Bob Beals • Amy (Johnson) DeVerteuil • Guy Hoffman
Ken Jenkins • Mike Kilmartin • Craig McCormick • Rhonda Morel
Dale Pienta • Ted Schmitz • Hollis Vickery
1987-88 IVCC Men’s Basketball Team • 2005 Bureau Valley Football Team
Tom McGinnis - Distinguished Media Award • Russ Meyer - Legacy Award
1954-55 Princeton Boys Basketball - Legacy Award
Tony Causa - Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award
On behalf of Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame, welcome to the official induction ceremony for the Class of 2024. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our next class of inductees!!
A lot of time, effort and thought have gone into this hall of fame magazine and the honoree banquet, so we hope you enjoy and treat it like it is — a celebration. We want to honor, reflect, and have a good time acknowledging the best of the best in the Illinois Valley’s athletic history. This event could not have been made possible without the tireless effort of so many wonderful and hardworking people.
Thank you to our committee. These men and women from across the Illinois Valley helped select our Class of 2024. Without their time, effort, and dedication, none of this would be possible.
Thank you to our sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible. Your willingness and excitement for this event has been unbelievable, and your dedication to supporting area athletics has been remarkable.
Thank you to everyone at Shaw Media who helped make this event possible. To the advertising staff as well as the marketing and niche design teams, your dedication has been amazing and is so greatly appreciated.
Finally, thank you to everyone who participates in the hall of fame. Whether you are a sponsor, participated in this magazine, commented on our Facebook page (@NTIVSportsHOF), read all our inductee announcements or stories or even discussed or debated it with your friends and family, thank you. Your participation in this endeavor — whatever it may be — is vital to the success of this hall of fame.
Inside you will find photos and stories about our Class of 2024 inductees and the many businesses that wanted to join us in honoring them and more. We hope you enjoy this magazine, and we look forward to bringing you future classes of the Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
Thank you,
Jeanette Smith General Manager/Advertising Director
Shaw Media
Jeanette
Jared Bell
Kelly Campbell
Jared Bell, Kurt Bruno, Kevin Chlum, Bea Coats, Tom Dobrich, Dan Eilts, Kevin Hieronymus, Larry Johnson, Carol Pratt, Rick Sipovic, Lanny Slevin, Jeanette Smith, Ed Swingle, Gene Vogelgesang and Ken Wilcoxen. They took on the task of choosing these inductees from hundreds of nominations. We currently have an extensive list of deserving athletes that will be used to select
future classes, but we are always looking for more.
IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE FOR THE SHAW MEDIA’S ILLINOIS VALLEY SPORTS HALL OF FAME:
To be considered, the nominee must have lived locally during their sports accomplishment and/ or graduated from IVCC or one of the following high schools: La
Salle-Peru, St. Bede, Hall, Putnam County, DePue, Mendota, Ottawa, Marquette, Streator, Princeton, Bureau Valley, LaMoille, Ohio, Earlville, Henry, Fieldcrest or their predecessors. The athlete must be out of high school for at least five years. Email the name and statistics to jmsmith@shawmedia.com. Please include HOF Nomination in the subject line.
The Voice of the Valley for four decades, Slevin broadcasted numerous sporting events in the Illinois Valley and positively impacted the lives of many during his broadcast career. The true definition of dedication, Slevin has given so much of his time and passion to area athletics and has brought joy to many. For all he has given to our area — both on air and behind the scenes — the Lifetime Achievement Award is named in his honor.
• A legendary broadcaster, Slevin enjoyed a 40-year career at WLPO where he broadcast games, provided sports updates and more
• Estimated he broadcast somewhere between 3,5004,000 events in his career
• Hosted the state-wide IHSA Sports Report for nearly six years and broadcast the IHSA boys basketball state tournaments for nearly 30 years starting in 1972
• Hosted Chalk Talk on WLPO every Saturday morning during the school year for nearly three decades
• Member of the IBCA Hall of Fame, St. Bede Hall of Fame, IVCC Hall of Fame and National Junior College Association Hall of Fame; Inaugural recipient of the IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award
Thursday, June 6, 2024
The Auditorium Ballroom, La Salle
Emcee: Lanny Slevin
Doors Open ......................................................................... 5 p.m.
Dinner ................................................................................... 6 p.m.
Induction Ceremony ....................................... following Dinner
Order of Inductees
• Dale Pienta, Hall
• Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award: Tony Causa
• Ted Schmitz, Streator
• Legacy Individual: Russ Meyer, L-P/IVCC
• Amy Johnson DeVerteuil, Ottawa
• Distinguished Media Award: Tom McGinnis, St. Bede
• Mike Kilmartin, Mendota
• Legacy Team: 1954-55 Princeton Boys Basketball
• Rhonda Morel, La Salle-Peru/IVCC
• Ken Jenkins, Putnam County
• 1987-88 IVCC Men’s Basketball Team
• Guy Hoffman, Marquette
• Hollis Vickery, La Salle-Peru/IVCC
• Craig McCormick, Ottawa
• Bob Beals, Mendota/IVCC
• 2005 Bureau Valley Football Team
Conclusion & Thank You
By Bobby Narang
• A 1953 Hall grad, legendary athlete at Hall, then coach at Tiskilwa, Hall & IVCC
• Three-sport athlete at Hall, named Team MVP, allconference and HM all-state senior season in football & basketball
• Played football and baseball at Northwestern from 195357, three-year letter winner in both sports, member of the 1957 Big Ten Baseball Champion, 1957 Illinois Valley Collegiate Athlete of the Year
• After coaching at Tiskilwa for one year, he was at Hall for 31 years and coached football, baseball and basketball; Also coached basketball and football at IVCC
• Member of the Hall High School Hall of Fame
rom a young age, sports were in Dale Pienta’s blood.
The 1953 Hall High School graduate certainly played and coached sports at a very high level.
“I had a well-played career, enjoyed it and would do it again if I was able to,” Pienta said. “When you play, it’s in your blood and stays in your blood until you die. I played so many games and watched so many over the course of the years.”
Pienta is among the best athletes to ever come out of Bureau County and later had a distinguished coaching career.
Pienta was ahead of his time, turning a love for sports into becoming a star athlete in high school, playing a key role for the Northwestern football team and later a wellknown and successful coach at his alma mater.
His love and accomplishment in sports – as an athlete,
coach and now as a fan –is why Pienta is a Class of 2024 inductee in Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
“When you are a youngster, even in high school, you don’t really have any time to think about accomplishments,” said Pienta, now 88 years old. “But as you get older, the accomplishments you create and make are special. It’s nice that people are aware of the impact you left on the playing field, so this means a lot to me.”
A legendary athlete at Hall High School who started in football, basketball and baseball, Pienta cherishes having a successful and well-rounded career.
“I played as best as I could and as hard as I could,” he said. “I had my education paid for at Northwestern, had fun in
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college, met a lot of good people and coaches, was in a football magazine run by Ara Parseghian. That was a thrill to see your face on a national magazine.”
Still, playing sports at Hall was a different level of excitement than in college. At Hall, Pienta was named Team MVP in football and basketball for his senior seasons.
The bright lights of the Big Ten Conference didn’t bother the small-town kid from Spring Valley as Pienta was a standout athlete at Northwestern, where he was a member of the 1957 Big Ten baseball champion. He was also named the 1957 Illinois Valley Collegiate Athlete of the Year.
“When I look back at some of the things that took place during college, I’m very proud of them,” Pienta said. “Playing football games with 85,000 people at Michigan and coming up that
ramp and people screaming things at you. Those are moments you never forget.
“In football, I broke a few Big Ten records. Quarterback was my main position, but I also played defensive back. I was also a pretty good pitcher. I went to
“I always wanted to become a coach. I loved being with the young people and trying to instill in them the principles of not only the game but life. I wanted to make a difference.”
Dale Pienta
Northwestern on a football scholarship, but also ended up playing baseball for three years as a pitcher and outfielder.”
Despite all of his success on the field, Pienta was looking forward to coaching.
Just like his exploits on the field, Pienta was a smashing success on the sidelines.
“I always wanted to become a coach,” he said. “I loved being with the young people and trying to instill in them the principles of not only the game but life. I wanted to make a difference and make kids aware of what’s ahead for them in life. It was fun to play the game, but I really liked coaching.”
Pienta started his coaching career at Tiskilwa High School, where he spent one season. He returned to his alma mater to coach 31 years at Hall High School, earning victories and helping out the youth in the area in football, basketball and baseball. He later coached at IVCC.
“I really liked coaching, especially at Hall,” Pienta said. “It was great to be back and coach and teach for so many years. I’ll always cherish my time playing and coaching.”
By Brandon LaChance
The Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award has come to be known as a Shaw Media Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame entrant who has done it all.
Whether it’s play all sports, coach all sports, or bring a certain expertise to an unforeseen level of attention or praise, there is no quit, and 100 percent dedication.
Tony Causa is the definition of all aspects of a lifetime achievement honoree.
His daughter, Cheryl Mosqueda, didn’t get to witness his early endeavors, but she’s heard stories and did get to work with him in the Causa Gymnastics Center as a student and teacher.
