New York. A stellar
utility infielder, Kubek batted .297 and won the American League Rookie of the Year honors. He chose the third game of the 1957 World Series before his hometown fans of Milwaukee to hit two home runs in a game for the first time in his pro career. Kubek batted .266 for his career in 1,092 games. He went into sports broadcasting after his retirement from baseball.
ALAN kuLwICkIInducted June 7, 2001 Alan Kulwicki worked his way from local Wisconsin dirt tracks to the NASCAR circuit, and earned the Winston Cup rookie of the year honor in 1986. He was unique
in NASCAR in that he was a college-educated northerner in a field dominated by southern “good ol’ boys,” as well as the owner of his own team. In 1988 Kulwicki won his first Winston Cup race and celebrated by taking what he called “my Polish victory lap.” Kulwicki drove around the track in the opposite direction to give him the opportunity to wave to the crowd from the driver’s side, a move that is now copied by many NASCAR drivers. In his career Kulwicki won 5 Winston Cup races and had 10 pole positions. He died in a plane crash on April 1, 1993, just months after winning the prestigious 1992 Winston Cup Championship.
MITCH kuPCHAkInducted August 8, 2002
Born in Hicksville, N.Y., Kupchak is now the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. Between then and now Kupchak was named ACC Player of the year in 1976
with North Carolina and helped the USA win a gold medal that same year. He was selected 13th overall in the NBA draft by the Washington Bullets and played 10 seasons in the NBA winning two NBA titles with two different teams (Bullets, Lakers), one of 22 players to do so. After the Lakers won the 2000 NBA title, Jerry West retired and Kupchak replaced West as GM. At 6-foot-9, Kupchak complimented such NBA greats as Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, James Worthy and Magic Johnson.
BOB kuRLANDInducted June 13, 1996
Bob Kurland—basketball’s first great seven-footer—was too tall 50 years too soon. Although he led Jennings High in St. Louis to two state finals, college coaches
didn’t want to take the time to develop tall players—except Henry Iba, who offered Kurland a scholarship at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). Iba transformed his giant into a scoring threat. Kurland responded by scoring a then-season record 643 points, including 58 in a game against St. Louis University, and leading the Aggies to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1945 and 1946. He was selected All American three years in a row. Kurland also played on the U. S. Gold Medal-winning Olympic teams in 1948 and 1952. He rejected an offer to play in the newly-formed NBA and played for six years for Phillips 66ers, leading the team to three Amateur Athletic Union championships. He assumed full-time executive duties with Phillips Petroleum uponretirement.
GEORGE “wHITEy” kuROwSkIInducted October 15, 1988
The native of Reading, Pa., joined the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 1941 season, remaining with the team through 1948 as a stellar third-baseman until an arm
injury prematurely ended his career. Kurowski batted .300 or better his last three full seasons. He also hit 20 or more homers in three seasons. Kurowski played in the 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946 World Series. He was the hero of the ‘42 Series: tripling in the second game to give the Cards a 3-0 lead, scoring the winning run in Game 3, driving in two runs in a six-run rally leading to a Cards’ victory in Game 4, and slamming a ninth inning, three-run homer in the fifth game that won the world championship for the Cards over the New York Yankees.
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FRANk kuSHInducted July 18, 1998
Kush capped a brilliant collegiate football career in 1952 by being named an All-American as his Michigan State team went undefeated in nine games and won
the National Championship. A native of Windber, PA., Kush played his first two seasons as a 5-foot-9, 185 pound defensive lineman as the Spartans compiled won-lost records of 8-1 and 9-0. He played both offense and defense in his senior season and was selected to play in three post-season bowl games-the North-South in Miami, Senior in Mobile and the college All-Star classic in Chicago. Kush then turned his attention to coaching football and only six years later, at age 28, was named head coach at Arizona State University. In 22 seasons (1958-79) he guided the Sun Devils to 176 wins, only 54 losses and one tie. His teams were unbeaten in 1970 and 1975 and had only one losing season. He was named “Coach of the Year” in 1975. He was later elected into the national Football Foundation College Hall of Fame. Kush ventured into professional football as coach of the Hamilton Tigercats of the Canadian League. He went to the Baltimore Colts as head man in 1983 and 1984 and moved with the team to Indianapolis in 1985. Kush concluded his coaching career with one season (1986) with the Arizona Outlaws of the USFL.
BOB kuZAVAInducted June 12, 2003
Kuzava, who was born and still lives in Wyandotte, Mich., a suburb of Detroit in the what is known as the downriver area, began his big league career with the
Cleveland Indians but he made his name, thanks, in part, to an injury, with the New York Yankees. In early ’51 Kuzava was property of the Washington Senators. The previous season he suffered a torn Achilles tendon and, following surgery, he was on crutches when the Senators traded him to the Yankees for three pitchers and $100,000. A starter all his career, Kuzava was moved to the bullpen by the Yankees because they needed a lefthander. It is with the Yankees that Kuzava saved Game 7 in the ’51 and ’52 World Series, the only pitcher in history to save back-to-back Game 7s. In ’51 he retired the Giants with the bases loaded and in ’52 he set down the last eight Dodgers. He pitched 12 seasons in the majors (1946-57) for 8 teams. He ended his career with the St. Louis Cardinals appearing in 213 games with a 49-44 record and a 4.05 ERA.
TED kwALICkInducted June 9, 2005
Kwalick, born in Pittsburgh, became a star at Penn State University. For his three year career as a tight end he caught 86 passes for 1,343 yards and 10 touchdowns all
Penn State records. Kwalick was the school’s first two-time All-American (1968, 1969). He helped lead the Nittany Lions to a perfect 11-0 record and a victory in the Orange Bowl in 1969. Selected seventh overall in the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Kwalick quickly made an impact. He made the NFC Pro Bowl three straight seasons (1971-73) playing in three NFL West Championship games. In 1972, Kwalick scored nine touchdowns and averaged an amazing 18.8 yards per catch. After six seasons with the 49ers he played his last three years with the Oakland Raiders. In 1977 the Raiders beat the Vikings in Super Bowl XI giving Kwalick his Super Bowl ring. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
CHRISTIAN LAETTNERInducted June 12, 2008
Christian Laettner is widely considered one of the greatest college basketball players of all time. During his four-year collegiate career at Duke University,
Laettner averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and twice earned All-American honors while leading the Blue Devils to consecutive NCAA Championships in those years. He is the only player in NCAA Tournament history to start in four consecutive “Final Fours.” In 1992, Laettner was voted College Basketball Player of the Year, and was selected third overall in the1992 NBA Draft. He was the lone college player selected to the original 1992 “Dream Team” which captured the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. During his 13-year NBA career, Laettner played for five teams, and averaged 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. He was named to the 1992-93 NBA All Rookie team, and the 1996-97 All-Star team.
EDMuND (LOPATyNSkI) LOPATInducted June 8, 1978
Lopat pitched for seven years in the minors before he made it to the majors in 1944 with the Chicago White Sox. Four years later, he was traded to the New York Yankees, where
he remained for eight years, posting a 109-51 record. He led American League pitchers in 1953 with a 16-4 mark and a 2.43 ERA. In five World Series games during 1949-1953, he won four games and had a 2.60 ERA. His 12-year career showed
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166 wins and a 3.21 ERA. Lopat’s reputation as a “junk man” was fueled by his trickery on the mound, fooling batters with a variety of slow, slower and slowest throws. He managed the Kansas City A’s in 1963.
STAN LOPATAInducted June 12, 1997
Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1946 out of the Army for $15,000. Was sent to Terre Haute, Indiana, Three-Eye League. In 1947 he went to Utica, NY,
the Eastern League, where he was voted the League’s Most Valuable Player. In 1948 he went to Toronto, Canada, to the International League. In 1949 he went to the Phillies, and was a member of the Phillie Whiz Kids that won the pennant in 1950. Was voted to two All-Star teams in 1955 and 1956. Was traded to the Milwaukee Braves in the Spring of 1959. Stan still holds the record for hitting the most homers (32), most triples (7), doubles (33) and the most RBIs (95) in one season for a right hand hitting Phillie catcher in 1956. Was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Retired from baseball in 1960. Resides in Mesa, Arizona.
EDwARD LuBANSkIInducted June 8, 1978
The Detroit native started bowling when he was 12 years old. At 16, he had a 191 average in a Detroit All Star league. Lubanski won the world invitational crown in Chicago in
1958 and followed up with four titles in the 1959 American Bowling Congress tournament in St. Louis. He was “Bowler of the Year” in 1959 and named to the All America Bowling Teams in 1958 and 1959. Lubanski posted 11 sanctioned 300 games, including a pair back-to-back on a live TV show in Florida. His lifetime ABC average was 202.
JOHNNy (LuCZAk) LuJACkInducted June 8, 1978
A native of Pennsylvania, Lujack was an All American quarterback who led Notre Dame to national titles in 1946 and 1947.
In 1943, as a sophomore, he replaced QB Angelo Bertelli, who left for the service, five days before the Army game. Lujack tossed two TD passes, ran for another to pace the Irish to a 26-0 triumph. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1947 and was named “Athlete of the Year” in 1947 by the Associated Press. Lujack was also voted the top college QB of the quarter-century. He led the NFL in passing as signal-caller for the Chicago Bears.
GREG LuZINSkIInducted June 1, 1989
During a 13-year major league career (nine with the Philadelphia Phillies, four with the Chicago White Sox), “The Bull,” who turned his massive back on 150 college
football scholarships his senior year to sign with the Phillies, utilized his compact 235-pound framework to hammer 307 home runs and knock in 1,128 runs. His lifetime batting average was .276. He had a career-high year in 1977 with the Phils: a .309 average, 39 roundtrippers and 130 RBI. In 1983, his 32 homers—including three on or over the roof at old Comiskey Park—set a White Sox team record for the designated hitter. Luzinski played in two World Series, with the 1980 Phillies and 1983 White Sox, and in four All Star Games.
