News & Events

Congratulations to the Chicago Bandits for clinching first place in the National Pro Fastpitch League regular season this weekend (Aug. 21-22) at Judson University in Elgin. Good luck to the Bandits as they compete in the league's championship series in Sulphur, LA, next weekend. In addition, congratulations to Jennie Finch and Stacy May, who will be retiring at the end of this season. Both were honored by the Bandits by having their uniforms retired. Both players were members of the 2008 Bandits team that won the National Pro Fastpitch League championship in the team's first year in Elgin.

Congratulations to Elgin Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jim Smith for being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquette University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Alumni Association this spring. Smith, who received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Marquette, was a four-year letter winner in men's basketball and later an assistant coach at Marquette. He has coached basketball at St. John's in Collegeville, MN, for 46 years. The winningest collegiate basketball coach in Minnesota, Smith recently reached the incredible milestone of 700 career wins, making him one of only two men in NCAA Division III history to do so. Last year, the university dedicated the Sexton Arena court as the Jim and Adrienne Smith Court. In 2009, Smith also received the Outstanding Service Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Jim will be honored at this year's Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation's banquet.

The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation's fifth annual golf outing to benefit its scholarship fund will be held on Thursday, September 9th, at The Highlands of Elgin. All interested golfers are invited and encouraged to participate. Cost per golfer is $125, which includes lunch and dinner. Anyone interested in attending the dinner only may do so for $35. Expected guests include Atlanta Hawks General Manager and Elgin High product Rick Sund and many other Elgin Sports Hall of Fame inductees. A silent auction will be held for sports memorabilia such as autographed baseballs, footballs, and hockey items. Hole sponsorships are also being accepted for $150. For more information, please call Dick Fitchie at 847 888-2939 or refer to the golf outing link on the website.

Five new candidates have been approved for the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot:

Jon Charneskey has earned the coveted rank of Grand Master by the United States Handball Association for having won a minimum of 10 national championships. Jon has won 13 national championships in singles and doubles handball competition. In addition, he has won 22 state handball championships beginning in the 1980's. In 1999, Jon won a world singles championship.

Jay Goedert served as an assistant basketball coach for 19 years beginning at Elgin Community College in 1979, followed by longer stints at Elgin High School, Northern Illinois University, and DePaul University. Jay was the recipient of the NABC "Guardians of the Game" Merit Award in 2000 and was named "Most Visible Assistant Coach in America" in 1994. The Jay Goedert DePaul/NIU MVP Trophy was established in 2004 in honor of Coach Goedert's contributions to college basketball at those institutions. Among his other contributions were as vice president of the Assistant Coaches Committee of the NABC, technical advisor to Gatorade television commercials and a CBS TV movie, and a coach at numerous basketball camps in the Chicago area for over 20 years.

Kerri Kerber was a three year varsity softball player for Larkin High (1989-1991). During that time, Kerri was All-Conference for two years, All-Area for two years, and a member of the Chicago Tribune Coca Cola All-Star Team. Kerber then played varsity softball for Northern Illinois University for three years. She was named All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference Second Team in 1995 as a junior. The following year, Kerber was selected to the All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference First Team. In addition, she made the All-Midwestern Conference All-Tournament Team and was named the 1996 Player of the Year in the All-Midwestern CC. Kerri was made the All-Great Lakes Region Second Team in 1996.

James Kossakowski was a three sport athlete at Larkin High, where he wrestled four years on the varsity. As a junior, he had 30 wins and followed with 38 wins as a senior. In 1986-87, James placed 6th in the state tournament in the 145 pound weight class. The following year, Kossakowski finished in 2nd place at the state tournament in the 155 pound weight class. During a four year career at Northern Illinois University, James recorded 20 victories in each of his two first years, won 19 meets and finished in 2nd place in the conference as a junior, then won 27 and lost 9 as a senior. During that year, he finished in 2nd place at the NCAA West Regionals and earned a spot in the NCAA Championships. His 27 wins left him one victory shy of All-American status. In 1992, James qualified for the Olympic Trials in Roman Greco wrestling.

Ryan McKenna attended high school at St. Edward from 1996-1998 and graduated from Larkin High in 2000. He was an All-State athlete in two sports while at Larkin: soccer in 1999 and 2000 and baseball in 2000. During his high school baseball career, Ryan tied an IHSA state record by reaching base 17 consecutive times and also tied the City of Elgin record for home runs in a season with 14. His career batting average was .491, which ranked 15th all-time in the state, and the 65 runs scored (1999) ranked 4th in the state at that time. McKenna was named All-Area for three years, made the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association All-Chicagoland Team in 1999 and 2000, and was selected as a preseason high school All-American by Collegiate Baseball Magazine in 1999. Ryan then attended Arizona State University where he played on the ASU team for four years and compiled a .286 career batting average. He tied the career fielding percentage of 1.000 at ASU and was the recipient of the Jim Henderson Courage Award and the Bill Kajikawa Award for Most Outstanding Male Student-Athlete.

The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation's membership has elected the following individuals to the Hall of Fame for 2009: MIKE COYLE, 1967 graduate of Larkin High, who was a track standout and state medalist in the 440 yard dash; CORRY CARTER IRVIN, who became the all-time leading girls basketball scorer at Larkin prior to playing at Fresno State University; JULIE KOVACS FISHER, who starred in volleyball at Larkin High and Indiana State University; JIM PERKINS, the highly successful golf coach and long time athletic director at St. Edward High School; and DICK STEPHENS, the winningest football coach in Elgin High School's history and builder of a highly successful football program at Bartlett High School. CONGRATULATIONS to these five individuals on their election to the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame.

In May, the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation board of directors presented $1000 scholarships to 25 deserving student/athletes. This was made possible through the generous donations from members and friends, in addition to the outstanding support of last fall's golf outing.

The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation honored the All-American Girls of the Professional Baseball League on Friday, July 11th, 2008. During a ceremony held at the Wall of Fame in The Centre of Elgin, Hall of Fame board members presented fifteen members of the All-American Girls League with a plaque for outstanding achievement as a group for their contributions to our national pasttime. In addition, each woman was recognized for outstanding achievement by the foundation. Click on this link to view a recent article about the Pioneers of Women's Softball.

The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame currently has a display of artifacts and memorabilia from inductees and outstanding achievement recipients at the Centre of Elgin, along with photos of the 2009 inductees and 2009 scholarship recipients.