• Legendary figure in the tumbling & gymnastics world who dedicated his life to the sport
• In 1976, bought a tumbling & gymnastics school in Peru & later moved it to La Salle, where he coached until 2002
• From 1978-82, was President of United States Tumbling Association, which is the largest Power Tumbling/ Trampoline governing body in the U.S.
• Helped coach Betty Okino, a 1992 Olympic gymnast
“Having a gym was very uncommon at the time, 1970s. It was a very trying time to get people involved,” said Mosqueda. “The largest number of students we reached was 350 students and that was in the mid-to-late 1990s. For our area, that was a big number for tumbling.
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“I was a part of my dad getting into the sport. I started tumbling when I was four, and he got involved with it through me. It was something he wanted to pursue. He’s done all sports. He coached the Dalzell basketball team to a long undefeated streak during two seasons along with coaching and playing a long list of other sports like football. He partnered with Bill Pelkey to form the La Salle Youth Football League in 1957.
“When the owners wanted to sell the school I was tumbling at, he said he was going to go for it and bought and ran the school. When he jumped in, he jumped in full force. We kept it together and managed the school as a family.”
Causa, now 88 and recovering from health ailments, graduated from St. Bede in 1955 and married his wife,
Elsie, in 1956. They remain together to this day.
The couple had four daughters in Debbie Kopczynski, who lives in Indiana, Linda Zimmerman from Spring Valley, Mosqueda from Granville, and Patti Causa (deceased).
In 1976, Causa bought the gym located on 4th Street in Peru, renamed it the Causa Gymnastics Center and moved the location in 1982 to what is now The Auditorium Ballroom on
Wright St. in La Salle. The gym remained open from 1976 until Tony retired in 2002.
The tumbling and gymnastics coach is accredited with training thousands of pupils, including 1992 Olympic gymnast Betty Okino.
“When my dad went to college at Northern Illinois University, the last test he had to do as a physical education major was about gymnastics,” Mosqueda
said of her father, who was a former president of the United States Tumbling Association. “He totally hated it at that point. When he saw what I was doing and started realizing what was involved, he found tumbling and gymnastics as the most challenging sport for him to learn.
“After he learned about it and found it was an entire body, physical workout, he was intrigued and jumped in with clinics. After he
started teaching the sport, he realized there is endless learning when you work with this sport.”
After Mosqueda married, left the state and later returned to the Illinois Valley, she reopened the gym as Illinois Elite Gymnastics from 2012 until COVID-19 in 2020.
Although retired, her father was there giving advice and mentoring the students as much as he could.
Besides coaching, Causa’s influence is ingrained in the area and outside of the Illinois Valley.
“My dad and another coach developed the spring floor for power tumbling. They developed it here and they used it in the gym,” Mosqueda said. “They brought it to a competition everyone would be at. The very next year, everyone had to make one. I asked my dad why he didn’t patent it. He said, ‘We don’t do that.’ He was very innovative.
“Since running a gym didn’t bring in a ton of
money, my dad was a construction worker and became a grader. He is a numbers man and that line of work definitely fit into who he is. He worked on
the design for the retention pond at the nuclear plant in Morris (Dresdan Generating Station) and on Interstate 39 from Tonica to Mendota.
“I know he’s my dad and I’m biased, but I’m very proud of him. From mentoring students to developing our area, he’s just been a wonderful asset to our location.”
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
By Andy Tavegia
• Legendary football coach, spanning more than four decades across high school, college, CFL & Indoor Football League
• A 1962 grad, played college football & baseball at Eastern Illinois University
• Served as assistant football coach at EIU, Augustana, ISU & Illinois Wesleyan before becoming radio color commentator for ISU football
• Spent eight seasons as a defensive assistant for CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, served as interim head coach for six games during the 1987 season
• Former coach & worked in front office for the IFL’s Bloomington Extreme; member of the Streator HS Hall of Fame
ed Schmitz never stopped learning – and when you consider the list of names from which he could learn, it’s easy to understand why.
The Streator native’s illustrious career in football has stretched everywhere from Streator to Charleston, Ill., to Hamilton, Canada. And with each one of those stops, he had some of the absolute best tutoring, allowing him to grow into one of the best defensive minds.
“I was really fortunate, and I’m thankful to this day I had all those people,” said Schmitz, a Class of 2024 inductee to this year’s Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame. “Some people gain experience with really poor coaches. I never had that. I always was with good coaches. I enjoyed the heck out of it. It was fun. It was all I wanted to do.”
It started as a freshman at Streator High School in 1958. A center/middle linebacker with loads of responsibilities, he had the ability to learn under George Ashworth, the coach who led the Bulldogs to the only undefeated season in school history when Schmitz was a freshman.
“He and I stayed good friends for a long time,” Schmitz said. “When I played at Eastern (Illinois University), he
would come to the games and, when I was in Canada, he would call me all the time. He was a good tutor for me, you might say. I appreciate everything he ever did for me.”
For three years, he maintained his two-position status at EIU. That was until his senior year when new coach Clyde Biggers transitioned him to the middle linebacker spot only.
That’s when his learning really hit the fast track.
On road trips, Schmitz wouldn’t always ride the bus, but instead spent time with Biggers solo.
“I had to do a lot of studying,” Schmitz said, “and he would check my play calls in the car.”
Schmitz said that really prepared him for his future as a defensive coach at Illinois State University.
A success at ISU, Schmitz earned the respect of coach Gerry Hart, so much that when Hart left for the Cana -
dian Football League, he decided to take Schmitz along for the ride.
Schmitz, while excited, was a little nervous about an abrupt change to the Canadian game. It features only three downs with offensive formations that feature major changes from the American game.
“The first year was pretty tough,” he said. “You have to get used to those six guys in motion. It’s a different type of game. When I was up there, it was a lot of run and shoot with a lot of real good quarterbacks. Every week, you were facing somebody really good. The big thing you had to think about is that instead of first down, you start at second-and-10. That’s the way you had to coach it. Whatever I would run on second-and-10, that’s what I would run there. Everything you had to do was pressure the quarterback and play pass defense.”
But Schmitz kept his confidence up and ears open. He eventually earned enough respect to become the defensive coordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Led by the likes of the great Grover Covington (the CFL’s all-time leader in sacks), Hamilton and Schmitz made it to four Grey Cups in the next eight seasons.
“It’s just a great, great feeling,” Schmitz said. “Even though Canada’s No. 1 sport is hockey, the Grey Cup is the No. 1 event in the country. Everyone takes their vacation and parties for a week. It’s a great, great atmosphere and a lot of fun. Coaching in that game is unbelievable.”
Schmitz even had the opportunity to become an interim head coach for Hamilton before returning to the U.S. He said he enjoyed his time in Canada immensely.
“I remember doing camps
with 9-year-old kids and, when I was in Canada, I had kids who were 37 years old,” he said. “Either way, I had fun. To me, they’re all the same. I don’t mean I coached them all the same, but to me it didn’t matter how old they were. I had fun.”
Now he gets to put on display his knowledge of the game in a different way – as the color analyst for ISU football on the radio.
“One thing I like about radio is they can’t see it,” Schmitz said. “You have to call a spade a spade. Whatever it is, you have to call it the way it is. Your guys you have to make sure they know it. You can’t start explaining coverages because you don’t have enough time. You have to try and do things the listeners understand. You have to use common terminology. You don’t want to get cute like they do on TV when they draw it up. You have to keep it simple.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
By Brandon LaChanceBelieve it or not, not everyone in Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame has a Wikipedia page. Or a baseball-reference.com profile.
Or have played in three World Series and won one.
At least not as in depth as Russ Meyer, the 2024 recipient of the Legacy Award – Individual for the Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
Meyer, who was born Oct. 25, 1923 in Peru and died on Nov. 16, 1997 in Oglesby, was a force on the ball field, both locally and professionally.
The switch hitter, who was known as a right-handed hurler, pitched in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons. Meyer was originally signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1942, but instead joined the United States Army during World War II.
After his military stint and health complications, he was released by the White Sox.
The Chicago Cubs took a chance and signed Meyer, who was known as the “Mad Monk” for his fiery temper. He spent three
• After a stint in WWII, the Peru native pitched 13 MLB seasons for six teams from 1946-59
• Pitched in three World Series, including winning the Brooklyn Dodgers’ first World Series title in 1955
• IVCC baseball coach from 1980-82
• Worked in the New York Yankees organization for 12 years, including a year as the Yankees’ bench coach in 1992
seasons in Class A1 Southern Association (now Double-A) before being called up and making his MLB debut for the Cubs on Sept. 13, 1946.
Along the way, he played for the Cubs (1946-48; 1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1949-52), Brooklyn Dodgers (1953-55), Cincinnati Redlegs (1956), Boston Red Sox (1957) and the Kansas City Athletics (1959).
For his career, he posted a 94-73 win-loss record in 1,531.1 innings pitched during 319 games (219 starts) with a 3.99 ERA and 672 strikeouts.
Meyer’s best statistical season came in 1949 with the Phillies, when he won a career-best 17 games (pitched in 25) and posted a 3.08 ERA for seventh best in the National League.
The best season of the “Mad Monk” received eight votes in the NL MVP votes in 1949. His 19th-place finish put him behind the winner, Jackie Robinson, and runner-up, Stan Musial.