JANET LyNN (NOwICkI)Inducted June 9, 1990
The Illinois native won her first national figure ice skating championship, the U. S. Junior title, in 1966 as a 4-foot-6, 80-pound, 12-year-old. Two years later she made the
U. S. Winter Olympic Team. In 1969, the pixie-ish blonde won the first of five consecutive U. S. National titles. In world competition, she captured a bronze medal in 1972 and a silver in 1973. In the 1972 Olympics at Sapporo, Janet won the bronze medal on the strength of a dazzling exhibition of free skating. A reporter for the London Observer wrote: “Janet Lynn’s free skating was one of those rare occasions when sport is lifted into the realms of art.”
TED MARCHIBRODAInducted June 10, 1976
A top collegiate quarterback at St. Bonaventure (where he set conference records on offense and passing) and the University of Detroit (where he led the
nation with 1,813 yards in total offense in 1952), he went on to play four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League before an arm injury ended his career in 1957. He has been in pro coaching since 1961: as an assistant with Washington, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Buffalo, and as head coach of the Baltimore Colts (1975-79, including three consecutive AFC East championships), Indianapolis Colts (1992-1995) and, the Baltimore Ravens (1996-1999).
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BILL MAZEROSkIInducted June 14, 1979
After two-and-a-half seasons in the minors, Mazeroski joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 where he remained a fixture in the Pirates infield for 17 years. At the
age of 21, he was named to the first of seven All Star teams. Mazeroski was selected as Player of the Year in 1960 and the winner of the Babe Ruth Award as the outstanding player of the memorable 1960 World Series. He led off the bottom of the ninth in the seventh and deciding game with a home run to give the Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series championship over the New York Yankees. He won eight Gold Glove awards. Pittsburgh’s fans voted him the “greatest Pirate second basemen ever” and his World Series home run the “most memorable moment” in Pirates’ history. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
BARNEy McCOSkyInducted June 8, 1995
From Day One of his 11-year pro career, Barney McCosky was an impact player. He batted a sizzling .447 in his first nine pro games, and ended his rookie season
(1939) with a .311 average, 190 hits, 120 runs and a .986 fielding average, sparking intense debate over who deserved Rookie of the Year honors: the rangy McCosky or Boston’s Ted “Splendid Splinter” Williams. McCosky defied the sophomore jinx in 1940 to have a career season: a .340 average with 200 hits, including 39 doubles and 19 triples. After three years in the service with the Navy, he rejoined the Tigers, but was traded to Philadelphia for George Kell. Ironically, it was in Detroit that McCosky suffered a back injury that was the start of the end of his career.The A’s came in to play the first night game at Tiger (then Briggs) Stadium on June 15, 1948. McCosky crashed into the wall chasing a hit by Dick Wakefield. McCosky amassed a .312 average in his career with Detroit, Philadelphia A’s, Cincinnati and Cleveland. He died in 1996.
LOu (MAJkA) MICHAELSInducted June 9, 1994
A star lineman on offense and defense, Michaels also served as a kicking specialist for seven teams: two high school, one college and four professional. A left-footed
kicker, he did it all: kickoffs, extra points, field goals and punting. The native of northeastern Pennsylvania was a two-time All American (1956, 1957) at Kentucky, and was the
only lineman (until 1966) named conference MVP. Michaels excelled as a three-way performer for 13 years in the NFL on four different teams: Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Baltimore Colts, where he enjoyed his greatest success for six seasons (1964-1969). He finished his career with 955 points, all but eight coming off his left toe (he scored a touchdown with an intercepted pass and sacked a QB for a safety). He was named All Pro in 1962 and 1963 and played on the Colts’ 1969 squad against the New York Jets in the Super Bowl. He was elected into the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
wALT (MAJkA) MICHAELSInducted June 12, 1997
The seventh of eight children of Polish immigrant parents, the Pennsylvania native excelled both as player and coach in professional football. After graduating from
Washington and Lee College in Virginia, where he played fullback, guard and linebacker, Michaels (brother of Lou, see item above) played 11 seasons (1951-1961) and coached for 20 years (1962-1982). He was linebacker on a pair of NFL championship teams and five division winners for the Cleveland Browns, and was named to four straight Pro Bowls (1957-1960). Michaels was the secondary and linebackers coach for the 1969 New York Jets that pulled a stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. In 1972, he started a 10-year stretch as head coach of the Jets, being named Coach of the Year in 1978 and leading the team to the 1982 AFC championship game.
RED MIHALIkInducted June 13, 1996
The first game official inducted by the NPASHF, Mihalik had a remarkable career that spanned 40 years, including working six NCAA tournaments, three NIT
tournaments and two Olympics—1964 in Tokyo and 1968 in Mexico City. He worked some games in the NBA, but preferred the amateur and collegiate ranks. He was named the best basketball official in the United States in 1951. Mihalik’s officiating career started quite by accident one snowy evening in his native Ford City, Pa. When referees were delayed by a winter storm, Mihalik was “volunteered” to officiate. He discovered he enjoyed it, and later decided to pursue it as a career after his high school playing days were over. Michalik died in 1996.
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DICk MODZELEwSkIInducted June 5, 1986
“Little Mo” has spent almost his entire life in football. From high school stardom in Pennsyl-vania, he went to All American honors at the University of Maryland,
capped his senior year by receiving the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top lineman in 1952. He played 14 seasons (1953-1966) in the NFL, including for six conference winners and two championship teams—the 1956 New York Giants and the 1964 Cleveland Browns—and the 1964 Pro Bowl. He was a member of the Giants’ famed “Fearsome Foursome.” He was defensive coach for two decades at Cleveland, the Giants, Cincinnati, Green Bay and Detroit. Cincinnati played in the 1981 Super Bowl and was ranked No. 1 defensively in the 1983 season.
MIkE MuNCHAk Inducted June 12, 2003
In 2001 he became the 27th offensive lineman to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Munchak played offensive line from 1982-93, all with the Houston
Oilers. A devastating run blocker he earned nine Pro Bowl appearances and was named to the All-Pro team in ’87, ’88 and ‘89. He made the second team from ‘83-85 and from ‘90-93. Munchak was named to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team. He played fullback and linebacker at Scranton (Pa.) Central High then went to Penn State where he played center and guard and earned All-American honors. He started every game his senior season and in ’82 was the Oilers’ No. 1 draft pick. One of four Oilers to have his jersey number (63) retired.
STAN MUSIALInducted June 14, 1973
The first inductee into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame and one of the heroic figures in major league baseball, “Stan the Man” compiled a career .331
batting average in 22 seasons (1941-1963), all with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Donora, Pa., native started out as a pitcher in the minors, but an arm injury forced his move to the outfield. At the time of his retirement, Musial set and/or tied 60 major and National League records. He was MVP in 1943, 1946 and 1948. Musial won seven batting titles, including a career-high .376 in 1948. He batted .317 in 20 All Star Games. Musial established a fantastic coincidence: the same number of hits at home—1,815—as on the road.
JOE NIEkROInducted June 11, 1992
In a 21-year major league career with seven teams (Chicago Cubs, San Diego, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, New York Yankees, Minnesota), Niekro posted a 220-203
record, including back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1979 and 1980 for the Houston Astros, for whom he played 10 years. In the 1980 league championship, Niekro hurled 10 innings of shut-out ball against Philadelphia. Employing the knuckler they learned from their father, Joe and his brother Phil (see next item) combined for 539 victories, more than any other brother combination in professional baseball history. In games they pitched against each other, Joe has a 5-4 advantage. In addition, the only home run Joe ever hit in the majors came against Phil in 1979.
PHIL NIEkROInducted June 9, 1990
Paralyzing batters with his fluttering knuckleball, Niekro won 318 games (the 19th player in big-league history to reach the 300 plateau) in 24 seasons with the
Atlanta Braves (20 years), New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians—despite only winning 31 games by the age of 30, meaning he averaged 15.9 victories a year for the last 18 years of his career! He retired in 1987 at the age of 48. He won 20 games or more three times, including 23 in 1969 to lead Atlanta to the NL West Division crown. He threw a no-hitter in 1973, and in his career, also had one 1-hitter and nine 2-hitters. A remarkably durable athlete, Niekro pitched more than 1,000 innings over three seasons (1977-79). Disdaining vigorous exercise, he spent his free time fishing or dancing the polka.
TOM NOwATZkEInducted June 12, 2008
A three-way threat at Indiana University (running back, linebacker, and place-kicker), Tom Nowatzke earned All-Big Ten honors in 1964, while leading the Big Ten
in rushing, and scoring an IU record 73 points. Nowatzke was voted a First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, and played in the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl, and Coaches All-American Game that same year. In the 1965 pro football draft, he was the first round pick of the Detroit Lions and also the AFL New York Jets. Nowatzke played a total of five seasons with the Lions
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before being traded to the Baltimore Colts in 1970. Tom was the leading rusher in Super Bowl V, and scored the game-tying touchdown as the Colts went on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13. He was inducted into the Indiana University Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
ED OLCZykInducted June 10, 2004
At age 18, Olczyk was the youngest player in the NHL after being selected 3rd overall by the Blackhawks in the ’84 entry draft. A gifted playmaker with speed and
a quick release this talented center played 16 seasons for the Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, Jets, Rangers, Kings and Penguins. He played 1031 games, scored 342 goals and collected 452 assists for 794 points. In ’94 Olczyk was a member of the Rangers first Stanley Cup team in 54 years. He played for the U.S. National and Olympic teams in 1983-84 and was the youngest member of the Olympic team. After a stellar playing career Olczyk was named coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
wARREN ORLICkInducted June 9, 1983
Orlick has attained an international recognition as golf ’s “Mr. Rules,” a professional and the “teacher of teachers.” A golf professional for over 50 years, he
was the 1960 “Pro Golfer of the Year” for his all-around ability and contributions to the game. He has served on the tournment committee of every major golf tourney for four decades: the Masters, PGA Championship, U. S. Open, Ryder Cup and PGA Seniors.
