Pittsfield announces first class of Saukee Hall of Fame inductees

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The inductees in the inaugural class of the Saukee Hall of Fame were announced Friday with a nod to the history that has made Pittsfield High School athletics special for so many decades.

The class features one team, two athletes, one coach and a handful of others whose impact on the school runs deep.

Headlining this class is the 1970 football team, which finished 9-0 with nine shutouts. It is arguably the best season during the record-setting 64-game winning streak the Saukees enjoyed from 1966-73 and remains the state record.

Brad Hamilton and Tim Fischer are being inducted as athletes.

Hamilton is one of just three boys basketball players to be named first-team all-state, leading the Saukees to a four-place finish at the Class 2A state tournament in 2011. He is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,515 career points after averaging 18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.7 assists as a senior.

He also is the career batting average leader for the Pittsfield baseball program with a .452 average.

Fischer was part of the Saukees’ 1985 Sweet Sixteen team before playing basketball at Culver-Stockton College.

Glenn Smith, who coached football at Pittsfield from 1944-60, fashioned a 107-37-7 record and for whom the football stadium is named after, is the coach being inducted.

Also being inducted are educators Harold Voshall and Gary Woods, distinguished alumni Greg Willard and Matt Powell, and WBBA Radio as a friend of the program.