In 1951, the 27-year-old right-hander from Peru earned a salary of $13,000,
which is equivalent to $157,376.59 in 2024.
Meyer is one of three pitchers in MLB history to have at least 23 consecutive road starts without a loss as he won 24 road starts spanning both the 1953 and 1954 seasons.
Although those stats and feats are notable, Meyer’s greatest claim was pitching one game in each the 1950, 1953 and 1955 World Series. The pitcher and the Phillies lost in 1950, he lost again in 1953 with the Dodgers, and finally earned a World Series ring in 1955 (alongside Robinson) when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees, who Meyer’s faced in all three series.
Meyer took an MLB mound for the last time on June 28, 1959 as a member of the KC Athletics.
After his playing career had finished, he stayed in baseball as the coach of the IVCC baseball team from 1980-82 and as a member of the New York Yankees organization coaching staff, including on Buck Showalter’s Yankee staff in 1992.
• A 1993 grad was a standout basketball player who also played softball & volleyball
• Ottawa’s all-time leading scorer – boys or girls – with 1,781 points, also all-time leading rebounder in girls program history
• Averaged 17.3 ppg in her career, senior year was named All-State and played in IBCA All-State Game
• Played collegiate basketball at the University of Michigan & competed on the track and field team
By Andy TavegiaAmy (Johnson) DeVerteuil’s name was well established going into her senior year at Ottawa High School in 1992.
She already was a 1,000-point scorer and climbing the charts as one of the best rebounders the program had seen. Plus, expectations for the following year were high after the first 20-win season in school history during her junior campaign.
But her friends helped push her into overdrive. DeVerteuil and three of her teammates came together and made the decision to forego playing a fall sport in order to get ready for the basketball season. There was Tracy Frederick, the friend since kindergarten at Lincoln School; Jamie Zimmerman, who DeVerteuil said was like her little sister; and Kayla Kleckner, the upcoming youngster two years younger who wanted to push the envelope just like DeVerteuil.
The result was golden – a 23-4 record with a regional championship for the team, while DeVerteuil cemented her legacy as the greatest player the program had ever seen.
“I didn’t do that alone,” said DeVerteuil, a Class of 2024 inductee to Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of
Fame. “I’ve coached for a long time now and I’ll always tell my players, ‘Listen, working out alone sucks sometimes.’ To have three of my teammates go through that my senior year, I don’t do that without them. We were committed to doing that and to become better basketball players.”
It certainly worked for DeVerteuil, by making her a better shooter throughout their heated games of 21, making her endurance better from running up and down the hill near the high school, or as simple as putting herself in the right headspace going into a season where she was a marked foe by opponents.
“My senior year, because it was my fourth year playing varsity basketball, I definitely had a routine,” she said. “I had a pair of home game shoes. I had a pair of away game shoes. I definitely had a pregame ritual I would follow. As far as headspace-wise, we went into some gyms where I was definitely not the favorite and, headspace-wise, I was just like, ‘I’m the best one in this gym.’ That’s how I approached it.”
That attitude didn’t just come overnight. It came from years of working hard in everything she did and listening to leadership from her coaches. She said coaches like Gary Reardon in girls basketball and John Personette in softball took risks by bringing her up to varsity as a freshman and sophomore, something that never was lost on her.
She looks at her success
as another way to vindicate those coaches for taking that risk as well as the lessons they taught.
As for the work ethic, that’s something DeVerteuil continues to stress to the youth of today. Her legacy in the city of Ottawa didn’t conclude with her playing days. She returned to continue a coaching career that extends to this day.
During her return to the Illinois Valley, she spent time coaching volleyball and freshman boys basketball at Marquette in addition to working with Craig Shymanski at Shepherd Middle School and Personette at OHS with sophomore girls basketball. She also has coached seventh grade boys basketball at La Salle Lincoln.
“My kids to this day will say, ‘Mrs. D, you’re a ‘Try hard,’” she said. “But I let them know that’s what I want from them. It takes more than just being good. You have to work hard.”
DeVerteuil loved her experience so much the legacy continued in her son, Dakota. The family returned to Ottawa for her son’s senior year in 2018-19. That year Ottawa went 25-5 and won a regional title.
“He wanted to be closer to family, and what an incredible season they had,” she said. “It was an incredible experience for him, my husband and I to experience. It was really cool.
“Kingman Gym still smelled the same to me. It’s like a second home. I love that place. It’s an incredible atmosphere.”
By Andy Tavegia
From a very young age, Tom McGinnis was hooked on basketball.
As a young kid growing up in Spring Valley, McGinnis made several trips with his dad to the old Chicago Stadium. There he watched some of the greats like Chet Walker, Bob Love and Norm Van Lier.
Like any kid, he dreamed of making it to the big stage, but even he would be the first to admit he is stunned by what has transpired.
McGinnis has gone from walking the halls of St. Bede to strolling the press row of Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. For the past 29 years, McGinnis has been the voice of the Philadelphia 76ers, calling games for everyone from Allen Iverson to Joel Embiid.
• Current and longtime radio broadcaster for the Philadelphia 76ers, starting in 1995
• Received the 2023 Bill Campbell Award for sportscasting excellence from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association
• After starting as a TV reporter, he switched to playby-play as he became radio voice in the CBA for four years; spent two seasons in minor league hockey – the first in South Carolina & second in Cleveland
“It wasn’t as glittery or as showy as it is now,” McGinnis said of the NBA game growing up. “It wasn’t such a big part of the sports entertainment culture. But I knew in my heart that if I could ever get to that, I would have achieved something in terms of a personal goal. No doubt to be in a city this size and to be where sports matters to the
people quite a bit, I never take it for granted.”
It’s a tale of hard work, opportunity and sacrifice coming together to form a perfect marriage.
It’s also a big reason why McGinnis is the 2024 recipient of the Distinguished Media Award in Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
As a freshman at Benedictine College, one day a week, McGinnis would borrow his good friend Bob Booker’s car and make the short trek from Lisle to North Central College in Naperville. There he would host a short five-minute newscast. The guy who grew up watching Walter Cronkite on television each night was bitten by the broadcasting bug.
“I got a rush out of it,” McGinnis said. “I really got into it.”
The problem was that Benedictine did not have a broadcasting major, so he transferred to Northern Illinois University to become a broadcast journalism major who worked his way onto
“I’ll never forget driving from Cedar Rapids to Rockford, sitting in the front of the bus and doing my boards. I was on the bus with a pro basketball team. It’s not that I had arrived, but it was a feeling I was in the right place. It was my sweet spot.”
Tom McGinnis
the campus radio station, WKDI, and gained an internship in Rockford.
From there, McGinnis never stopped learning or growing toward his end goal of calling professional basketball.
For example, for his second job in Panama City, Fla., he would journey to Fulton County Stadium or the Omni Center in Atlanta
and record his own broadcasts of the games to help mold the future of his broadcast career. That extra effort paid off in the late 1980s with his first play-by-play job in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, calling the Continental Basketball Association.
“I’ll never forget driving from Cedar Rapids to Rockford, sitting in the front of the bus and doing my
boards,” McGinnis said. “I was on the bus with a pro basketball team. It’s not that I had arrived, but it was a feeling I was in the right place. It was my sweet spot.”
It wouldn’t take long for his spot to get much sweeter.
For the next several years, McGinnis bounced around, calling everything from summer league basketball in Erie, Penn., to minor league hockey back in Charleston, S.C. That was before a big break came his way in the form of a minor league hockey job in Cleveland, his first major market.
On his off nights from hockey, he would host a pregame in-arena show for the Cleveland Cavaliers, sitting alongside former Cavaliers great and analyst Austin Carr. That earned him an audition for the Cavaliers’ open position at the end of the year. While McGinnis didn’t snag that job, he did build relationships that would pay off in the very near future.
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“Yes, I would do hockey,” McGinnis said, “but I knew I would kind of, shall we say, rub shoulders with the Cavaliers. And that’s exactly what happened.”
At the end of that season, one of the executives from the Cavaliers left to come to Philadelphia. That and a terrific tape from his CBA days began a domino effect that landed McGinnis the 76ers’
gig in the summer of 1995.
Twenty-nine years later, McGinnis has reached millions of Sixers fans who know him for his trademark
“Are you kidding me?” call. He’s become so beloved and respected that he won the Bill Campbell Award for sportscasting excellence from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association in 2023.
“I used to have an uncle who was big in the financial world, and he would always ask me, ‘What’s your fiveyear plan, and what’s your
St. Bede Alumni Association
Plan B?’ and I never would really answer,” McGinnis said. “It certainly gave you reason to think, but I would never answer because I didn’t have a Plan B. I was going to do this.
“Frankly, I thought it might happen sooner, but you have to go out and make it happen. They don’t come down the street looking for you. You have to go out there and get it.”
• Legendary boys and girls basketball coach, most wellknown for his success at Mendota
• Guided MHS boys to three trips to state (1988-89, 1992-93, 1995-96) before becoming the girls coach, led the MHS girls team to fourthplace state finish in 1998-99
• As MHS boys coach, won seven regionals, five sectionals; girls teams won three regionals, one sectional
• One of only a handful of coaches in Illinois history to coach a boys and girls basketball team to state; member of the IBCA Hall of Fame
• Coached Putnam County baseball team to state in 1978
By Brandon LaChanceIf you look at the list of players who wore the No. 14 jersey at Iowa State University, Mike Kilmartin’s name is there.