BILL OSMANSkIInducted June 23, 1977
“Bullet Bill” Osmanski, a high school All State fullback in Rhode Island, starred for nationally-ranked Holy Cross College in 1936-1938. The Crusaders won 23, lost 3
in that span. Osmanski was named an All American his senior year. He moved on to pro football with the Chicago Bears after George Halas convinced him that he could study dentistry at nearby Northwestern University. In his rookie season, he led the NFL in rushing with 699 yards in 121 carries. He played on four world championship teams in his seven-year career with the Bears. Osmanski died in 1996.
DANNy OZARkInducted June 24, 2010
Danny Ozark (Orzechowski) began his managerial career in 1956, following a playing career in the Brooklyn Dodgers system. Ozark honed his trade under the
tutelage of Walter Alston, while serving for eight years as a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1973, Ozark was hired to manage the last-place Philadelphia Phillies. Showing steady improvement for three years, Ozark’s Phillies broke through in 1976 with a club-record 101 wins, to capture the first of three consecutive National League East Division Championships (1976, ’77 and ’78.) In 1976, Ozark was selected as Major League Manager of the Year by the Sporting News, and also earned the Associated Press National League Manager of the Year award. Ozark’s career managerial record with the Phillies stands at a solid 594-510
TOM PACIOREkInducted June 11, 1992
One of four brothers to play professional baseball, Paciorek chalked up a .282 average in an 18-year career (1970-1987) with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta,
Seattle, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets and Texas. His career-best year came in 1981 at Seattle when he batted .326, second-best in the American League, and played in the All Star Game. Down the September stretch in 1983, he hit well over .400 to lead the White Sox to the American League West Division championship. He finished the year at .307 (his third straight year at .300 or better) and a team-leading .462 slugging average. An All American in football and baseball at the University of Houston, Paciorek played shortstop on the Hamtramck (Mich.) 1961 Pony League world champions. Paciorek broadcasts on the Atlanta Braves television network.
BILLy (PACZkOwSkI) PACkERInducted October 15, 1988
Regarded as one of the most knowledgeable basketball broadcasters in the business, Packer’s love for the game blossomed at Wake Forest University where he led the
Deacons to two Atlantic Coast Conference titles and into the Final Four of the 1962 NCAA tournament. He scored a career 1,316 points. His broadcasting career started in 1970 doing high school football games. He made the big time five years later when NBC hired him for the NCAA regional playoffs.
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FRANk (PAJkOwSkI) PARkERInducted June 4, 1981
Born in Milwaukee, a quiet but persistent tennis player who adopted a business-like approach to the game, Parker ranked among the top ten U. S. players for 17 consecutive
years, 1933-1949. Among his accomplishments: a member of the Davis Cup team five times, U. S. doubles champion in 1943, U. S. singles champion in 1944 and 1945, twice French singles champion and once in doubles, Wimbledon doubles champ in 1949, U. S. clay court singles champion five times and once in doubles, and in 1948 ranked No. 1 in the world.
JOHN PAyAkInducted June 3, 1982
A high school All State selection in Ohio, Payak moved on to Bowling Green University where he was a starting guard his freshman year and, using an assortment
of one-handed jump shots and two-handed set shots, scored nearly 1,000 points in four years at BGU. He closed out his college career with 17 points against Bradley in the NIT consolation game. Payak played pro ball (1949-1954) with Philadelphia and Milwaukee, and also with the Toledo Mercurys, the traveling team with the Harlem Globetrotters. For 17 years, he refereed basketball in the Big Ten and Mid-American conferences and NCAA tournaments.
RON PERRANOSkIInducted June 9, 1983
The New Jersey native was one of the premier relief pitching specialists in the major leagues from 1961 to 1973, posting a 79-74 record, 179 saves and a 2.79
ERA in 737 games covering 1,237 innings. He pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and California Angels. He led the National League in games pitched in 1962 and 1963. His top winning season was 1963 when he had a 16-3 record and 1.67 ERA for the Dodgers. He remained in baseball after his playing days as a pitching coach.
FRANk PIEkARSkIInducted June 9, 2005
Piekarski was a four year letter winner for the University of Pennsylvania from 1901 to 1904. The first Polish American to be named All-American, he was named
to Walter Camp’s third team All-American team, and was a consensus All-American in 1904. A guard, Piekarski helped lead the Quakers to a 12-0-0 record in 1904. Playing in an era with no helmets, mouthpieces or faceguards the game itself was far different than modern football. There were few restrictions on what linemen could do to opposing players. His Penn team was so dominant that it shut out 11 of 12 opponents and outscored its opposition by a combined score of 222-4. Piekarski’s team was widely acclaimed as national champions.
JOHNNy PODRESInducted August 8, 2002
Named World Series MVP in 1955, Podres defeated the Yankees, 2-0, in Game 7 to give the Brooklyn Dodgers their first world championship. Podres pitched 15 seasons
in the major leagues posting a 148-116 record and a 3.67 ERA. He competed in four World Series and had a 4-1 record with a 2.11 ERA. More than a World Series hero, Podres led the National League in ‘57 with a 2.66 ERA and six shutouts. In ‘61 his winning percentage of .783 (18-5) also led the league. He pitched for the Tigers late in his career and was 3-1 in ‘67 when Detroit finished a game out of first.
JACk QuINNInducted June 9, 2006
Born John Quinn Picus in Janesville, PA, Jack spent his early years working as a coal miner. In 1909, at the age of 24, he became the first Polish-American to play major
league baseball since Oscar Bielaski. He went on to pitch for 23 seasons in the major leagues with eight different teams. Quinn relied mainly on the spitball, being one of the major league pitchers allowed to continue using the spitter after the pitch was outlawed in 1920. He won 247 games and lost 218, with an ERA of 3.27. Quinn helped pitch the Yankees to their first pennant in 1921, and aided the A’s to two successive flags is 1929-30. Quinn played until he was 50 years old, playing his last game on July 7, 1933. Among his many records were oldest player to win a major league game (49), start a World Series game (46), finish a World Series game (47), and hit a home run (47).
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ROD REEDInducted June 9, 2005
Born in LaPorte, IN Reed was a three sport star in high school. Basketball was his first love so he turned down a bonus offer to sign a baseball contract and accepted a basketball scholarship from the University
of Notre Dame. A 6’6” forward, he averaged 19 points and 14.3 rebounds a game for his career (1962-65). Along the way he set the Notre Dame single season rebounding record averaging over 17 a game. Drafted in the third round by the Detroit Pistons he played two seasons and averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Reed was also drafted by the Milwaukee Braves playing both sports for two years then decided to devote full time to baseball. He pitched 17 seasons in the Majors with the Braves, Cards, Phillies and White Sox. A starting pitcher for the early part of his career he was converted to a relief pitcher in 1976 when he was traded to Philadelphia. He saved game two for the 1980 World Series Champ Phillies. He ended his career in 1984 with 146 wins, 140 losses and 104 saves.
BILL ROMANOwSkIInducted June 23, 2011A third round draft pick by San Francisco in 1988 out of Boston College, Romanowski went on to a 16 year career in the NFL playing for the 49ers, Eagles, Broncos and Raiders. The tough, hard-nosed linebacker
played in 243 consecutive games, an NFL record at that position, winning 4 Super Bowl Championships. He was the only linebacker to start five Super Bowl Games and is only one of three players to win back to back Super Bowls with two different organizations. A fanatic regarding training and conditioning, Romo earned a reputation for aggressive play, and did not miss a game in his entire16 year career. A two-time Pro Bowl selection he ended his career with Oakland in 2003.
JENNy ROMATOwSkIInducted June 10, 1999
For a little Polish girl out of Wyandotte, Michigan, Romatowski has traveled the world during her outstanding athletic career as a player and coach in three sports–softball, baseball and field hockey.
While in high school she played on the top fast-pitch softball teams in the Detroit area and then signed with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1946. She played in the league for nine years until it folded after the 1954 season.
Romatowski was named the league’s all-star catcher and led the Kalamazoo Lassies to the AAGPBL championship. The right-handed hitter had a .258 batting average that year with a career high six homeruns. She also saw action at third base and in the outfield. Romatowski later graduated from Eastern Michigan with a degree in physical education and then taught for 28 years. A natural athlete, she then took up the sport of field hockey and a few years later earned a spot on the United States National team and was chosen to play on an All-Star team that toured Europe several times in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Romatowski was later active as a coach and administrator, rising to first vice president of the U.S. Field Hockey Association. Her most recent endeavor has been breeding and racing greyhound dogs in Florida.
MARk RyPIENInducted June 8, 2006
A standout, three sport all-state athlete at Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Washington, Rypien went on to star at Washington State University, where he earned All Pac-10 honors in 1984. In
30 career games at WSU, Rypien passed for 4,573 yards, and amassed a total of 5,101 yards in total offense, ranking him second in the school’s history in both categories. The Associated Press awarded him All-America honorable mention in both 1984 and 1985. In the 1986 NFL Draft, Mark became the sixth round selection of the Washington Redskins. Two years later, he became the Redskins’ starting quarterback. Pro Bowl appearances in 1989 and l991 highlighted Rypien’s outstanding professional career, which lasted a total of fourteen years. Following the 1991 season, he was named NFL Films and Football News NFC Player of the Year, and was named to the NFL All-Pro first team. His proudest moment came in the 1992 Super Bowl, when he led the Redskins to the NFL Championship. In that game, he passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns, and was named as the Most Valuable Player.
RAy SADECkIInducted June 14, 2007
Breaking into the major leagues as a nineteen-year old on May 19, 1960, Ray Sadecki began an impressive career that continued for 18 seasons (1960-1977).
Pitching primarily with the Cardinals, the Giants, and the Mets, Sadecki established a career won-lost record of 135-131, while logging 1,614 strikeouts in 2500 innings pitched. His career ERA stands at a solid 3.78. During his entire major league career, the durable left-hander was never placed on the disabled list, nor did he ever miss a scheduled start. The 1964 season
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was perhaps Sadecki’s most memorable, when he compiled a 20-ll regular season record, leading his St. Louis Cardinals to a National League title. He started the first and fourth games of the ’64 World Series, as the Cardinals triumphed in seven games over the powerful New York Yankees. Sadecki returned to the fall classic again in 1973, working four games in relief as a member of the New York Mets.
