Unity adds three to Hall of Fame during ceremonies on first night of MVIT

MENDON, Ill. — The Unity Athletic Hall of Fame added three members Monday night as the Class of 2022 was inducted during ceremonies between games of the Mississippi Valley Invitational Tournament. The induction class includes: Brian and Julie McAllister, athlete and supporters; Ken Ellerbrock, athlete and supporter; and Mike Myers, athlete. The Unity Athletic Hall…

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Crim: Dorsey’s Hall of Fame voice became soundtrack for golden era of Quincy basketball

Jeff Dorsey, left, and Mike Moyers prepare to call the action during the 1982 Class AA state boys basketball tournament in Champaign for WTAD. | Photo courtesy Mike Moyers

QUINCY — The voice. Instantly recognizable, it was a fixture on Quincy airwaves for more than four decades. Commanding yet comfortable, perfect for radio, whether Jeff Dorsey was doing play-by-play of a sporting event or hosting a daily morning show. “There have been a number of great play-by-play guys, with (future baseball Hall of Famer)…

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Schwagmeyer, Fischer, Dorsey to be inducted into IBCA Hall of Fame

Former Central and Quincy University standout Ali Schwagmeyer will be part of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023. | Photo courtesy QU Athletics

QUINCY — A Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year who played professional basketball overseas, an all-state forward who later played at Culver-Stockton College, and a distinctive radio voice are part of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Central’s Ali Schwagmeyer, Pittsfield’s Tim Fischer and Quincy’s Jeff Dorsey will…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: 1981-82 girls basketball team

The 1981-82 Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team finished third at the Class A state tournament. | Submitted photo

QUINCY — The phrase “rebuilding season” was tossed around before girls basketball season started at Quincy Notre Dame in 1981. Four players had graduated from the 1980-81 team that placed second in Class A, and coach Ivan Brown also was gone. However, a young team quickly gelled, and a late-season injury didn’t stop the Raiders…

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2022 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee: John Groves, friend of sport

John Groves has been involved behind the scenes with Quincy High School athletics for more than four decades. | Submitted photo

QUINCY — A 1968 graduate of Quincy High School, John Groves has been a loyal supporter and contributor for more than 50 years. Groves began helping his father, Jerry Groves, when he started the first formal “Chain Gang” for the QHS football team in 1960. John took over those duties from his father in 1982…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: 2011 boys soccer team

The 2011 Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team won the Class 1A state championship. | Submitted photo

QUINCY — The 2011 boys soccer team stumbled into the postseason, going 2-3-1 in the last six games of the regular season, but they racked off seven straight victories to claim the school’s first state championship in 26 years. The Raiders opened the postseason with a 9-1 victory over Athens, then needed a goal from…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: Tom Wisman, athlete and coach

Tom Wisman has coached basketball overseas since 1976. | Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: Quincy Notre Dame will hold its Hall of Fame induction at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 2022 Gully Transportation Tip-Off Shootout at The Pit. QUINCY — After playing basketball at Christian Brothers High School and Quincy College, Tom Wisman spent most of his life coaching basketball around the world. Wisman,…

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2022 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee: Tom Berry, coach

Tom Berry served as an assistant coach with the Quincy High School boys basketball and soccer programs before guiding the QHS girls basketball program to new heights. | Submitted photo

Editor’s note: The Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame will hold its induction ceremony at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games in the 51st QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. QUINCY — A  1963 graduate of Quincy High School who played baseball and basketball through his sophomore year, Tom Berry chose to have…

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2022 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee: Matea Simovic, athlete

Matea Simovic won 140 matches in her high school tennis career. | Submitted photo

Editor’s note: The Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame will hold its induction ceremony at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games in the 51st QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. QUINCY — One of the most successful girls tennis players in Quincy High School history, Matea Simovic was a four-time state qualifier, three-time…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: Leigh McLaughlin, athlete

Leigh McLaughlin was a catalyst for success for both the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball and soccer teams. | Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: Quincy Notre Dame will hold its Hall of Fame induction at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 2022 Gully Transportation Tip-Off Shootout at The Pit. QUINCY — As the Quincy Notre Dame basketball team racked up all kinds of points during the late 2000s, it seems almost impossible to think that…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: John Frankenhoff, athlete