Ask Kilmartin about it, he’ll tell you a story.
“I tell this as a joke – my number is retired at Iowa State in basketball. It’s retired because the guy after me, Jeff Hornacek, played professional basketball,” Kilmartin says with a smile.
“Technically, I can say my number is retired.
“Toni (his wife since 1972) and I went to a NCAA Final Four, and we met Jay Bilas (college basketball analyst) at an autograph signing. When I went up to him, I told him my number at Iowa State is retired. He asked who I was. I told him I’m a nobody, but Jeff Hornacek wore it after I did. Jay said, ‘That’s a good one.’”
What isn’t a joke is Kilmartin’s high school basketball coaching career after he graduated from Mendota High School in 1968 and played 10 games for the Cyclones during the 1970-71 season.
Kilmartin took his first job midway through the 1972-73 school year as a teacher and the St. Bede freshman baseball coach. The next two years he led the freshman Bruin football, basketball and baseball teams.
The 1978 baseball season found Kilmartin at Putnam County,
where he took the Panthers to state with a 13-7-1 record.
In 1983, he took over the Mendota boys basketball team, where he racked up a 258-164 record, and made three trips to state in 1988-89, 1992-93 and 1995-96 (team finished with a 28-2 record).
The coach transferred to the Trojans girls team before the 1998-99 season and finished with a 26-7 record and a fourth-place finish in the state tournament. This is still the only basketball team state trophy in the Mendota trophy case.
He stayed aboard until the 2001-02 season to coach his and Toni’s youngest child, Vanessa.
“One of the greatest memories I have of coaching is having the opportunity to coach three of my four children,” Kilmartin said. “I didn’t coach Kelli, my oldest, because she graduated in 1990 when I was coaching the boys. I did have the opportunity to coach Jason, Derek, and Vanessa. That’s a tough situation where some people don’t understand or feel their son or daughter got the short end of the stick and say, ‘His kids are only playing because they’re his kids.’ Luckily, my three children who played for me were above average.
“You remember the good and the bad. You have to understand wins and loses have stories. Mendota was a very difficult situation. It was my alma mater. People in town felt comfortable to come up to you and ask, ‘Why you did this?’ and ‘What happened last night?’ I had people who knew me that felt comfortable enough to ask tough questions.”
After one season with the Mendota baseball team in 2006, Kilmartin stayed as a teacher and an athletic director at Mendota until he retired in 2010.
However, he couldn’t quite stop coaching as he was the St. Bede boys basketball coach from 2011-16.
“I coached boys and girls,” Kilmartin said. “Ironically, the first basketball coach to go to state in both boys and girls was a guy from the suburbs. The second was Jerry Pohl, also from Mendota, and I was the third. Since then there has been one or two more. I don’t think there is more than five coaches to go to state for both boys and girls basketball.”
Kilmartin has seen and experienced a lot during his coaching tenures, and has evolved with his teams.
“There are two types of
coaches,” Kilmartin said.
“There is the coach who tries to put players in a system
See KILMARTIN page 26
FROM PAGE 25
that doesn’t change very much from year to year. Then there is the coach who takes the players they get and you adapt your game plan to the abilities of each player.
During Mark Cooper’s senior year (1985-86 at Mendota), we were 21-7, we beat Sterling at home and had 32 turnovers.
“We decided we couldn’t run with that team because they were big, so we walked the ball up the court, and we won. A system coach wouldn’t have done that, they would have continued to run.”
Through childhood, playing sports, coaching sports, having a family, teaching and being an athletic director, Kilmartin collected sports cards and memorabilia along the way.
With the other endeavors behind him, Kilmartin sells, buys and trades all day every day to keep himself busy and in the sports world.
By Brandon LaChance
If you were in Princeton in the mid-1950s or any decade since, you’ve probably heard about the 1954-55 Princeton boys basketball team.
Actually, if you lived in the state or paid any attention to Illinois high school hoops within the last 70 years, you’ve probably heard of the Tiger squad with a 32-4 record that finished fourth in the IHSA State Tournament during a time when there was a one-class system instead of the current four-class format.
If the team accomplishments don’t sound familiar, maybe the names of the players and coach do.
John Smith, who was a Princeton High School sophomore basketball player during the 1954-55 season remembers the hardwood memories like they were yesterday.
“Joe Ruklick was a great friend of mine, and I knew the rest of the guys on the team,” Smith said. “I was super impressed with how they played, and they were all just gentlemen and took us under their wing. When you talk about the 1954-55 team, the conversation starts with Ruklick. He was an all-state player and was the team’s leading scorer. He’s the best hook shot artist I’ve ever seen, bar none. He could start at the free throw line and hook a shot from either left or right.
• Led by coach Don Sheffer, squad went 32-4 & finished fourth in the state in a oneclass system
• The 32 wins in a season remain tied for most in school history
• Fourth-place state finish remains only state trophy in PHS basketball history
• Team included two Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame members – Joe Ruklick (Class of 2020-21) & Lew Flynn (Class of 2022)
“But you have to talk about the rest of ‘The Fab Five,’ it doesn’t stop with Joe. They had some extremely good guards in Lew Flinn and Gary Mulally, who were good shooters. Dick Hult and Forrest Flinn were the forwards. It was an honor to play in front of them and have them as role models. I can’t brag enough.”
Ruklick and Lew Flinn have been recognized by the Shaw Media Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame before as the center was inducted in the Class of 2020-21 and the guard entered the hall as part of the Class of 2022.
Now the rest of the team shares the spotlight with the acceptance
of the 1954-55 Princeton boys basketball team into the 2024 hall of fame class.
“It was always nice because as a sophomore, we played before the varsity team and we always had a full house,” said Smith, who is also linked to Shaw Media’s IV HOF member Willie Hanson as Smith began his professional teaching and coaching career in Mendota when Hanson was a junior. “Every place we played, the sophomore game had a full house because fans were waiting to watch the varsity team. It was unusual and incredible.
“The entire team deserves this recognition. What a time to be a Princeton player or fan.”
Coach Don Sheffer took the PHS boys basketball program, which began in the 1921-22 season, to its first and only state appearance.
He coached the Tigers from 1950-65 and finished with a 247-152 record, but none of his other 14 seasons came close to the 32 wins and fourth in the state.
“They were a bunch of great guys, and they knew how to win,” Hudson said. “They went down to state our senior year. Moline was supposed to win, and we beat Moline. Back then, there weren’t classes so everyone played everyone; enrollment didn’t matter. Moline was a big deal back then, and we beat them.
“We had a great coach in Don Sheffer. When some of the basketball players were still alive, if you go by the high school’s gymnasium entrance, you’ll see a bench there. You’ll see a plaque on the wall honoring him. When I had that done, some of the team members that were still with us donated to it.”
According to Hudson, the only living Princeton Class of 1955 basketball team members, or those associated, are him, fellow manager Jack Hade and Connie Russell (Hudson’s sister), who was the Queen of the Sweet 16, a contest held at the time.
Bob Hudson was a senior team manager with the 1954-55 team. His memories are just as sharp as Smith’s, especially concerning Sheffer.
“They
and they knew how to win.”
SUBMITTED PHOTOS/RHONDA MOREL
By Bobby Narang
Rhonda Morel can be described in many ways. Athletic. Pioneer. Versatile. Talented. Multi-dimensional.
The list can go on and on in terms of Morel’s vast athletic accomplishments and ground-breaking career for women’s athletics – in the La Salle-Peru area, the state of Illinois and even in San Diego County, Calif.
The 1978 La Salle-Peru graduate was a four-sport athlete, competing in tennis, volleyball, basketball and track and field. When she attended IVCC, Morel excelled at cross country, volleyball, basketball and softball. During her three years at Eastern Illinois University, Morel was a rare twosport athlete, playing volleyball and basketball.
• A 1978 L-P grad, played a wide array of sports in high school, college and in her adult life
• Standout four-sport athlete (tennis, volleyball, basketball, track & field) at L-P, competed in four sports (cross country, volleyball, basketball & softball) at IVCC
• Two-sport scholarship athlete (volleyball & basketball) at Eastern Illinois University
• After college, began body building & won 1992 Heavyweight division at the West Coast Classic; also played AAU beach volleyball & indoor volleyball from 1987-2000
• Played professional women’s football from 2000-03; played for San Diego Sheriff’s Women’s & Coed Softball Teams from 199299 winning Coed Southern California Law Enforcement Championship on two occasions
Morel, known as the pioneer of women’s athletics in the Illinois Valley, credits her father, Richard, for pushing her to play sports.
Morel, 63, is among several local athletes who will be inducted as part of the Class of 2024 of Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
“I’m really honored and so proud to represent La Salle-Peru High School and IVCC,” Morel said. “I made so many friendships. My dad was an excellent athlete and was always doing sports. He was a fantastic golfer. He taught me everything in sports.”