NORBERT (SZyMANSkI) SCHEMANSkyInducted June 14, 1979
The Detroit native won his first world weightlifting title in 1951 in Milan, Italy. He reached the pinnacle of his success
during his mid-30s, an age when most weightlifters have reached the point of steady decline. He gained international acclaim following his success at four different Olympic Games—1948, 1952, 1960, 1964—coming through with a gold, a silver and two bronze medals. During his career Schemansky would win three World Championship titles; 1951 in Milan, Italy, 1953 in Stockholm, Sweden and 1954 in Vienna, Austria. Schemansky was also runner-up three times. He was a Pan American games champion and won nine national titles. In total he won over 300 trophies and set 26 world records.
TOM SESTAkInducted June 14, 2007
Drafted out of McNeese State as a tight end in the 17th and final round of the 1962 draft, Tom Sestak went on to become one of pro football’s great defensive linemen.
At 6’ 4” and a “lean” 272 pounds, Sestak used his speed, strength and agility to become the cornerstone of the Buffalo Bills 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship teams. As a rookie, Sestak was selected to the AFL All-Star Team, and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. He earned All-AFL honors for four consecutive years (1962-1965), before chronic knee injuries slowed, and eventually ended his career in 1968. He has been named to the AFL Hall of Fame, the Buffalo Bills Silver Anniversary Team, and to the first team All-Time AFL Team. Many experts consider him one of the greatest defensive linemen ever to play the game.
ANN SETLOCkInducted June 9, 1983
Long hours of practice paid off for Setlock with over 40 championships, either
individually, doubles or in team competition. She bowled a sanctioned 300 game and a dozen 700-series, including a then-Michigan record 776. She was a member of two WIBC team champions in 1958 and 1959. Setlock was Michigan match game champion in 1958-1959; member of the Michigan team champions in 1956, 1960 and 1963; and Michigan all-events champion 1967-68. Setlock finished seventh in the World Invitational Tournament in 1958 and tenth in 1962. She won numerous Detroit city titles. Ann was elected into the Detroit Women’s Bowling Hall of Fame in 1979, Michigan Women’s Bowling Assocation Hall of Fame and the Indiana, Pa Sports Hall of Fame.
ALETA RZEPECkI-SILLInducted June 12, 2008
Competing on the Pro Bowlers Tour for 22 years, Aleta Rzepecki-Sill was the first woman bowler to earn $1 million in a career. From 1980 to 2001, Rzepecki-Sill won
a total of 31 LPBT-PWBA tour events, including the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1998. She was the LPBT-PWBA prize money leader six times, from 1983-86, and again in 1993 and 1994, while being named as a WIBC All-American on eight separate occasions. Aleta was chosen by her peers as the tour’s “Player of the Year” in 1984, and was selected by the Bowling Writers Association of America as “Bowler of the Year” in 1984 and 1985. She is the only bowler, male or female, to win pro bowling’s Triple Crown twice. She has rolled 31 perfect 300 games, and a high series of 815. She was elected into the Professional Women Bowlers Association Hall of Fame in 1998.
AL (SZyMANSkI) SIMMONSInducted July 24, 1975
Al Simmons was known as “the slugger who made Milwaukee famous.” He moved up from the sandlots to the majors in 1924 with the Philadelphia A’s, where he hit .300
or better for 11 straight seasons. He was American League MVP in 1929 and won back-to-back league batting crowns in 1930 (.381) and 1931 (.390). Traded in 1932 to the Chicago White Sox, Simmons batted over .300 for two seasons until slumping somewhat and finishing his career with Detroit, Washington, Boston Braves and Cincinnati. He compiled a .334 lifetime average. He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1953. Simmons died May 26, 1956, in Milwaukee.
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BOB SkORONSkIInducted June 8, 2000
After lettering three years as an offensive lineman at Indiana University, where he never missed a game and served as a co-captain, Skoronski joined the Green Bay
Packers in 1956. He played one season and then missed the next two while serving in the U. S. Army. A more mature Skoronski returned to the pros and Coach Vince Lombardi immediately inserted him as the team’s starting left tackle. The 6-foot-3 250-pounder filled the position for the next 10 years and was the offensive team captain. During Skoronski’s tenure the Packers won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls ever played. After Green Bay won the first Super Bowl he was named to the Pro Bowl squad. He also has been inducted into the Indiana University and Green Bay Packer Halls of Fame.
wILLIAM SkOwRONInducted June 12, 1980
Skowron went to Purdue on a football scholarship, but baseball became his career when, in his sophomore year, he batted .500 for a Big Ten record that held up for
a decade. He signed with the New York Yankees in 1950, but didn’t arrive in the majors until 1954. For the next seven seasons, the Yankees won seven league pennants and four World Series championships. In 1963, Skowron was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for a fifth World Series champ when LA swept the series from the Yankees. In 14 seasons (1954-1967), “Moose” Skowron compiled a .282 batting average, hit 211 home runs and batted in 888 runs in 1,658 games.
STANLEy STANCZykInducted June 13, 1991
Reared in the tough Polish neighborhoods on Detroit’s west side where he took up weight-lifting as a matter of survival, Stanczyk went on to win the first of six
consecutive world titles in 1946, taking the 148-pound lightweight title in Paris. He successfully defended his title the next five years: 1947 (as a middleweight) through 1951 (as a 181-pound light-heavyweight). In the 1948 Olympics in London, he won the Gold Medal, following up with a Silver Medal in the 1952 Helsinski Olympics. He won bronze medals in world competition in1953 and 1954 before retiring. Stanczyk opened a bowling alley in Miami, Fla. He approached
that sport with the same intensity as he did weightlifting. He rolled over 20,000 games, averaging 190.
PETE STEMkOwSkIInducted August 8, 2002
Played 15 seasons in the NHL and totaled over 600 points. He played four seasons with the Red Wings but remembers the 1966-67 season best; that season he
played on his only Stanley Cup winning team, the Toronto Maple Leafs in what was the final season of the original six. Nicknamed “the Stemmer,” Stemkowski ended his career with the Rangers and now is a broadcaster for the San Jose Sharks.
HANk STRAMInducted May 30, 1985
An athletic star in Gary, Ind., Stram earned four letters in baseball and three in football at Purdue University. Immediately upon graduation, he began his coaching career, as
an assistant on the college level at Purdue, Southern Methodist, Notre Dame and Miami (Florida). In 1960, he was named head coach of the Dallas Texans in the new American Football League and guided the Texans to the 1962 championship. He followed the team to Kansas City when it became the Chiefs in the NFL. The Chiefs lost to Green Bay in Super Bowl I in 1966, but four years later defeated Minnesota for the Super Bowl title. In 17 years of pro coaching, his record was 131-97-10. Stram became a popular radio and television football analyst.
DICk SZyMANSkIInducted June 9, 1994
Few played football with the intensity of Dick Szymanski. Among his accolades: All American in football and All City in baseball at Libbey High School in Toledo;
four-year starter at linebacker at Notre Dame (1951-54) and for the Irish’s 1953 national champs; in a 13-year pro career, all with Baltimore, he was All Pro three times and played on three championship teams, ending his career in Super Bowl III in 1969. In 1962, he switched from linebacker to center and became known as “Johnny Unitas’ center.” He was named center on the Colts Silver Anniversary Team in 1977. After his retirement, Szymanski remained with the Baltimore organization for 14 more years as scout, personnel director, coach and executive vice president and general manager. He was executive director of the NFL Alumni in 1991-92.
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FRANk SZyMANSkIInducted June 8, 1995
An All State lineman at Detroit’s Northeastern High School, Szymanski anchored the line for Frank Leahy’s 1943 Notre Dame team, playing center on
offense and linebacker on defense. Returning from service in the Navy’s aviation program, Szymanski re-enrolled at Notre Dame in 1944 the week of the Army game. And although he hadn’t played football in nearly two seasons, he played 58 minutes in that contest, and 173 of 180 minutes in the Irish’s last three games of the schedule. The Detroit Lions’ No. 1 draft choice in 1945, Szymanski played five years in the NFL, including center on the Philadelphia Eagles’ 1948 world champions. Szymanski served as Probate Court Judge in Detroit from 1959 until his death in 1987.
GEORGE SZyPULAInducted May 30, 1985
In the first 38 years of the sport at Michign State University, only one man served as its head coach: George Szypula. His squad was co-champs (with Illinois) of the
NCAA tournament in 1958. Spartan gymnasts have taken 18 individual NCAA titles and 45 Big Ten honors. A star gymnast in his own right at Temple, Szypula dominated the sport from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. He has served his profession in a number of leadership roles in national associations.
FRANk TANANAInducted June 13, 1996
The California Angels’ No. 1 pick in the 1971 baseball free agent draft out of Detroit Catholic Central High School, Tanana also had to decide from among more than
100 college basketball scholarships. He chose baseball, and the lefthander with a sizzling fastball hurled 21 years in the major leagues and finished with a 240-236 won-lost record and a 3.66 ERA. He notched 2,773 strikeouts to rank among the all-time leaders for left-handers. Tanana pitched for the Angels, Boston, Texas, Detroit, New York Mets and New York Yankees. In 1979, he fired a complete game 4-1 victory over Kansas City in the American League playoffs to give the Angels their first-ever post-season victory. Tanana pitched Detroit to a 1-0 win over Toronto on the last day of the 1987 season to clinch the AL East Division crown and complete an unbelievable seven-game year-end Tigers’sweep of the Blue Jays, each game decided by one run.