John Frankenhoff led the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team in scoring as both a junior and a senior. | Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: Quincy Notre Dame will hold its Hall of Fame induction at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 2022 Gully Transportation Tip-Off Shootout at The Pit. QUINCY — John Frankenhoff played a critical role in bringing a sectional championship back to Quincy and end a 14-year postseason drought. Frankenhoff, a 1989 Quincy…

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2022 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame inductee: Jared Anders, athlete

Jared Anders was a two-time state medalist in the pole vault at Quincy High School and enjoyed an All-American career at Missouri S&T. | Submitted photo

Editor’s note: The Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame will hold its induction ceremony at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games in the 51st QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. QUINCY — Jared Anders followed in his family’s footsteps — straight to the Hall of Fame. A two-time state medalist as a pole…

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2022 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: Shannon (Foley) Venvertloh, athlete

Shannon Foley Venvertloh is a 2012 graduate of Quincy Notre Dame who excelled in three sports — volleyball, basketball and soccer. | Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: Quincy Notre Dame will hold its Hall of Fame induction at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 2022 Gully Transportation Tip-Off Shootout at The Pit. QUINCY — Shannon (Foley) Venvertloh played different roles in different sports — goal scorer in soccer, defensive standout in volleyball and playmaker in basketball. She played…

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Atwell’s Hall of Fame honor is product of decades of hard work and tribute to small-town roots

Pat Atwell, right, accepts his Hall of Fame plaque after induction into the New York Section V Baseball Hall of Fame during ceremonies at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y. | Photo courtesy Ethan Bissinger, Rochester Red Wings

CANTON, Mo. — Pat Atwell enjoyed a trip down memory lane, and his family went along for the ride. While the stories told may have been embellished just a little, what can’t be overexaggerated is the impact Atwell has had on multiple communities and countless people throughout a career as a standout baseball player, a…

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Schuckman: Crim’s induction into IBCA Hall of Fame is fitting honor for inspiring writer, friend

Muddy River Sports senior columnist Don Crim, left, receives his Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame plaque during Saturday night's banquet in Normal, Ill. Photo courtesy Peggy Crim

Intimidating. It seems funny to say it, but that is the most apt description for how I viewed Don Crim the first time I walked into the Quincy Herald-Whig newsroom nearly 33 years ago. The sports editor’s desk, complete with stain rings from his coffee cup and an overflowing ashtray of cigarette butts, served as…

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Legendary Quincy newspaperman among IBCA Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductees

Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductee Don Crim

QUINCY — A legendary Quincy newspaperman, a Carthage radio voice and an all-stater from Warsaw are among the inductees in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2022, the association announced Monday. Former Quincy Herald-Whig sports editor and executive editor Don Crim will join Keith Yex in being inducted into the media…

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2021 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame Inductee: Jordan Smith, athlete

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame together this year. Smith will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QHS’s boys basketball game.) Being nominated to the Blue Devil Hall of Fame is something I never thought would happen. I am honored to…

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2020 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame Inductee: 2009 girls volleyball team

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame together this year. The 2009 volleyball team will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QHS’s boys basketball game.) A decade after the Quincy High School volleyball program earned its first state trophy in record-setting fashion,…

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2020 Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame Inductee: Matt Schuckman, Friend of Sports

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame together this year. Schuckman will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QHS’s boys basketball game.) The author of “Stand Up and Cheer: A Century of Blue Devils Basketball” and a reporter who has covered the…

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QU inducts acclaimed athletes, two Final Four teams into Sports Hall of Fame

The 1994 Quincy University women's soccer team was inducted into the QU Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. Photo courtesy Brendan Saak

QUINCY — Three acclaimed athletes, two Final Four teams and a devoted volunteer were inducted into the Quincy University Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony Saturday morning in the Hall of Fame Room on the QU campus. Frank Vinciguerra, who played on the men’s soccer team from 1973-76; Murphy Grant, a football player from…

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IBCA honors local players, coaches, friends of the game during Hall of Fame banquet

Steve Looten, who spent more than two decades covering local sports at KHQA and WGEM, receives his IBCA Hall of Fame plaque during a banquet Saturday night in Bloomington, Ill. Submitted photo

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association waited, rescheduled and then waited some more before receiving an “all clear” to hold its Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony. Although recipients and their families were required to wear masks inside Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena on Saturday night, the IBCA finally was able to…

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