Morel takes pride in her varied and distinguished athletic career along with being a trendsetter for women’s sports. Morel said she could grab the rim when she was in high school.
“Women didn’t have much opportunity back there,” Morel said. “I remember in 1973 they started the Peru softball league. We had to wear a white painter hat and white tennis shoes. I think I was in sixth grade. I always wanted to play sports. I even asked the La Salle-Peru football coach if I could play. A lot of these teams I was on, it was a first for women’s sports. Now all these opportunities are available for girls and women in sports. I was very proud of it.”
The 5-foot-10 Morel kept her pursuit of playing different sports even after she moved
to the San Diego area nearly 30 years ago. She competed in bodybuilding contests, AAU beach volleyball and indoor volleyball to go with playing for a women’s football team from 2000-03.
She also coached several sports in her community and competed several years for the San Diego Sheriff’s Women’s & Coed Softball Teams.
Jill Dentino has a long history of watching Morel compete in a number of sports and eventually turning into a trendsetter, dat -
ing back to middle school and high school.
“We played on opposing softball teams,” Dentino said. “I believe they may have been the first softball teams in the area. Once we reached high school, we became friends and teammates in volleyball and softball. I had never played volleyball before, but she encouraged me to go out for the team. Rhonda excelled at everything she did, while still having fun. My fondest memories of high school are playing sports with her.”
Diane Orr met Morel after she moved to the San Diego area. Orr said Morel is adept at playing nearly every sport, but her ability to relate to all ages sets her apart from other coaches.
“She started coaching at our roller hockey rink, and she coached my son,” Orr said. “We became friends and started playing adult sports together. She was ‘Flash’ and I was ‘Lightning’ on our softball team because we were so slow and because of our knees. Rhonda knows so many sports and can relate to them, whether it be track and field,
football, softball, volleyball or basketball. She can talk to a 5 year old or a 65 year old. She has a passion for youth sports, especially getting girls and women involved. She would even have fitness workouts for our hockey moms.”
Morel said she loved watching her two sons, Zach and Jake, navigate the various sports during their youth and high school years.
Zach Morel, like his mother, played five sports in high school. He was a wide receiver for Waldorf University in Iowa. Through her work with Jake, Morel worked with the Special Olympics.
“I loved competing and advocated for special needs kids to get out there and compete,” Morel said. “I made them learn the rules and the sports.”
Even after spending half of her life on the West Coast, Morel still cherishes her time in the Illinois Valley.
“I go back to every single high school reunion, been going back 45 years now,” Morel said. “I adore my friends, adore my community and am proud to be from the Midwest.”
• After coaching at Effingham HS for four years, became legendary baseball coach at Putnam County
• As baseball coach from 19792008, finished with 517 wins, seven regional titles & three sectional titles; Led three teams to state in 1982, 1998 (fourth) & 2008 (third)
• Named IBCA Coach of the Year in 1982, 1998, and 2008, member of PC Hall of Fame & IBCA Hall of Fame
• Also coached basketball at PC from 1984-90, finished with career record of 78-67
By Bobby NarangKen Jenkins won a lot of baseball games.
After spending nearly four decades in the dugout, Jenkins is among the all-time greatest coaches in IHSA history.
Jenkins coached four years at Effingham, but the bulk of his career came at Putnam County. From 1979-2008, he led the Panthers to 517 victories, seven regional titles, three sectional championships and advanced to the state tournament in 1982, 1998 and 2008.
Jenkins said he will always remember the big games, but he cherished his impact on the lives of his players.
“Putnam County was a baseball community,” Jenkins said. “We had tremendous support. Coaching my son, Aaron, is something I will always cherish. My No. 1 goal was for the kids to make them better people and make them better players. To see the smiles on their faces when things go right and the team comes together... I always tried to put a very good team out there. Our enrollment was small, so we had to work hard to have the best team possible. The biggest thing is seeing improvement of kids as they progressed.”
Jenkins, 73, is a Class of 2024 inductee into Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
Jenkins, who was named the Illinois Baseball Coach of the Year three times and is a member of the Putnam County Hall of
Fame, said he’s honored to be among the all-time greats in the Illinois Valley.
“This is little different,” he said. “It’s a great honor. I had some tremendous teams, athletes and coaches who helped me.”
Ed Swingel said Jenkins was a coach who cared deeply for his players and his community. Swingel, who was an assistant coach for Jenkins for 15 years, was amazed at Jenkins’ attention to detail.
“Ken was well respected by the players, parents, his peers and the community,” Swingel said. “He put his heart and soul into coaching baseball. Obviously, it paid off with the success he had throughout his career. I was always amazed at his knowledge of the game, especially the pitching aspect. His teams were fundamentally sound on the field. His players were well prepared for all situations. It was an absolute pleasure and honor working with him and besides him.”
Marquette baseball coach Todd Hopkins praises his former coach for instilling
“Putnam County was a baseball community. We had tremendous support. Coaching my son, Aaron, is something I will always cherish. My No. 1 goal was for the kids to make them better people and make them better players. To see the smiles on their faces, when things go right and the team comes together. ...”
Ken Jenkins
in him the core beliefs that helped him forge an excellent career in the dugout. Hopkins, who has won over 625 games and a Class 1A state championship in 2019 in his prolific career at Marquette, said Jenkins was a mentor and friend to him. Hopkins still utilizes Jenkins’ philosophy of the importance of bunting to move runners into scoring position.
“I’ve got to know him differently after I graduated (from Putnam County), when coached with him,” said Hopkins, a former star baseball player at Eureka College.
“He’s a very good fundamental coach, and good with game strategy. You just knew you always had a chance to win when you played for him. Coaching against him, you had to be on top of your game.
He had a great understanding of the game. He would never overthrow his pitchers. He had his pitching rotation and went with it. He was ahead of the curve on that. I really enjoyed playing for him. He was always so gracious and would help me early in my coaching career.”
Jenkins and Tom Wiesbrock will always have a special connection. Wiesbrock played for Jenkins for three seasons, most notably on the 1998 state team.
Wiesbrock had one of the most iconic hits in state baseball history. He belted a walkoff two-run home run in a 5-4 win over Rochester in the Class 1A state quarterfinal.
To this day, Wiesbrock’s clutch home run evokes positive memories in Putnam County.
“Coach had a lot of patience with his players,” Wiesbrock said. “Every kid learns differently. He did a very good job of teaching kids to play the right way. Coach is still a devoted part of the community in Putnam County. He’s very well respected in our community and throughout the IHSA community.”
Your achievements are a testament to the rich talen
Your achievements are a testament to the rich talent and spirit of our community, and we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.
We are deeply rooted in our community and understand the importance of teamwork, perseverance, and striving for excellence - values these hall of fame inductees exemplify tonight. Help
By Brandon LaChance
In its 1987-88 season preview for the Illinois Valley Community College men’s basketball team, the Peoria Journal Star read the best possibility for the squad was a national championship.
Under “There will be trouble if,” the publication bluntly read, “If everyone flunks out of school because there seems to be no other way this loaded team could lose.”
However, at the beginning of the season, the Apaches were not living up to expectations, but by the end of the campaign, IVCC men’s hoops was a local and national attraction.
“We struggled in our first semester,” said Mark Cooper, who was a freshman from Mendota on the squad.
“It wasn’t a talent issue. We lost a lot of close games, and we just didn’t quite mesh together yet. Our roster changed at the start of the second semester, and we added a point guard from Peoria Manual, Adrian Hutt, and everyone’s roles were a little more defined. Once Adrian was eligible after transferring to IVCC, it just seemed like we took off. We got better every game. We lost a game early in January and then went on a big run. We were playing really good basketball. It was an exciting brand of basketball that was bringing people in the area to IVCC that wasn’t happening the few years before.”
• One of the most successful teams in IVCC men’s basketball history
• Finished 27-9, shared N4C title & won Region IV Tournament to advance to Division II NJCAA National Tournament
• Placed third at D-II NJCAA Tournament – highest finish in school history
• Coached by Shaw Media Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020-21 inductee Dean Riley
It all led to school history as the Apaches posted a 27-9 record and finished a program-best third place at the NJCAA Division II Tournament.
Now the historic squad is a Class of 2024 inductee into the Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
See IVCC page 38
Back in 1987-88, awards and recognition came from every direction as IVCC coach Dean Riley, the former Ottawa coach and fellow Shaw Media’s IV Sports Hall of Fame inductee, was named the North Central Community College Conference Coach of the Year.
Tim Bailey, a 1986 Marquette grad who transferred in as a sophomore after playing at a year at Augustana, led the team in scoring (17.1 points per game), was the Bob Beals’ Team MVP, had the best free throw percentage (78.3 percent) and was named N4C Second Team.
“It was cool Dean Riley wanted me to play for him,” Bailey said. “Back then, high school basketball was a twoclass system. When I was at Marquette, we played Ottawa. I was a sophomore on varsity for the final game between Marquette and Ottawa in basketball. My family went to Marquette. It wasn’t really a choice. I had a lot of friends who went to Ottawa. It was exciting for the former Ottawa coach to want me to play for him.