BOB TOSkIInducted May 29, 1987
One of nine children of immigrant Polish parents, Toski’s greatest moment on the pro golf tour was winning the World Championship of Golf in 1954, one of
seven tournament victories he claimed between 1953 and 1958. He retired from the tour in the early 1960s to concentrate on teaching, giving more than 100,000 lessons to many leading golfers and to scores of celebrities. Pound-for-pound, Toski—a dripping-wet 125 pounds at his peak—was considered one of the longest drivers in golf history. He initiated the Golf Digest instructional schools, has written three books and produced a video on golf.
ALAN TRAMMELLInducted July 18, 1998
Trammell played his entire major league baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. A native of San Diego, the slick-fielding shortstop played only a year and a half in
the minor leagues and was called up to the bigs late in 1977. He singled in his first at bat and finished 20 years later with another single. Trammell appears in the Tiger’s Top Ten in almost every offensive category. Only Al Kaline, Ty Cobb, Lou Whitaker and Charlie Gehringer played in more games in a Tiger uniform than did Trammell. He appeared in 2,293 games, finished with 2,365 hits, 1,231 runs scored, 185 homeruns and 1,003 runs batted in. Defensively, “Tram” won four Gold Glove awards and was named to the American League All-Star team six times. He batted .300 or better seven times. In 1987 Trammell lead the tigers to the AL East title by batting .343 with a career-high 28 homers and 105 RBIs. That year he became the first Tiger with 200 hits and 100 RBIs in the same season since Kaline in 1955. In the 1994 World Series, in which Detroit beat the San Diego Padres in five games, Trammell was named Most Valuable Player by hitting .450 on nine hits, including two homeruns.
FRANk (TRyPuCZkA) TRIPuCkAInducted June 12, 1997
A strong-armed, drop-back passer, the New Jersey native, after three years at Notre Dame (1946-1948) where he led the Irish to a 9-0-1 record in 1948, moved on to a
15-year career in professional football (1949-1963): four in the NFL (Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals), seven in the Canadian Football League (Saskatchewan Roughriders) and four in the AFL as QB for the Denver Broncos. He held all the Broncos’
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passing records until John Elway came along—except one that will never be broken: Tripucka threw the first touchdown pass in AFL history.
kELLy TRIPuCkAInducted June 8, 2000
Kelly followed Frank at Notre Dame and they became the first father-son to be inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. While Frank was a
star quarterback at ND and in the pros, basketball was Kelly’s sport. He was a four-year starter for the Fighting Irish, an All-American as a senior and is the fourth highest scorer in the school’s history. Tripucka was a first-round selection of the Detroit Pistons in the 1981 NBA draft and played 10 seasons in the pros. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 21.6 points a game during his five seasons in Detroit and was a clutch scorer, twice being named to the prestigious All-Star team. Tripucka later played for the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets. Tripucka held the Detroit single-game scoring record of 56 points from 1983 until 2001.
ED (TyRANSkI) TySONInducted June 13, 1974
Hustle, speed, bat control: these were the characteristics of Ed Tyson during a 20-year career with the famed Briggs Beautyware teams in Detroit’s softball circles. He led
Briggs to two “World Series of Softball” titles, in 1937 and in 1948. Briggs won the metro Detroit title 13 times in 16 years and four regional trophies. In the twilight of his career, he batted an amazing .615 in the world tournament in Texas.
JOE VERDEURInducted June 18, 2009Joe Verdeur was a four-time NCAA All-American swimmer (1946-50) from LaSalle University. Twice named Sport Magazine Swimmer of the Year, Verdeur set 21 American and 19 World records between
1948 and 1950. In 1948, Verdeur was named NCAA “Swimmer of the Year”, and also captured a gold medal in the 200m breaststroke at the Summer Olympic Games in London. Legendary sports writer Grantland Rice called Verdeur “the greatest swimmer of the 1st half century.” Verdeur was a charter inductee into the LaSalle University Hall of Athletics, was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966, and the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1975.
STELLA (wALASIEwICZ) wALSHInducted June 13, 1974
One of the world’s great woman athletes, Walsh at one time held 61 world and national track and field records. Emigrating to the U. S. from Poland when she was 10,
Walsh was a high school track sensation in Cleveland. She moved to New York City in 1929 to continue her training and running success. In 1929, she represented the Polish Falcons at the World Pan-Slovanic Track and Field Championships in Poznan, Poland. She won three dashes. In the summer of 1930, Walsh ran the 100 yards in 10.8 seconds—the first time a woman had ever broken 11 seconds for that distance. She wore Poland’s colors in the 1932 Olympics, winning the gold medal in the 100-meter dash.Walsh died on Dec. 4, 1980, in Cleveland, Ohio.
AL (wATRAS) wATROuSInducted June 14, 1979
Michigan’s most-titled professional golfer, in 1922, he won the Canadian Open and the first of nine Michigan PGA titles (to go along with seven runner-up finishes in
his career). At 23 he was the youngest to win the Michigan PGA and, at 55, the oldest when he won his ninth title in 1954. Watrous won three state pro-amateur titles. He also won six Michigan Open titles, the last in 1950 when he carded 70-70-70-69 for a nine-under 279 total. Watrous three-putted three of the last four holes to barely lose to Bobby Jones in the 1926 British Open. He was a member of the 1927 and 1929 Ryder Cup teams. Watrous won the U. S. Senior Pro championship in 1950, 1951 and 1957, and the World Senior Pro crown in 1957. He had 13 holes-in-one during his pro career.
STEVE wISNIEwSkIInducted June 10, 2004
A three year starter and two-time All-American guard at Penn State, Wisniewski played in 3 Bowl games and on the ’86 National Championship Fiesta Bowl team.
Drafted in 1989 bye Oakland he spent 13 seasons in the NFL all with the Raiders. Born in Rutland, VT but raised in Houston, TX the 6’4”, 300-lb. lineman missed only one game in the pros. A vicious competitor, Wisniewski earned a reputation as never letting up on any play. This type of intensity led him to being named to the NFL All-Rookie team and to 8 Pro Bowls, tied for most in Raider history. A devout Christian, Wisniewski became a licensed minister after his playing days.
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ALEX wOJCIECHOwICZInducted July 24, 1975
He was the center on Fordham University’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite” in the late 1930s, playing alongside another great name in football, guard Vince Lombardi.
A No. 1 draft choice by the Detroit Lions in 1938, “Wojie” earned the “Iron Man” tag, playing on offense and defense for more than eight years. His seven passes intercepted in 1944 established a Detroit team record at the time. In 1946, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles where he played linebacker exclusively on the Eagles world champion teams in 1948 and 1949. “Wojie” retired after 13 years in the NFL. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
TEDDy yAROSZInducted June 9, 2005
Yarosz, born in Pittsburgh in 1910, was the second of eight children. After his father died Teddy quit high school to go to work to support the family. After
a great amateur career Teddy turned professional in 1929, fighting first as a welterweight and later as a middleweight. Yarosz reached the pinnacle of his great career when he won the World Middleweight Championship in 1934 with a decision over Vince Dundee. His tenure as champion of the 160-pound division ended abruptly a year later when he suffered a torn cartilage in his knee. Moving up to fight as a light-heavyweight he recorded some of his most impressive victories. He finished his 13 year career (1929-42) with a record of 106-18-3 and was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998.
CARL yASTRZEMSkIInducted June 5, 1986 Often called the consummate professional, “Yaz” starred for 23 years (1961-1983) for the Boston Red Sox, compiling a lifetime .285 batting average with 452 home runs
and 1,844 runs-batted-in. He won the American League triple crown in 1967 with a .326 average, 44 home runs and 121 RBI—the last player to do so (as of the 1997 season). He was the league’s MVP that same year. In his career, he played in 3,308 games, had 3,419 hits, 452 home runs and 1,844 RBI (and, coincidentally, 1,844 walks). He was the first American League player to produce 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. He won the Gold Glove award seven times and was selected 18 times for the All Star Game.
TONy (ZALESkI) ZALEInducted July 24, 1975
Born in Gary, Ind., Anthony Florian Zale, who could take a punch as well as deliver one, won the world middleweight boxing championship twice, in 1940 and 1948.
His bouts with Rocky Graziano are legendary in the annals of boxing. Nearly 40,000 people were at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 27, 1946, to witness Zale defend his title against Graziano by knocking him out in the sixth round of a bloody, savage bout. The rematch occurred on July 16, 1947, at a sold-out Chicago Stadium and, ironically, Graziano TKO’d Zale in the sixth round of another raucus fight. Zale died in 1997.
STANLEy (CyGANIEwICZ) ZBySZkOInducted June 9, 1983
Born in Poland in 1881, Zbyszko was considered among the top three foremost wrestlers in the world. He was more than a mere muscle-man; he was one of the most
cultured sportsmen who ever lived. Zbyszko was a graduate of the University of Vienna, a lawyer, musician, philosopher, poet, master of 11 languages and the inventor of the tilt-top exercise table. After conquering some of the world’s greatest professionals in Europe, Zbyszko came to the U. S., where he continued his winning ways, culminating in the world professional wrestling title by defeating Ed “Strangler” Lewis in 1921. He successfully defended the title three times in the next 12 months, only to lose it to Lewis in a rematch, and then regain it in 1925. He retired from wrestling at the advanced age of 54, leading some to call Zbyszko the eighth wonder of the world—the grand old man of wrestling. He died in 1967 in St. Joseph, Mo.
RICHIE ZISkInducted June 10, 2004
A Brooklyn native, Zisk was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 1967 amateur draft. A three-time minor league home run champ he was called up to
the majors in 1971. Zisk played for the Pirates, White Sox, Rangers and Mariners in a 12 year career. The 6-1, 208-lb. right hander batted .286 with 1,477 hits, 207 home runs and 792 RBI’s. A two-time All-Star, Zisk was chosen as the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 1981. He played in two National League Championship Series with the Pirates and had a career post-season batting average of .400. Zisk is now a minor league hitting instructor with the Chicago Cubs.
