The Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame banquet is scheduled for
Saturday, Jan. 25, at Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo.
Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 13. Cost is $35 $30
and they’re available at the Baymont Inn & Suites (5640 Kitsap Way,
west Bremerton) and Team Sports (1550 NE Riddell Rd., east
Bremerton). Cash and checks only will be accepted at the Baymont
and at Team Sports. You can also email Kitsap Athletic Roundtable
secretary/treasurer Jodee Strickland — jodeestric@aol.com — to
reserve tickets or write Kitsap Athletic Roundtable, P.O. Box 5707,
Bremerton, Wa., 98312, to request tickets. Strickland will mail
tickets to those who request them before Christmas by Dec. 31. If
you request them after that day, the tickets will be left at will
call on the day of the event.
Tickets will be available at the door, but it’s best to rsvp to
Strickland or write a letter to the KAR to make reservations.
The Hall of Fame begins with an 11 a.m. social hour. Dinners
will be served at noon with the induction ceremony to follow.
Here’s a previous story I wrote about the event. Some of the
athletes will be featured as we get closer to the date:
The Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame’s latest class includes the
winningest unlimited hydroplane driver in the history of the sport,
the first athlete from Kitsap County to compete in the Olympics, an
outdoorsman who is a noted mountain climber, author and artist, the
voice of the Kitsap Stampede and a competitive men’s soccer team
that paved the way for so many others to enjoy the sport in our
area.
This will be the 26th Hall of Fame ceremony, but only the
ninth year that it has been staged in its present form. Previously,
the Kitsap Oldtimers inducted deserving baseball and softball
players, coaches, sponsors and umpires. When the Oldtimers
disbanded and merged with the KAR, the Hall of Fame was expanded to
include all sports.
This year’s class is among the most diverse in
history.
The hydroplane driver is Dave Villwock, the
South Kitsap grad who announced his retirement in May after a
legendary career that included 67 victories — 10 of them Gold Cup
wins — and 10 national titles.
Ed Eliason grew up in Poulsbo and became
one of the nation’s top archers. He won seven national titles and
placed fifth at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Burley’s Dee Molenaar, 95, is the author of
The Challenge of Rainier, considered the definite work on the
climbing history of Mount Rainier, where he worked as a park ranger
and mountain guide. He climbed Rainier more than 50 times and was
involved in several other mountaineering expeditions.
Randy Corley, who moved to Silverdale from
North Platte, Neb., 12 years ago, has been voted the Professional
Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Announcer of the year 11 times and he
has been a fixture at the Kitsap Stampede for more than 30
years.
The Bremerton Chuggers — a men’s soccer
team — formed in 1974 and played until 2000. They made a major
impact on the local soccer scene, and Lance McCoy, one of the
founding players, said the Chuggers are thrilled to be going into
the local Hall of Fame.
“We’re the first soccer group to ever go in,” McCoy said.
“It’s a sport we all cherish and love, and you can’t know what an
honor it is to be inducted into this group of incredible athletes.
For us, it’s kind of a culmination of 27 years of work.
“ … There wasn’t a lot of soccer in this area when we
started and to see where it is now, it’s rewarding. So many of our
players have given back and are now in the coaching
ranks.”
Two other teams will be inducted: the 1951 Bremerton
High football team, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in
the state before losing 14-13 to Ballard in the annual Thanksgiving
Day game in Seattle and the 1984 Suquamish slowpitch team that won
a national championship.
Other athletes and coaches voted in include:
Mark Rill: Former South Kitsap star helped
the Wolves to the state finals in 1981 and to the semifinals in his
senior year in 1982. He went on to have a standout career at
Pacific Lutheran as an offensive tackle (brother David, already in
the Kitsap HOF, was a linebacker at Washington).
Gary Rouse: The Bremerton drag racer made a
name for himself as one of the top competitors in the sportsman
class. For years, he drove a ’65 Chevelle in the SS/M automatic
class and he more than held his own when he matched up against the
best in the nation.
Allison Eoff: One of the top competitive
female bowlers in Kitsap County history, she’s also been a good
ambassador for the sport and handled various administrative
roles.
Kerry Keefe: Former Bainbridge basketball
star — she averaged 18.6 points her senior year and is the career
leader in rebounds for the Spartans — started two years at
Georgetown University.
Chris Thorsen: Former Central Kitsap
athlete was one of the best athletes of his era, starring in
basketball and track and field, where he ran the half-mile. Thorsen
has coached several years during his teaching career.
Ernie Hahn: Longtime junior high coach —
baseball, football and wrestling — in Port Orchard impacted a lot
of lives during his career. He also worked as an assistant football
coach at South Kitsap when Ed Fisher was the head man.
Mike Welch: Bainbridge girls basketball
coach established a successful program, leading the Spartans to
second-, sixth- and third-place finishes in his first three
seasons.
John Ross: Smart, quick and aggressive,
Ross was the leading rusher at West High, Olympic College, where he
earned honorable mention All-American honors, and at Central
Washington, where he rushed for 1,119 yards in two
seasons.
Jerome Walker: A state sprint champion at
West High in 1978 and ’79, Walker went on to have a standout career
at one of the elite track and field programs in the country — the
University of Oregon.
Bonnie Burmaster: Former Olympic Aquatic
Club coached worked with youth swimmers in the area for 27 years
before retiring in 2009. Among her students: Olympians Tara and
Dana Kirk, and Nathan Adrian.
Frankie Lee: One of the top roller hockey
players and coaches in U.S. history, Lee was on the U.S. National
team from 1984-99, and still coaches the USA Ladies National team
that usually includes a handful of players from his Bremerton
Hurricanes team.
The Rex Brown Distinguished Service Award will be awarded to
the Carlson family, which has owned and operated
Minder Meats for years and been huge contributors to the community.
Jim Carlson Sr., was also a standout lineman on the ’51 Bremerton
High football team and past president of the Kitsap Athletic
Roundtable, as was his son Jim Carlson, Jr. Marlyn Carlson was
among the first female members to join the KAR.
The Dick Todd Award goes to a sports official and this
year’s honoree is Jim Lamont, who got into
officiating basketball because of Todd.
