For the five individuals and one team comprising the second classof the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame, inducted with a banquetand ceremony at the World Arena on Friday night, this was theirshining moment.
But it was also a moment to put their athletic successes inperspective, to remember not only themselves, but also the events ofSept. 11.
As Colorado Springs Sports Corporation president Dave Ogrean saidin his opening remarks Friday, setting the tone for the rest of theevening, after Sept. 11, 'sports were, for many of us, a connectionto normalcy, or at least a diversion from the horrific events of theprevious days.'
'We live in a world in constant quest of heroes,' Ogrean said.'Never, perhaps, as much as now.'
And so the heroes were presented to an audience of approximately1,000 people at the second annual event. Those heroes, all anintegral part of the foundation of sporting excellence in ColoradoSprings and the Pikes Peak region, were:
Judy Bell, a past president of the United States Golf Associationand former amateur champion who has lived in Colorado Springs formore than 40 years.
During her speech, Bell shared some of the lessons she's learnedover the years from golf.
'It has taught me never to give up, to be honest, to treat peoplewith respect,' she said, and she recalled how one of her greatestgolf moments came as an administrator, when she helped bring the 1995U.S. Women's Open to the Broadmoor.
'I don't think the people of Colorado Springs have ever had afiner golf moment,' she said. 'Walking up the fairway of the 72ndhole, in that huge gallery filled with friends and fellow citizens,the feeling was just incredible. Our town has a great sportsheritage, and it's a privilege for me to call this place home.
Earl 'Dutch' Clark, the first Colorado College athlete in anysport to be named an all-American, and a pioneer of the NationalFootball League as one of its most prolific players in the 1930s, asix-time all-pro who led the league in scoring three times. Clarkremains the only Colorado native in the Pro Football Hall of Fame inCanton, Ohio, as part of the NFL's inaugural class in 1963.
Clark, who died in 1978 at age 71, was represented by his sonsEarl Jr. and Tim, who recalled sneaking down to the family basementto sift through a footlocker filled with news clippings of theirfather's glory days, mementos saved by their grandmother.
'He would be so happy about this, because Colorado Springs meantso much to him,' Tim Clark said. 'It has been 64 years since he lastplayed football, and even longer since he was an active sports figurein Colorado. To be recognized all these years later speaks volumesabout the kind of athlete he was, and about the kind of man he was.'
Jeff Sapp, a former Mitchell High School star athlete who was anall-American noseguard at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1976, then wentonto a distinguished career that continues in the Navy, in which heis a captain.
'I'm so very honored to share this podium with such dedicated andsuccessful competitors as the ones being honored here tonight,' Sappsaid. 'This event showcases the depth and richness of the sportslandscape in the Pikes Peak region.'
Sapp spends much of his time as a motivational speaker, and heshared some of those talents with the audience when he spoke on thetheme of 'controlling and overcoming fear, an idea which has becomethe foundation on which all of my success is based,' he said. 'Fearcan start wars or end them. ...Once we conquer fear, there is nostopping us.'
Jill Trenary, a world champion figure skater in 1990 and three-time U.S. champion whose career was shaped by her time living inColorado Springs and training at the Broadmoor under legendary coachCarlo Fassi from the time she was 15. As Peggy Fleming, a fellowfigure skater and inductee into last year's class, said in thehighlight video of Trenary's career, 'It was a fresh quality that shebrought to skating.'
Trenary recalled how 'magical,' it felt to train at the old WorldArena at the Broadmoor, how she especially enjoyed Sunday mornings inthe studio rink, with one wall of mirrors and another of windowslooking out over the lake and the grand hotel, how she was one of thelast skaters to glide across the ice at the old facility before itwas torn down.
'It broke my heart to say good-bye to such a dear, dear friend,'she said. 'But it has also been comforting to see a new generation ofskaters thrive as they skate at this new World Arena.
'I arrived here in this quiet city - it used to be a lot morequiet - and it became my base, my stability, my home,' she said.'Today, 18 years after I moved here, it is still my home. Thiswonderful, gentle city gave me a chance to dream, a chance to grow.'