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Hall of Famers by SportBASEBALL (32) *Oscar Bielaski (2005) *Stan Coveleski (1976) Art “Pinky” Deras (2011) *Moe Drabowsky (1999) *Mark “The Bird” Fydrich (2009) *Steve Gromek (1981) *Ted Kluszewski (1974) *Casimir (Jim) Konstanty (2008) Tony Kubek (1982) *Whitey Kurowski (1988) Robert Kuzava (2003) *Eddie Lopat (1978) Stan Lopata (1997) Greg Luzinski (1989) Bill Mazeroski (1979) *Barney McCosky (1995) Stan Musial (1973) *Joe Niekro (1992) Phil Niekro (1990) *Danny Ozark (2010) Tom Paciorek (1992) Ron Perranoski (1983) *Johnny Podres (2002) *Jack Quinn (2006) Ron Reed (2005) Jenny Romatowski (1999) Ray Sadecki (2007) *Al Simmons (1975) *Bill Skowron (1980) Frank Tanana (1996) Alan Trammell (1998) Carl Yastrzemski (1986) Richie Zisk (2004)
BASKETBALL (11) Vince Boryla (1984) Carol Blazejowski (1994) Michael Gminski (2003) Tom Gola (1977) Bobby Hurley (2006) Mike Krzyzewski (1991) Mitch Kupchak (2002) Bob Kurland (1996) Christian Laettner (2008) *John Payak (1982) Kelly Tripucka (2000)
BOXING (3) Bobby Czyz (2009) *Stanley Ketchel (1984) *Teddy Yarosz (2005) *Tony Zale (1975)
FIGURE SKATING (1) Janet Lynn (1990)
FOOTBALL (39) Danny Abramowicz (1992) Pete Banaszak (1990) Steve Bartkowski (1993) Zeke Bratkowski (1995) Bob Brudzinski (2005) *Lou Creekmur (2001) *Ziggy Czarobski (1980) Mike Ditka (2001) *Forest Evashevski (2000) *Frank Gatski (1989) Jim Grabowski (1993) Jack Ham (1987) *Leon Hart (1988) *Vic Janowicz (1987) Ron Jaworski (1991) Mike Kenn (2006) Joe Klecko (1999) *Ed Klewicki (1982) Frank Kush (1998) Ted Kwalick (2005) Johnny Lujack (1978) Ted Marchibroda (1976) Lou Michaels (1994) Walt Michaels (1997) Dick Modzelewski (1986) Mike Munchak (2003) Tom Nowatzke (2008) *Bill Osmanski (1977) * Frank Piekarski (2005) Bill Romanowski (2011) Mark Rypien (2006) *Tom Sestak (2007) Bob Skoronski (2000) *Hank Stram (1985) Dick Szymanski (1994) *Frank Szymanski (1995) Frank Tripucka (1997) Steve Wisniewski (2004) *Alex Wojciechowicz (1975)
BOWLING (6) *Johnny Crimmins (1976) *Billy Golembiewski (1981) *Cass Grygier (1984) *Eddie Lubanski (1978) Ann Setlock (1983) Aleta Rzepecki-Sill (2008)
GOLF (5) *Billy Burke (2005)
Betsy King (2000) *Warren Orlick (1983) Bob Toski (1987) *Al Watrous (1979)
GYMNASTICS (1) George Szypula (1985)
HOCKEY (4) *Walter Broda (2005) Len Ceglarski (1993) Ed Olczyk (2004) Pete Stemkowski (2002)
MOTOR SPORTS (2) *Alan Kulwicki (2001) Tom D’Eath (2011)
SOFTBALL (1) *Ed Tyson (1974)
SPORTS JOURNALISM (2) *Ed Browalski (1983) Billy Packer (1988)
SPORTS OFFICIATING (2) *Stan Javie (2011) *Red Mihalik (1996)
SWIMMING (1) Chet Jastremski (2007) Kristy Kowal (2010) *Joe Verdeur (2009)
TENNIS (1) Jane “Peaches” Bartkowicz (2010) *Frankie Parker (1981)
TRACK & FIELD (2) *Bob Gutowski (1980) *Stella Walsh (1974)
Volleyball (1) Andy Banachowski
WEIGHTLIFTING (2) Norbert Schemansky (1979) *Stanley Stanczyk (1991)
WRESTLING (2) *Stanley Zbyszko (1983) * Wladek “Killer” Kowalski (2007)
*Deceased
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NPASHF prepares to celebrate 40th Anniversary in 2013
40th Annual induction Banquet kicks off “ruby” anniversary year
Take a look at the cover of the program book you are now reading. Clearly, it proclaims tonight’s event, held on June 21, 2012, to be our 40th Annual Induction Banquet. And yet, there is no mistaking that the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, the dream of a handful of Detroit area Polish-American visionaries, was founded in 1973 – 39 years ago!
So just how long has the NPASHF has been in existence, you may ask. Is it 39 years, or is it 40?
The answer to this question, which seems a bit confusing at first, is really quite simple. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was indeed founded in the summer of 1973, and was the direct offshoot of the very first Polish-American Night at Tiger Stadium held two years earlier in 1971, an event that was organized primarily by an unassuming elementary school teacher from Hamtramck, Michigan, Leon Zarski.
That evening, from his seat in the press box, Polish Daily News sports writer “Big Ed” Browalski observed the festivities, and reasoned, “Instead of honoring certain (Polish-American) players on one day, why not give permanent recognition? A National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum would be the place to do it for permanent preservation of their athletic deeds.”
“Big Ed” found three Detroit-area leaders who believed that his dream could become reality; Leon Zarski, the driving force behind 1971’s Polish-American Night; the late John Klemba, a businessman and presi-dent of the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce; and Fr. Ted Blaszczyk, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church in Hamtramck.
Over the next two years, they recruited other interested parties to form a Board of Directors; they elected officers, and assembled a Constitution and By-Laws. On June 14, 1973, the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum became reality, with the staging of the First Annual Testimonial Banquet, honoring the initial inductee into the NPASHF, the great Stan Musial.
One year later, on June 13, 1974, on the occasion of its one-year anniversary, the NPASHF held its Second Annual Testimonial Banquet, honoring baseball slugger Ted Kluszewski, softball great Ed Tyson, and the first female inductee elected to the NPASHF, track and field legend Stella Walsh.
And so, the process has continued for nearly 40 years, with each year’s banquet serving as the beginning of another anniversary milestone. Thus, the 40th Annual Induction Banquet being held tonight kicks off the beginning of our 40th Anniversary Celebration that will occur one year from now, in June of 2013.
We have big plans for that event, and for other activities leading up to it. We invite you to attend our 40th Anniversary Banquet next year, and to visit our Facebook page and website at www.polishsportshof.com during the upcoming months, to learn about other events leading up to that celebration.
With 126 inductees and plans to greatly expand our museum display at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan within the next year, the NPASHF is going strong, as we look forward to another milestone event in 2013.
We like to think “Big Ed” would be pleased.
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www.controllersecurity.com
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One Year agO...
2011 Inductee Tom D’Eath (left) with his presenter, Tom McInnes
2011 Inductee Art “Pinky” Deras signs an autograph for board member Mike Mandell
2011 Inductee Art “Pinky” Deras accepts congratulations from his presenter, fellow NPASHF inductee Tom Paciorek
2011 Inductee Bill Romanowski (right) with his presenter, former teammate and fellow Super Bowl champion Mike Lodish
NPASHF board member Ken Kal (left) along with wife Darlene, pose with Banquet Committee chairman Jerry Dettloff and board member Nick Frontczak.
Respected NBA referee Steve Javie (left) accepts the NPASHF induction plaque on behalf of his father, 2011 Inductee Stan Javie, presented by NPASHF Board Chairman Jim Conrad
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ShotS From the 2011 InductIon Banquet
2011 Induction Banquet guests London Morawski (left) and Dave Schmidt. Sadly, Mr. Morawski, a longtime supporter of the NPASHF, passed away on August 1, 2011, at the age of 98.
2011 Inductee Bill Romanowski shares a story from his impressive 16-year NFL career
2011 Master of Ceremonies Tom Ryan is flanked by former Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award win-ners, Jerome “Buck” Jerzy (left) and George Eichorn
Board Members (from left) Jim Ciennik and Jerry Dettloff, past board chairman Buck Jerzy, and board members Mike Sherry, Nick Frontczak and Longine Morawski. Jerry Dettloff and Longine Morawski once again served as Banquet Committee co-chairmen for the 2011 event.
The American Power Boat Association (APBA) Gold Cup was on display at last year’s banquet, in honor of the induction of three-time Gold Cup winner Tom D’Eath.
