A former Major League Baseball pitcher and a nationwide gymnastics champion are among the many six new entrants to the Gary Sports Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2023 inductees are school basketball coach Vic Bubas, observe coach John Campbell, gymnast Dianne Durham Drahozal, MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, NBA star Davage Minor and longtime Gary colleges coach Earl Smith Jr.
The induction ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. July 28 on the Indiana University Northwest Arts and Sciences constructing auditorium, 3415 Broadway. The price is $25 per particular person. Tickets can be found by means of Eventbrite.
“This is a very momentous moment and one we are proud of,” mentioned Hall of Fame vp Chuck Hughes throughout a Wednesday information convention.
He credited the late Lake County Commissioner Roosevelt Allen Jr. for serving to conceive of the plan for the Hall of Fame the place honorees’ photographs line a wall on the principle flooring of the Arts and Sciences constructing.
Hughes mentioned the Hall of Fame is working with Gary excessive colleges to rearrange excursions for college kids to allow them to study concerning the metropolis’s wealthy athletic historical past.
“We are built upon the strong foundations of our past,” mentioned IUN Chancellor Ken Iwama. “We are equally thrilled the Hall of Fame is housed here at our state-of-the-art Arts and Sciences building.”
Iwama mentioned the college was dedicated to selling and sustaining the Hall of Fame.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed again the Hall of Fame’s 2021 inductees who joined the Class of 2022 final yr when the group unveiled its first lessons.
Last yr, the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation pushed the Hall of Fame over its preliminary funding end line with a $10,000 donation and an identical $10,000 reward from Bruce and Beth White.
Here’s a take a look at the inductees:
Vic Bubas was a 1944 Lew Wallace graduate who later turned the basketball coach at Duke University. He’s credited with elevating Duke from a regional to a nationwide program and for pioneering the artwork of recruiting. He died in 2018.
John Campbell led Gary Roosevelt to twenty Indiana observe and discipline championships.
Dianne Durham Drahozal turned the primary Black nationwide gymnastics champion in 1983.
LaTroy Hawkins, a 1991 Gary West Side graduate, was a aid pitcher on 11 MLB groups, together with the Chicago Cubs till he retired in 2015.
Davage Minor, a 1941 Froebel graduate, led the college to its solely state title look. In 1951, when he joined the Baltimore Bullets, he was considered one of simply 5 Blacks to play within the NBA and was the primary from Gary. He died in 1998.
Earl H. Smith Jr., a 1952 Roosevelt graduate, coached at 5 Gary excessive colleges and served as athletic director throughout a 56-year profession.
For extra info, see the group’s web site, garysportshalloffame.org.
Carole Carlson is a contract reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com