“I came home after a year at Augustana, and my plan was to work on my game, go back to school and see what I could do from there. I was working downtown and coach showed up at
my work. Before I chose Augustana, I had a visit at IVCC, and to be honest, I don’t think coach had much interest in me at the time, so I chose to go elsewhere. The next thing I know, he shows up at my job before my sophomore year and invited me to open gyms and wanted to talk. It went from there, and I became a part of a memorable team.”
Bailey was joined by four other starters and the IVCC sixth man on the all-conference team as Cooper and Chris Daniels (Peoria Manual) were on the first team, Hutt was on the third team and John Freeman (Lostant) and sixth man Corey Akers (Alleman) were honorable mention.
The Apaches scored more than 100 points eight times, including a season-high 149 points in a 149-80 victory over Rock Valley Community College.
“Things were different back then without the ease of communication between communities,” said Cooper, who led the squad with 213 rebounds. “You knew of each other and have built some relationships through playing over the years, but relationships weren’t as deep as they might be now because there wasn’t the communication.
“It wasn’t difficult playing with them because Coach Riley was so good at being able to bring a group of kids together and getting them to buy into what we needed to do. Truthfully, we had a blast. We had a lot of fun. It doesn’t always work, but for us, it just worked. By the time you’re able to have a core group of kids in the area and supplement with some kids out of the area, it all came together.”
Also attributed to the 1987-88 team’s success were assistant coaches Steve Nett and Gerry Thornton, guards Daniel Hutchings (Coal City), Doug Robbins (Princeton) and Shawn Shehane (Newark), forwards Richard Taylor (Decatur MacArthur), Craig Schlosser (Ottawa), Todd Haab (Olympia), Steve Cottingham (Ottawa) and Erick Wahlgren (Princeton), and centers Ralph Haynes (Streator) and Doug Veronda (Putnam County).
Finished 27-9, shared N4C title, and won Region IV Tournament to advance to Division II NJCAA National Tournament
Placed third at D-II NJCAA Tournament - highest finish in IVCC history
One of the most successful teams in IVCC men’s basketball history
Coached by IV Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dean Riley
By Andy Tavegia
• A multi-sport athlete, the 1974 grad was most wellknown in baseball; had a 0.55 ERA his senior year, threw two no-hitters, was team MVP & leading hitter
• Pitched at Bradley University from 1975-78 seasons, shared team MVP in 1978
• Spent part of six seasons playing for four different MLB teams, mostly as a reliever; finished MLB career with a 17-17 record and a 4.25 ERA before playing three seasons in Japan
• Member of Marquette’s John Pocivasek Hall of Fame, Greater Peoria Area Sports Hall of Fame & baseball jersey was retired by Marquette in 1987
t’s truly amazing how one’s life can change seemingly in the blink of an eye.
Guy Hoffman never will forget the day that happened for him in 1978.
A left-handed pitcher at Bradley University at the time, Hoffman was literally days away from calling it a career. An engaged youngster set to be married in a few months, he and his coach agreed it was probably a good idea for him to get a job.
His coach was set to give him one more start.
That start changed everything.
With a scout in attendance mainly to watch Hoffman’s teammate play first base, Hoffman threw what he thought was the best game of his four years at Bradley.
Six or seven innings into a perfect game in which he also had two triples, Hoffman looked up into the stands to see that scout get up and leave.
“When he got up and left,” said Hoffman, a 1974 Marquette graduate, “I just kind of looked over at my dad and said, ‘Wow, that’s as good as I can be. That’s as good as I’ve ever been. What do you have to do to impress one of these guys?’”
See HOFFMAN page 40
What Hoffman – a Class of 2024 inductee to Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame – didn’t know at the time was he did impress that guy. So much so that the scout had to leave to make a call to the Chicago White Sox organization to say he found a left-handed pitcher for the team to sign.
“He had to leave the park we were playing at, drive a couple of miles down the road and find a pay phone,” Hoffman said. “By the time he got back, the game was over and we were gone. But he knew (someone) who knew Harry Caray. He contacted him, who contacted the sheriff in Peoria at the time, and two of his sons, George and Jim Shadid, were playing on my team. Through the grapevine, they found me and brought (the scout) over at 6 in the morning.
“(George Shadid) said, ‘I’ve
got somebody with me you need to meet.’ I said, ‘At 6 o’clock in the morning? This had better be good.’”
It was.
The scout, who needed to leave quickly to catch a flight to Iowa, was set to offer Hoffman the opportunity to play professional baseball for Appleton in the White Sox organization.
“He smiled and said, ‘Make us proud.’ Then he got up and left,” Hoffman said. “I was like, ‘Holy crap, what just happened?’ And then to call my dad, who was already at work, and tell him that I just signed with the White Sox, he couldn’t believe it. We had our moment.
“It was pretty special to be able to tell my dad that.”
That was on a Monday with Hoffman scheduled to start Wednesday night.
That’s just an indication of how quickly things worked over the next year or so for Hoffman. He pitched that game and the rest of the season for Appleton, the single-A
affiliate for the White Sox.
After winning the Midwest League championship, he came back to Appleton the following season before being promoted to Triple-A Iowa after only a few weeks. Six weeks later, Hoffman was being promoted to the big leagues.
In a span of slightly more than a year, the Marquette graduate had gone from nearly retiring to making his MLB debut on July 4, 1979 in Cleveland against the Indians.
“To be honest, at the time I wasn’t really prepared or ready to be in the big leagues. But I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity either,” Hoffman said. “It was just one of those things that the hardest thing for me was getting over the awe factor.”
Over the next eight years, Hoffman pitched in MLB for the White Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers.
In 1980, he served mainly as a relief pitcher, going 1-0
with a 2.63 ERA over 37 2/3 innings with 24 strikeouts.
In 1987, he started 22 games for the Reds and went 9-10 with a 4.37 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings pitched.
While he wasn’t the hardest thrower, he quickly adapted in college and the pros by realizing what truly is important in making a successful pitcher.
“The most important thing is control,” Hoffman said. “I mean, you see it every day that guys throw 98, 99 or 100 miles an hour, and the batters are still hitting it. That’s fine and dandy that you can throw that hard, but if you can’t locate the pitch and throw it where you want when you want, it’s just a matter of the batter timing it up. And they will catch up to it. I don’t care how hard you throw. So it’s location and being smart. It’s not always going with your best pitch. If you have a scouting report on a batter, sometimes you have to pitch to their weakness.”
Guy Hoffman on your induction into the Illinois Valley Hall of Fame
We are proud of our former Crusader Athlete and Student
• Star basketball player at L-P and IVCC who later coached the L-P girls basketball team
• After a year at Lincoln JC, he transferred to IVCC in 197576 & averaged 28.4 ppg to lead all Illinois junior college players, named all-state JUCO
• Later played two seasons at the University of Hawaii
• Coached the L-P Girls Basketball Team for 12 seasons, including a program-best 18 wins in 2021-22
By Brandon LaChanceWhen asked what is his favorite thing to do, Hollis Vickery will answer fishing.
He’s had a rod and reel in his in hand since he could hold one.
Next on his list may be basketball.
“I had a lot of good players to play with, and I had some great coaches,” Vickery said. “I had great support from my family and friends. That’s why I played the game. They made it easier for me to play. I loved sports growing up.
“There were 48 kids in the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s hard to believe there were that many, but there was a family of 12, we had seven and there was another family of eight. We were always outside playing sports. Of course, basketball was one of them and everyone had a hoop. I lived near La Salle-Peru High School, about a half block away, and it had about 10 basketball hoops outside. It transitioned from summer baseball to playing basketball in the fall. It was the thing to do.”
Vickery, who was recruited by St. Bede but went to L-P to follow his six older siblings (two brothers and four sisters), became an excellent shooter as he credits playing outside and having to adjust for wind and different sized hoops.
Graduating from L-P in 1974, he helped add regional plaques to the school walls in each of his last three years, including a 27-2 team in 1971-72 with Paul Mellon, Pete Kasperski, Gary Hops, Jim Happ and Don Sparling.
Coach Jack Margenthaler made the game easy for Vickery and his teammates.
“If I remember right, we scored over 100 points in four different games my senior year,” said Vickery, a Class of 2024 inductee to Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame. “One game, we won 101-100. We played a fast-paced brand of basketball. Jack brought it in. We didn’t run an offense like teams run now. It was kind of a four out where we set one pick along the baseline to get someone open to feed the post player. It was a different era. We played pressure defense.
“I remember not knowing where I fit in my sophomore year. Margenthaler told me, ‘You rebound and you run like hell on the fast break. That is how you’re going to get your points.’ I also passed the ball to Paul Mellon in the middle because he was 6-foot-10. That was the offense we ran – run, run, run. We were in great shape. I think about this now - If I could survive one of Jack Margenthaler’s practices, I can survive anything. They were very intense and very tough. He pushed us hard. The end result was we practiced hard to make the game easy, and it was a lot easier.”
There was also extra incentive to win games because the Cavalier class directly before them went to state in both the 1967-68 and 1969-70 seasons. Instead of pressure, Vickery felt the great teams before him brought opportunity to his squads.
See VICKERY page 44
“I thought it was fun. I thought it was a challenge. I thought we should go to state. I expected we would be there at the end of the season,” Vickery said. “There wasn’t any pressure, I just looked at it as a challenge, fun, and maybe I could get a date.