Board member David Jansen examines the newest additions to the growing collection of NPASHF memorabilia, provided by our 2011 inductees
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Our Hall of Fame Voters for 2012
Pete Banaszak St Augustine FLJane “Peaches” Bartkowicz Sterling Heights MISteve Bartkowski Duluth GABob Brudzinski Boynton Beach FLLen Ceglarski Duxbury MABobby Czyz Wharton NJTom D’Eath Mt. Dora FLArt Deras Sterling Heights MIJack Ham Moon Township PAMike Kenn Alpharetta GAKristy Kowal Wyomissing PAMike Krzyzewski Durham NCTony Kubek Appleton WIMitch Kupchak El Segundo CABob Kurland Sanibel FLBob Kuzava Wyandotte MITed Kwalick Santa Clara CAStan Lopata Mesa AZJohn Lujack Bettendorf IAGreg Luzinski Bonita Springs FLJanet Lynn Salomon Haymarket VALou Michaels Swoyersville PAWalt Michaels Shickshinny PADick Modzelewski Willoughby OHMike Munchak Brentwood TNPhil Niekro Flowery Branch GATom Nowatzke Ann Arbor MIBilly Packer Charlotte NCRon Perranoski Vero Beach FLRon Reed Lilburn GANorbert Schemansky Dearborn MIAleta Sill Livonia MIBob Skoronski Middleton WIPete Stemkowski Atlantic Beach NYGeorge Szypula East Lansing MI
Frank Tanana Farmington Hills MIBob Toski Boca Raton FLKelly Tripucka Boonton Township NJ
Edward Abramoski Lockport NYTony Adamowicz Costa Mesa CASteve Addy Las vegas NVSteve Alexandrowski Plymouth MIDuane Altstadt Ord NEHarvey Anderson Chicago ILWalter Balcerzak Warren MITom Baranski Clinton Twp. MIJo-Ann Barnas-Taylor W. Bloomfield MIRick Bay Palm Desert CAFrank Beckmann Detroit MIKaren Bednarski Florence ORKen Bell West Branch MIJames Bell Mackinaw City MILarry Bielat Gulf Shores ALBill Bilinski South Bend INGeorge Blaha Troy MIMarty Blaszczyk Toledo OHCharles Bodnar Warren MISteve Bodnar Warren MICarl Bonfiglio Sarver PAMark Bonkowski Warren MIRon Borawski Harbor Springs MIPaul Borowski South Bend INJim Brace Winthrop IAJim Brandstatter Commerce Twp. MIJuliene Brazinski Simpson Stroudsburg PAEdmund S. Browalski West Bloomfield MIJudy Brown St. Paul MNKen Bruchanski Rochester Hills MIMichael Buczkowski Buffalo NYMark Bugaj Grosse Pointe Shores MIKaren Bush Rochester MIStanley J. Bush Clinton Twp. MIGary Buslepp Grosse Pointe MIPaul Byczkowski Pearland TXKen Calvert Birmingham MIPaul Carey Rochester MIDick Cassin Indianapolis INMarty Cepeliek Pasadena CAJohn P. Chmielewski Sterling Heights MIWilliam Chmielewski Citrus Springs FLEdward Chrobot South Bend IN
A total of 287 voters participated in this year’selection of Greg Landry and June Olkowskiinto the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. Tom Lysiak was selected by our Veteran’sCommittee. This year’s voters are listed below. They include a total of 38 Hall of Fame Inductees, the Board of Directors, plus members of the Sports Panel Council, which is comprised of members of the media throughout the United States, and selected sports fans.
SportS panel CounCil
Hall of fame VoterS
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James P. Ciennik III Waterford MIJames P. Conrad Warren MIGeorge Conrad Macomb MIRobert A. Cook Troy MIWayne Cooper Beverly Hills MIFrank Corej Bloomfield Hills MISteve Courtney Detroit MIJerry Crasnick Langhorne PAWalter Czarnecki Bloomfield Hills MIDennis Czarnyszka Jacksonville FLWalter J. Czechowski Rochester Hills MIMike Danielewicz Madison Hts MIJerry Dettloff Rochester Hills MIJohn Dobbs Birmingham MIThomas Dobrowolski Cocoa FLDavid Dombrowski Detroit MIRobert Dombrowski Grosse Ile MILarry Doyle Royal Oak MILarry Ebsch Menominee MIGeorge Eichorn Warren MIDick Enberg La Jolla CAS. Nicholas Frontczak Hamtramck MIKen Gaddy Tuscaloosa ALSteven Gadzinski Sterling Heights MITom Gage Grosse Pointe MIGus Ganakas East Lansing MIFrank Garza Jr Lincoln Park MIKyle Gawlik St Clair Shores MIGary Gillette Detroit MICliff Grabowski Grosse Pointe Farms MISteven Graus Sterling Heights MICarl Gromek Lansing MIRonald E. Grubbs Orion MIJohn Gutowski Chicago ILRandy Hahn Pleasanton CAWilliam T. Halls Pleasant Ridge MIJohn J. Handloser Lake Leelanau MIJohn Harder Cincinnati OHSusan Hardy St. Clair Shores MIKen Harrelson Orlando FLChuck Hershberger Ferndale MIBernie Holowicki Livonia MIDonald E. Horkey Shelby Twp MIHenry W. Hryniewicz Boston MAJohn S. Hypnarowicz Sr. Hamtramck MIWilliam Jamieson Grosse Pointe MIRobert J. Jankowski Darien ILDavid Jansen Huntington Woods MILen Jasinski Flushing MISteve Javie Newtown PASteven Jender Peachtree City GABuck Jerzy Detroit MI
John Kaczkowski Mt. Prospect ILPaul Kahler W. Bloomfield MIChuck Kaiton Raleigh NCKen Kal St. Clair Shores MIRon Kalczynski Farmington Hills MIRoy Kaminski Shelby Twp. MIKeith Karpinski Royal Oak MIAllan Kasprzak East Aurora NYWalter Kaszko Kansas City KSBernie Kennedy St. Clair Shores MIStuart E. Kirschenbaum Detroit MITed Klamerus Dearborn Heights MIJeff Klepacki Skillman NJChuck Klonke Macomb MIFrederick Kogut Melville NYEdward Kopy Detroit MIBob Kotkowski Woodhaven MIJ.G. (Jack) Kotter Clinton Twp MIRobert J. Kowalewski St. Clair Shores MIRonald Kowalski Penn Valley PAArthur Kras Las Vegas NVGreg Krupa Detroit MIEd Krupinski Warren MILarry Krystkowiak Salt Lake City UTDorothy Kukulka Flint MIDoug Kuras Monroe MIJohn W. Kuras Sebastian FLEdward Kwiatkowski Detroit MIDwayne LaBakas Sterling Heights MIBonita Laettner Fort Mill SCRay Lane Farmington Hills MIChris Lewandowski Grosse Pointe Park MIJohn Lewandowski East Lansing MIEdward A. Loniewski D.O. Plymouth MIFrank Luksa Plano TXBudd Lynch Wyandotte MIDenny Lynch Williamsville NYPete Macheska Pine Brook NJBob Maddigan Clinton Twp MIBruce Madej Ann Arbor MIDr. Stan Majewski Troy MIJohn Makar, Jr Livonia MIMichael A. Makulski Pearland TXEdward Malczewski Macomb MIMichael Mandell St. Clair Shores MIMichael Marihugh New Baltimore MIRichard Marks Bloomingdale ILJohn Marks Lake Zurich ILGregory A. Marx Northville MIBill Maryanski Winthrop IATom Mazawey Saint Clair Shores MIRev. James Mazurek Natrona Heights PA
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Mike McCoy Jefferson GABernie Miklasz St. Louis MOMsgr. Stanley E. Milewski Orchard Lake MIBob Miller Commerce Twp. MIScott Miller Carlsbad CABob Miske Amherst NYLawrence Morawski Grosse Pointe Farms MILongine Morawski Grosse Pointe Park MIWilliam Nack Washington DCGary Nadlicki Bloomfield Hills MIDoug Nelson Phoenix AZThaddeus Niezabytowski Sterling Heights MIMonte Nitzkowski Huntington Beach CAMichael Obloy Madison Heights MIJoseph Ogrodnik Hamtramck MINeal Olkewicz Pottstown PAJune Olkowski Baltimore MDWallace M. Ozog Warren MIBob Pacholski Cheektowaga NYLarry Paladino Warren MITimothy Paluszak Maumee OHRob Parker Detroit MIChris Parker Buffalo NYAnthony Paruk Williamston MIPaul J. Paruk Hamtramck MIJeff Paveleck Niles ILPaul J. Pentecost Bloomfield Hills MIMike Peplowski Williamston MIChuck Pezzano Clifton NJJerry Phillips Grosse Pointe Shores MIRudy Pikuzinski Depew NYMark Plawecki Dearborn Heights MIAnton Pliska Elk Grove Village ILDon Pluta Marcellus MIGeorge D. Pohly Mt. Clemens MIJohn Poplawski Harper Woods MITim Povtak Longwood FLAdam Prokop Grosse Pointe Woods MIJoe Proski Glendale AZJohn Radwanski Curran MIBill Raftery Florham Park NJRoger Rakowski Holly MIJames M. Rein Bloomfield Hills MIFrank Louis Rembisz Hamtramck MITony Roberts Gainesville VADave Robinson Troy MIRichard Robinson Rochester Hills MIRaymond Rolak Canton MIRick Romain Romeo MITom Ryan West Bloomfield MIScott Rynbrand Kentwood MIRichard Sackett Winthrop IA
George Samulski Royal Oak MIVictor Sawicki Wyandotte MIKurt M. Schneider Warren MIKen Selasky Plymouth MIMike Sherry Warren MIRobert Shoemaker Beverly Hills MIKent Sikora Gibraltar MISteve Smolinski Shelby Twp MIDaniel Smyczek Milwaukee WIDoug Soper Canton MIRichard Sosin Livonia MITom Stanton New Baltimore MIRandy Stoklos Pacific Palisades CACraig Stover Tequesta FLJimmy Sturr Florida NYF. Robert Suchyta D.O. Dearborn Heights MILeo Sugar Ft. Myers FLThomas Szczepanski Sterling Heights MISebastian Szczepanski Warren MIThomas Tarapacki Buffalo NYJohn R. Tarnowski Riverview MIJoseph A. Uniewski St. Clair Shores MIDennis Urbanczyk Warren MIPaul Viglianti Ft. Wayne INCharlie Vincent Horseshoe Bay TXNick Vista Tucker GADick Vitale Lakewood Ranch FLPete Waldmeir Grosse Pointe Woods MITom M. Walworth Jr. Grosse Pointe Farms MIEarl Ward Hamtramck MIMark Weigle Sterling Heights MIMarian E. Wesolowski Delray Beach FLPaul Widzinski Northville MIGordie Wilczynski Mt. Clemens MIMichael Wilk Hamtramck MIEvan Williams Rochester Hills MIScott Wilson Livonia MIWilliam J. Wischman Jr. Royal Oak MIFrank J. Wisniewski Rochester Hills MICraig Wodecki Eastpointe MISteve Wojciechowski Durham NCBob Wojnowski Farmington Hills MIJoseph Wojtas Warren MILawrence Wroblewski Sterling Heights MIDonald D. Zawacki The Villages FLMike Zdebski Commerce Township MIDave Zelmanski Shelby Twp MIRev. Walter J. Ziemba Orchard Lake MIRobert Ziolkowski Northville MIDon Zminda Los Angeles CA
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Matthew J. Wietrzykowski, M.D.Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Metropolitan Medical Center 9230 Jos. Campau Hamtramck, Michigan 48212 Phone: (313) 875-9270 Fax: (313) 875-9420 24 Hour: (248) 691-8960
Beaumont Medical Staff Member
CONGRATULATIONSto the 2012 Inductees
Greg LandryJune Olkowskiand Tom Lysiak
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Answers to NPASHF Trivia Quiz(From page 6)
1. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, founded in 1973, will celebrate its 40th Anniversary next year, in 2013 – but our 2012 Induction Banquet is billed as our 40th annual event. How is that possible?
