The Historical Society of Greater Lansing is sponsoring a talk and tour of the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame 7 p.m., Thursday, January 17 at the Lansing Center, Governor’s Room, 2nd floor.
Robert Every, Chairman of the Sports Hall of Fame, will provide an overview of the Hall of Fame and then will conduct a tour of the Hall of Fame in what he is calling a “walk down memory lane.”
The Sports Hall of Fame, established in 1976, recognizes Greater Lansing Area athletes, coaches and teams who have made significant accomplishments in their sports. Included in the 220 inductees in the Hall of Fame are NBA All Star Magic Johnson, Major League Baseball players John Smoltz, Vic Saier and Charlie Gehringer, NCAA wrestling champion Dave Porter, Olympians Judi Brown, Kevin Jackson and Fred Alderman, NFL referee Dean Look, MSU and NFL great Brad Van Pelt, Professional Tennis player Todd Martin, Big 10 Softball Coach of the year Carol Hutchins, hockey players Kip, Kelly and Kevin Miller, and 44 individual teams.
Generally, to be eligible for the Hall of Fame individuals and team members must be graduates or have a high school equivalent and/or have attended a Greater Lansing Area High School for at least two years, and have reached a high level of accomplishment such as all-State Champion, and/or All-State First Team or All-State Dream Team, and/or All-American Team. Similar guidelines apply for coaches.
The HOF includes coaches include legends like Paul Cook, Carol Hutchins, Douglas Herner and George Fox, Every said.
Every’s behind the scenes tour of the Hall of Fame will showcase both the well known and the little known stories on how athletes made it into the Hall of Fame. He will also discuss some of the one-of-a-kind pieces of memorabilia in the Hall of Fame collection such as the track shoes worn by Fred Alderman, an MSC track star and 1928 Olympic Gold Medal winner.
Valerie Marvin President of the Historical Society of Greater Lansing said the cast of the Hall of Fame members reads like the who’s who of Lansing.
“It’s a tribute to the importance of athletics that individuals such as Paul Gentilozzi, Larry Fowler, Gregory Eaton, Archie Tarpoff and scores of other men and women went on to successful business careers in the Lansing area after enviable sporting accomplishments.”
For more information on the Sports Hall of Fame and to learn how to nominate someone go to http://www.lansingsportshalloffame.org/
For information on the Historical Society of Greater Lansing go to www.lansinghistory.org