“I’m serious. At 14 or 15 with a bunch of zits, a lisp, and curly locked hair, you just hoped for anything to get you a date. You play for any reason you can find sometimes.”
After graduating from L-P, Vickery signed to play basketball for Lincoln Junior College, but was only at school and with the team for a semester before transferring to IVCC, where he sat out the rest of the 197475 season before playing in 1975-76.
The shooter averaged 28.4 points per game, tops in Illinois junior college, to earn all-state honors.
“At IVCC, it was all about fun,” Vickery said. “I didn’t expect anything except trying to stay in shape and play a little basketball. I didn’t have any goals to go any further than where I was. I happened to be at that place at that time. I was relied on to score a lot of points and I didn’t mind shooting.
“Everything kind of fell into place. We had a couple of decent point guards. They were good and they were good at getting me the ball. We had fun. The whole team had fun.”
Fun continued for Vickery as he transferred to the University of Hawaii for his last two years.
He averaged 3.8 points, 38 percent shooting from the field, 1.4 rebounds and one assist in 45 games.
“I didn’t play that great at Hawaii, to be honest,” Vickery said. “It’s a different environment. It’s laid back. I was away from home for the first time. I had a girlfriend for the first time. For me, it was a big change. I had a lot of fun in Hawaii, probably too much fun.”
Although his college career was finished after the 1978-79 season, Vickery played basketball at the Illinois Valley YMCA as much as he could.
His love for basketball led to coaching as he guided the L-P girls basketball program for 12 seasons.
“I used a combination of things I had learned from my coaches and tried stuff I wanted to try. What worked yesterday doesn’t always work today,” Vickery said. “At L-P, you’re sandwiched between volleyball and softball. There are a lot of club players. There were years I thought to myself, ‘Geez, I hope I get six or seven kids out.’
“It’s a different game than I grew up with. There is a different attitude. I tried to do some of the same things that worked when I was in high school and college, but it’s not the same. There are a lot of things you have to deal with at the high school level.”
With basketball behind him, he has even more time for his rod and reel.
The City of Peru is proud of our community’s outstanding athletes. We salute this year’s inductees and their contribution to local sports and beyond.
Mayor: Ken Kolowski
City Clerk: Dave Bartley
Treasurer: Jackson Powell
1ST WARD ALDERMEN: Jeff Ballard • Bob Tieman
2ND WARD ALDERMEN: Tom Payton • Jason Edgcomb
3RD WARD ALDERMEN: Mike Sapienza • Rick O’Sadnick
4TH WARD ALDERMEN: Jim Lukosus • Andy Moreno
SUBMITTED PHOTOS/WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
By Andy Tavegia
• A 1978 grad, three-year starter is program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,681 points
• Helped team to two NCIC titles, two regionals, two sectionals and appearance in 1978 State Tournament
• Played collegiately at Western Kentucky, where he was a three-time All Ohio Valley Conference selection & Associated Press AllAmerican selection in 1982
• Drafted by the LA Lakers in 1982 NBA Draft before playing professionally in Israel & Spain
• Member of the Ottawa High School Hall of Fame & WKU Hall of Fame; current radio color analyst for WKU men’s basketball
hen Craig McCormick arrived at Ottawa High School as a sophomore in 1975, he was a little bit in shock.
After spending most of his life in Oakland, Calif., everything was a bit foreign living on his grandparents’ farm five miles outside of town on Route 23.
“It was quite the culture change,” McCormick said.
Luckily, he had the perfect attribute to use in order to bond with others – talent on the basketball court.
At taller than 6-foot-8 and already having helped his school in Oakland to a city championship, McCormick was the perfect addition to a program that was coming off a regional championship season. And with McCormick at the helm, Ottawa basketball rose to levels the school hadn’t seen since Gil Love’s teams of the late 1960s.
Behind a mammoth front line that featured three players 6-foot-6 or taller, Ottawa won consecutive sectional titles and advanced to the state quarterfinals in 1978 – McCormick’s senior season. Overall, Ottawa went a combined 50-7 in the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons.
“I was only there for three years and didn’t have a lot of background on everything,” McCormick said. “But coach Dean Riley and coach Gary Vancil, those guys supported me when they were coaching, and I was lucky enough to play with some other outstanding players. Cam Meyers, Bob Ross, Kevin Kimes and that bunch. We just really bonded together and had some
good coaching.”
McCormick – a Class of 2024 inductee to Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame – was a major part of that loaded front line.
Considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of a very proud program, McCormick scored 1,681 points in his three-year career at OTHS, while also being a willing facilitator.
“The way I approached basketball was that it wasn’t all about me,” McCormick said. “It was about the team. While I got some of the headlines, I was always very appreciative of my teammates. I didn’t have to score as much. I wanted to share the ball and pass the ball. I was a decent passer in high school and college or wherever just because I was a little unselfish and wanted everyone to share in it, not just me.”
McCormick certainly had the benefit of some outstanding coaching.
At Ottawa, he had Dean Riley, a fellow Shaw Media Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee who was a knowledgeable coach that specialized in instruction, combined with Gary Vancil, the assistant who was an outstanding motivator.
At Western Kentucky University, he had the benefit of the legendary Gene Keady in his very first head coaching gig.
“The reason I wound up at Western Kentucky was solely because of Gene Keady getting the job there,” McCormick said. “Before that, I didn’t know anything about Western Kentucky. I was looking at Kentucky, Duke and Wake Forest as my final three. Then all of a sudden out of the blue comes Western Kentucky with a new coach. So I went down to another great instructional, motivational, hard-nosed coach in Gene Keady. That kind of set
the table in expectations. I think my sophomore year at Western, when Gene Keady made a focus of getting the ball inside, my confidence just really bloomed, and I started excelling on the college level.”
After leaving Ottawa, he became a 1,000-point scorer with more than 650 rebounds for WKU. He then was a
fourth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1982 NBA Draft.
Since his career ended, he’s been inducted into the OHS, WKU and Illinois Basketball Coaches Associated halls of fame.
Pretty incredible for a once shy, tall kid who didn’t know if he would fit in the Illinois Valley.
We are proud to have had you on our team!
By Brandon LaChance
There are a few people who can be called a Mendota pioneer. When it comes to basketball and baseball at Mendota High School, Bob Beals is the definition of the word “Pioneer.”
Beals transformed the Trojan basketball program, initiated the baseball program and inspired student-athletes on any stage he could from 1960-75.
“The basketball team was known for a fast-paced offense,” said Beals’ son, Pat, who played for his dad before he graduated from Mendota in 1973. “His motto when I was playing was it would be cool if a high school team could get 100 shots off in a game. Before there was the 3-point line, he figured if you could shoot 40 percent, a team would have 80 points. He thought most teams weren’t going to outscore you if you had 80 points. Running fast breaks and quick scoring was a fun way to play.
“We were encouraged to shoot if we were open. On defense, we pressed. It was an up-and-down game that way. Fun to play.”
The coach wasn’t new to sports or teaching when he came to Mendota as a business education teacher (typing, bookkeeping).
In 1949, Beals graduated from Iowa City High School, where he helped win a state basketball title in 1947 and was on the football, baseball and track and field teams. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1953 after playing baseball for four years and basketball for one.
• Legendary boys basketball coach at Mendota & IVCC
• As MHS coach from 1960-75, led the Trojans to a 233-140 record & won four regionals, including in 1970-71 when his team won 27 games, which is second-most in school history
• In 1975, left MHS to become head coach at IVCC, where he coached until his death in 1979
• Original member of IBCA Board of Directors, on which he served as secretary/ treasurer for many years; Member of IBCA Hall of Fame
With his degree and marriage to Ann Beals (June 29, 1951) intact, he taught and coached at Hampshire High School. He won three district titles and posted a 130-56 basketball record in seven years before leaving for Mendota.
“When he came to Mendota, he was very lucky,” said Pat Beals, who was age 5 when the Beals family moved to Mendota. “He had a guy named Willie Hanson (Class of 2022 HOF inductee) who was a sophomore. He was an all-state selection and the team went 56-15 over
the three years he played for my dad. He had some really good players. The teams didn’t always do well, but he was able to get the best out of his players. He loved coaching basketball and baseball.
“He could recognize talent. I remember before Don Hamel (the all-time leading scorer in MHS history and 2023 HOF inductee) was even in high school, going to games in Troy Grove with my dad when I was in fourth or fifth grade, and he knew that Don, even in grade school, was going to be a special player.”
The MHS basketball team went 223-140 in Beals’ tenure with regional titles in 1962, 1969, 1971 (27-2 overall, 11-0 in NCIC for the conference championship) and 1975.
Along with his duties in the classroom and the basketball team, Beals coached the Trojan track team for one year in 1961 before becoming the first baseball coach in school history for the 1962 season.
After 15 years of MHS bas-
ketball and 14 of baseball, he left for IVCC.
“He had different offers when he was at Mendota,” Pat Beals said. “I was at Mendota High School and my sister was still in school, so we were against him going anywhere else. My sister was a junior when he left for IVCC. He wanted to be a college coach.