Two banquets were held in 1990a) The organization was formed concurrently with our first banquet.b) It’s a “new millennium thing”c) It’s a “new math” thingd)
Answer: b – The NPASHF was founded in 1973, concurrently with the celebration of our first Induction Banquet honoring baseball great Stan Musial. One year later, we celebrated our one-year anniversary at our Second Annual Induction Banquet – and so it has continued for nearly forty years. Please see the story found on page 72 for a more on this subject.
2. Later this year, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame will enshrine two athletes who have previously been inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. Who are they?
Vince Boryla and Johnny Podresa) Ron Reed and Bill Osmanskib) Pete Stemkowski and Ed Tysonc) Alex Wojciechowicz and Tom D’Eathd)
Answer: d – NFL Hall of Famer Alex Wojciechowicz, one of Fordham University’s “Seven Blocks of Granite” inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, and hydroplane racing champion Tom D’Eath, inducted into the NPASHF in 2011, will be among those formally enshrined later this year at the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame banquet.
How many NPASHF inductees have also been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame?3.
7a) 5b) 2c) 1d)
Answer: b – Five NPASHF inductees have also been honored with induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are: Carol Blazejowski, Tom Gola, Bob Kurland, Mike Krzyzewski, and Red Mihalik.
4. In 1946, the Detroit Tigers acquired Hall of Fame third baseman George Kell in a trade with the Philadelphia Athletics. Which NPASHF inductee did the Tigers give up for Kell?
Barney McCoskya) Whitey Kurowskib) Bob Kuzavac) Stan Lopatad)
Answer: a – Barney McCosky, who played 11 years in the major leagues with a .312 lifetime average, lost three years in the prime of his career while serving in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46. His career was ultimately shortened by a back injury sustained when he crashed into the wall at the first night game ever played at Briggs Stadium, on June 15, 1948.
5. During a 21-month period in the 1940’s, NPASHF Inductee Tony Zale engaged in an epic three-fight championship series with fellow middleweight Rocky Graziano. The fights are still considered to be among the most brutal and exciting middleweight bouts of all time. What was the result of that series of battles?
a) Graziano emerged victorious in all three fights b) Zale prevailed by knocking out Graziano in two of the three matches. c) Graziano won two of the three matches. d) The series was split, with one victory, one loss, and a “draw” for each fighter.
Answer: b – Zale won two out of three matches. On September 27, 1946, Tony (Zaleski) Zale knocked out Graziano in the 6th round of their initial match. In the rematch, held less than one year later (July 16, 1947), Graziano earned the middleweight
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crown by knocking out Zale in the 6th. The third and final match occurred on June 10, 1948, as Zale regained the middleweight crown with a third-round knockout of Graziano.
6. In the 1980 Burt Reynolds movie Smokey and the Bandit II, this NPASHF inducteeplays the role of a truck driver who, with his bare hand, crushes the badge of the sheriff, played by Jackie Gleason. Who is he?
a) Mike Ditkab) Lou Michaelsc) Joe Kleckod) Greg “The Bull” Luzinski
Answer: c – Joe Klecko, generally considered the strongest NFL player during his playing years, had roles in several Reynolds movies, including Smokey and the Bandit II, The Cannonball Run, and Heat.
7. As a relief pitcher for the Yankees in the 1950’s, this NPASHF inductee has the distinction of being the only pitcher to earn game-seven “saves” in back-to-back World Series. Who is he?
Eddie Lopata) Johnny Podresb) Steve Gromekc) Bob Kuzavad)
Answer: d – While pitching for the New York Yankees, Bob Kuzava earned a “save” in game seven of the 1951 World Series against the New York Giants, and repeated the feat the following year in game seven of the 1952 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
8. This NPASHF inductee won the 1931 U.S. Open at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, following the longest playoff in U.S. Open history. Name this golfing legend.
Bob Toskia) Warren Orlickb) Billy Burkec) Al Watrousd)
Answer: c – Billy Burke, born William Burkowski, was tied with fellow competitor George Von Elm after 72 holes. The following day, they engaged in a 36-hole playoff to decide the match, and were still tied at the end of the day. The next day, they launched another 36-hole playoff, which Burke won by a single stroke. After 144 holes and 589 strokes, Billy Burke was the 1931 U.S. Open champion!
9. Which NPASHF inductee celebrated his induction with a hand stand?
Bobby Czyza) George Szypulab) Chet Jastremskic) Kelly Tripuckad)
Answer: b – Former Temple University gymnast George Szypula, 3 weeks shy of his 64th birthday, surprised those in attendance, including fellow inductee Hank Stram, by performing an impromptu handstand at his 1985 induction.
10: Darryl Sutter, head coach of the 2012 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, served as “best man” in the wedding of which NPASHF Inductee?
a) 2004 Inductee Ed Olczyk b) 2006 Inductee Mark Rypien c) 2002 Inductee Pete Stemkowski d) 2012 Inductee Tom Lysiak
Answer: d – Darryl Sutter and Tom Lysiak were Chicago Blackhawk line mates when Tom asked Melinda to be his bride – and asked Darryl to be his “best man.”
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Ph 248-546-3336 25455 Dequindre Fax 248-399-9870 Madison Heights,MI 48071Cell 248-420-8189
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Congratulations
Greg, June and TomFrom Your “PalS”
the Polish ameriCan legal soCiety
President – Hon. Richard Wygonik Vice-President – Mary Ann Kozlowski
Treasurer – Thaddeus J. Kedzierski Secretary – Anna Witkowska
Board of Directors Kinga Gorzelewski Mark J. Plawecki Douglas Hamel Hon. Daniel P. O’Brien Karl A. Hamel Lisa G. Ryan Ryan E. Hill Mark H. Teklinski William Jurczak Earl Ward Joseph R. Kosmala
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Congratulations and Best Wishes to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame Honorees for 2012
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Greg Landry - June Olkowski and Tom Lysiak
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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS1st Chiropractic...........................................40A Clean Look Inc. .......................................39Airgas Great Lakes, Inc. .............................83American Polish Cultural Center ...............41Arizona Women’s Basketball ......................27Bieber & Czechowski Law Offices ................8Butler University .........................................27Calgary Flames ..........................................19Cass J. Conrad ...........................................40Ciennik Financial Group .............................31Controller Security Systems .......................73David J. Wysocki Funeral Home ................40De La Salle Collegiate ................................39Detroit Lions ...............................................17Detroit Pistons ............................................18Detroit Sports Broadcasters Assoociation ..27Downtown Management Strategies............71Eastpointe Collision ....................................39Ed Nowalski ................................................34Edward Krupinski........................................34Hazel Park Raceway ..................................37Hooters of Roseville ...................................30Ilitch Holdings .............................................21James M. Osak, P.C. ..................................17JPI - Joseph Productions, Inc. ....................33Joyview Market ...........................................27Jurkiewicz & Wilk Funeral Home ................36Ken Kal .......................................................27Lyons Tool & Engineering, Inc. ...................86Matthew J. Wietrzykowski, M.D. .................79Matt Dobek - Memorial Ad ..........................39Medicine Hat Tigers ....................................18MP Tool & Engineering Co. ........................88National Football League............................15New Monitor ...............................................40Nor-Cote .................................................OBCNortown Collision & Glass Co., Inc.............36NPASHF Web Ad ..........................................2Orchard Lake St. Mary’s ........................... IFC
Parrot Cove Yacht Club ..............................39Polish American Legal Society ...................84PAC Federal Credit Union ..........................85Printing Buying Services.............................17Polish Century Club of Detroit ......................8Polish Village Cafe ...................................IBCPoncho and Cisco’s ......................................9Real Estate One Family of Companies ......37Richard Smutek ..........................................39R.F. Romain & Associates ..........................34Rutgers University ......................................25S. Nickolas Frontczak .................................34Son Shine Floors ........................................82Special Drill & Reamer, Corp. .....................32Stamper and Company...............................20UAW Local 160 ...........................................29Uptown Electric...........................................28Warren Pipe ................................................35Wasik Funeral Home ..................................31Wayne State University Atheletics ..............38Wholesale Tool .......................................OBCWomen’s Coaches Basketball Association .26
In Memoriam
William Joseph “Moose” Skowron Jr. (December 18, 1930 – April 27, 2012)
NPASHF Class of 1980
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Greg Landry June Olkowski Tom Lysiak
2012 Inductees
CONGRATULATIONS
GreG Landry, June OLkOwski and TOm Lysiak
Polish Village Cafe
Finest Polish Food West of Warsaw
2990 Yemans / Hamtramck(3 Blocks South of Caniff, 1/2 Block East of Jos. Campau)
(313) 874-5726Your Host: Ted Wietrzykowski
12155 STEPHENS RD. EAST OF HOOVER IN WARREN
MARK DOWDYPresident
12155 Stephens Rd. Warren, MI 48089 Phone: 586-754-9270
Congratulations 2012 HonoreesGreg Landry, June Olkowski and Tom Lysiak
Stanley C. GrousePresident
11425 TimkenWarren, MI 48089
Phone: 586-756-1200 FAX: 586-757-0008
Wholesale Tool would like to extend our Congratulations to the 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees!
Wholesale Tool has been serving Southeastern Michigan since 1960 and has expanded to six locations nationwide. We have a variety of machine shop supplies, precision measuring equipment, machines for concept development work and so much more. We carry brand name U.S. products and have searched the world to bring you top quality tools at discount prices. Visit our local warehouse store or have tools shipped to your door.