“With him in Oglesby, my sister could stay at MHS for her senior year. I graduted, so it didn’t matter. He was excited about coaching at IVCC. He liked the idea of recruiting players from the area because he knew there were a lot of great players. He played the same style of basketball at IVCC that he did at Mendota.”
Beals was 46-54 with the Apaches.
However, in a shock to all, Beals passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 9, 1979 at age 49.
“I think he was sicker than anyone thought, including me and our family,” said Pat Beals, who was 24 at the time. “He went to the hospital and within a week he passed away. The autopsy
showed he had pancreatic cancer. It came out of the blue. The last time I talked to him was on my birthday, Jan. 4., in the hospital. Up until the day he died, I don’t think he missed any classes as a teacher or games as a coach.”
Although his life ended too soon, his legacy was already cemented and lives were touched with his influence and guidance.
Jerry Pohl, a 1971 MHS graduate, remembers his coach fondly.
“This is a long time in waiting, but well worth it and well deserved,” Pohl said. “Coach Beals made me a better player. He made me feel that I could not let him down. He brought a different style of basketball to Mendota. The kids loved it and so did the fans. Get it and go.
“When I got to play with the great Don Hamel, coach would say, ‘Give him the ball and get out of the way.’ I’m very happy and proud that my coach has been selected into Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.”
Former player turned
coach and fellow a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Mike Kilmartin accredits some of his coaching success to Beals.
“The greatest thing about Bob Beals, the ultimate compliment, was he was a lot of fun to play for,”
Kilmartin said. “The No. 1 reason we play sports is to have fun. A lot of coaches are not fun to play for, but Bob Beals was a great guy, he made sports fun, and you wanted to play for him. He wasn’t mean. He would get on you, but he was fair, and you understood what he was trying to teach you. I asked Bob Beals a lot of questions when I first got into coaching. I miss him.”
And most importantly, to the day Ann passed Aug. 10, 2020, and to Pat and Melissa to this very day, Bob Beals was more than a coach, he was a great man they called husband and dad.
“I’m very proud of him,” Pat Beals said. “He influenced me to coach and to teach. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and I’m glad it’s happening.”
Website: rss.com/podcasts/ edgeofyourseatpodcast
By Bobby Narang
All signs pointed toward a development season for the 2005 Bureau Valley football team.
A year prior, the Storm rode a senior-dominated team all the way to the Class 3A state championship game as they lost to powerhouse Addison Driscoll 37-14.
Continuity wasn’t the theme for the 2005 team.
Seventeen starters needed to be replaced, along with the introduction of a new quarterback, a new coach and a slight shift in offensive and defensive philosophies.
Dave Moore took over as head coach after serving as an assistant coach. His stepson, Garrett Barnas, was moved from fullback to starting quarterback.
And the rest was history.
The Storm lived up to their nickname, riding a wave of newcomers to the starting lineup to become one of the most iconic football teams in the history of Bureau County.
BV overcame a rough opening game against Amboy to build momentum on the way to the program’s and school’s first and only team state championship with a 34-7 rout over Tolono Unity in the Class 3A state title game.
Moore said the Storm’s success was because of their diversity on offense coupled with a strong defense and an unrelenting will to win despite the odds.
Moore pointed out that his team trailed Amboy by 21 points in the season opener but came back to win 22-21, setting the tone for the rest of the season.
The Storm ran an offense mixed with the Wing-T and option and played mainly with a four-man defensive front.
BV outscored its opponents 501-163 in 2005 to remain the only undefeated 11-man state champion in Illinois Valley history.
“I knew everybody on the team because I was an assistant for quite a few years,” Moore said. “We basically had unfinished business. I had a lot of good kids who wanted to go ahead and make sure we finished in a different category.
“The majority of that team was pretty much all juniors. By the end of the regular season, we were pretty much two different teams. We could throw the ball but also run the ball with precision. It just took a bit of time to get the framework. It was a special time, and the kids gave all of their heart.”
See STORM page 54
• Under coach Dave Moore, went 14-0 & won Class 3A State Title
• Only state championship in school history, defeated Tolono Unity 34-7 in 3A State Title Game
• Outscored opponents 501163 (35.7 ppg-11.6 ppg)
• Remains only undefeated 11man state football champion in area history
FROM PAGE 53
Nathan Black, a starting fullback/middle linebacker, scored on a 9-yard touchdown run in the title game to set the tone early in the first quarter against Unity.
Black said the 2005 team was motivated by the success of the previous season, despite their lack of experience. Black also recorded 11 tackles against Unity, while Matt Morman had a dominating game with a team-high 15 tackles, a pass breakup and fumble recovery.
“The 2004 team was loaded with senior talent,” Black said. “They were a really great group to follow and for us to have the opportunity to practice with. It made for some pretty intense practices that definitely played a role in our success the following year.
“Going into 2005, there were a bunch of unknowns for sure. The expectations outside the building weren’t very high, so to have the season go the way it did was pretty incredible. We were extremely fortunate to have
such a great coaching staff.”
Barnas, a starting quarterback/safety, pointed to the team’s resolve for winning the state title. In the state title game, he ran for three touchdowns, carrying the ball 25 times for 142 yards.
“We embraced our team’s strengths, adapting to new positions and coaches while mastering a newly-revised offense,” Barnas said. “We emerged from the shadow of the legendary 2004 team, driven by the thrill of having everything to prove and nothing to lose. That’s what truly set us apart and made our journey special.”
Reid Nodine, a starting running back/defensive back, was among a small handful of players with extensive varsity experience. Nodine scored on a 4 yard touchdown run in the second quarter against Unity.
“Looking back, it’s still remarkable at what that team and coaching staff was able to do,” Nodine said. “We felt there was some unfinished business, but we really didn’t know what sort of expectations to set, nor did we really talk about what we had accomplished the year before. We
had our next chapter to write.”
Former Bureau Valley defensive coach/assistant coach Jeff Ohlson saw some signs of the possible run to the state championship when several players from the 2005 team were underclassmen, but he noted the development of many players was slowed due to not getting sufficient playing time in 2004.
“I knew about Week 9 that we had some special kids that year,” Ohlson said. “A lot of it was them learning after being backups and playing mostly in practices the year before. We had quite a few kids who
didn’t see a lot of playing time in 2004. We had a senior-dominated team. We graduated about every kid and also had a coaching change before the 2005 (season). Guys like Nathan Black and Matt Morman didn’t see the field (much). It was a great group of kids who were highly motivated. It’s a credit to the kids. They bought into our plan and knew what they needed to do.”
Because they did, the 2005 Bureau Valley football team is a Class of 2024 inductee in Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
Joe Rutgens, La Salle-Peru
Eric Siebert, La Salle-Peru
J.A. Happ, St. Bede
Shawn Jeppson, Hall
Kailey Klein, Hall
Steve Safranski, Putnam County
Bill Brown, Mendota
Nicole (Coates) Schaefbauer, Princeton
Gil Love, Ottawa
Bill Novak, Ottawa
Bob Guyette, Marquette
Doug Dieken, Streator
Chuck Rolinski, Toluca
1979 IVCC Football Team
1995 Hall Football Team
Louis Rios, Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award
1925 La Salle-Peru Football Team, Legacy Team
Leo Cahill, La Salle-Peru
John Skibinski, La Salle-Peru
Jim Mini, St. Bede
Gary Vicini, Hall
Carol Pratt, Fieldcrest/Putnam County
Willie Hanson, Mendota
Donald “Rusty” Wells, Ottawa
Lew Flinn, Princeton
Vince McMahon, IVCC
Gerald “Chips” Giovanine, Bureau, Western, La Salle-Peru
1988 St. Bede Baseball Team
1983 Streator Softball Team
Robert “Bo” Windy, Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award
Howard Fellows, La Salle-Peru, Legacy Award - Individual
Richard Nesti, Hall, Legacy Award - Individual
Mike Goff, La Salle-Peru
Gary Novak, La Salle-Peru
Ken Gorgal, St. Bede
D.J. Glynn, Hall
Jerry Zielinski, Putnam County
Ron Zagar, DePue
Ray Jauch, Mendota
Joe Ruklick, Princeton
Dean Riley, Ottawa/IVCC
Zami (Mogill) Hay, Streator
1985-86 Ohio Boys Basketball Team
Mary Dagraedt, Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award
Art Kimball, Distinguished Media Award
Lowell “Pops” Dale, Legacy Award - Individual
1945 Walnut Football Team, Legacy Award - Team
Legacy Award, Team: 1953 Hall Football Team
Bob Prusator, Tiskilwa Legacy Award, Team: 1951-52 DePue Boys Basketball Team
Torie (Bunzell) Kueker, La Salle-Peru
Brad Bickett, Ohio/Bureau Valley
Legacy Award, Individual: Bron Bacevich, St. Bede/Marquette
Larry Corrigan, Mendota
1966 Ottawa Football Team
Distinguished Media Award: Kevin Hieronymus, Shaw Media
Carlton Fay, Putnam County
Tom Henderson, Ottawa
Don Hamel, Mendota
Mark Haberkorn, La Salle-Peru
Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award: John Pocivasek, Marquette
1990 Princeton Volleyball Team
Eric Bryant, DePue/IVCC/Hall