Bill 'Red' Hay, the greatest hockey player in Colorado Collegehistory, who scored 60 goals in 60 games over two seasons, leadingthe Tigers to the NCAA championship in 1957, then became the firstplayer to ever make the successful jump from college hockey to theNational Hockey League. He was the Calder Trophy winner as theleague's rookie of the year in 1959-60 with the Chicago Blackhawks,and the following year, centering a line that included Bobby Hull andMurray Balfour, helped lead his team to the Stanley Cup.
Yet despite all those NHL accomplishments, Hay recalled how'Colorado College and Colorado Springs really were the best threeyears of my life.'
'If I hadn't gotten married, I'd still be a lifeguard at theBroadmoor hotel,' Hay said, 'taking one or two classes a year, andloving every minute of it.'
The 1958 Air Force football team, the first in school history toplay a major college schedule, going 9-0-2 against a slate thatincluded five teams that went to bowl games that season, earning atrip to the Cotton Bowl, tying a Texas Christian team that boastedfive future NFL all-pros including Bob Lilly, and earning the No. 6ranking nationally.
It seemed like half the crowd on Friday night was comprised ofteam members, since 30 of them showed up for the event, joining coachBen Martin, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
- Kamon Simpson may be reached at 636-0215 or ksimpson@gazette.com
CLASS OF 2001
Bill 'Red' Hay
Regarded as perhaps the greatest Colorado College hockey player ofall time, he was the first college player - from any college - tomake a successful jump to the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy as theleague's rookie of the year in 1959-60. But he first made a name forhimself here, leading the Tigers to a national championship in 1957,with a 25-5 record. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL,and was center on the 'Million Dollar Line' that included Bobby Hulland Murray Balfour. Hay, 65, was president of the Calgary Flames andis now the chairman and CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
1958 Air Force football
It was the first Air Force Academy team to play a major-collegefootball schedule. The 1958 team was the only undefeated squad theacademy has fielded, going 9-0-2 and reaching the Cotton Bowl, whereit tied Southwestern Conference champ Texas Christian 0-0 andfinished ranked No. 6 nationally. Despite not having a player largerthan 6-foot-4 and 216 pounds, Air Force tied Big Ten champion Iowaand beat such teams as Colorado State, Stanford, Utah, Oklahoma Stateand Colorado. The most notable player was senior tackle Brock Strom,who later was selected to the National Football Foundation Hall ofFame.
Jill Trenary
Trenary came to Colorado Springs to work with famed skating coachCarlo Fassi at The Broadmoor. Trenary won national titles in 1987,1989 and 1990 and captured the world championship in 1990 in Halifax,Nova Scotia. After finishing fourth at the 1988 Winter Olympics,injuries forced her to end her amateur career. Trenary, 32, touredseveral years professionally and in 1994 married Christopher Dean,Jayne Torvill's partner on Great Britain's gold medal-winning icedancing team.
Judy Bell
One of America's top female amateur golfers in the 1950s and1960s, Bell, 65, won three Broadmoor Invitationals and twice playedon the U.S. Curtis Cup team. In 1964 she shot a 6-under-par 67 in theU.S. Women's Open which stood as a record for 14 years. In 1996, shebecame the first woman elected president of the U.S. Golf Associationand served two terms. She's now a consulting director for the USGAFoundation, based in Colorado Springs.
Jeff Sapp
Sapp blossomed at Mitchell High School, where he excelled inbaseball, track, wrestling (he was a state champion at 167 pounds in1972), but especially football. Although he had over 60 scholarshipoffers, Sapp chose the U.S. Naval Academy, becoming both a teamcaptain and an all-America noseguard in 1976 despite weighing 196pounds. Still in the Navy and now a captain, Sapp, 46, has been anaide for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has served in the Persian GulfWar, has commanded six vessels, including a 9,000-ton destroyer, andis a popular motivational speaker.
Earl 'Dutch' Clark
As a Colorado College quarterback, Clark's exploits were sostupendous the school was compelled to keep statistics for the firsttime in 1928, when he was the state's first consensus football all-American. In the NFL, he played two seasons with the Portsmouth(Ohio) Spartans, leading them to a pair of title games, and rejoinedthe team after it moved to Detroit in 1934. He quarterbacked theLions to the NFL championship in 1935, made all-pro six years, ledthe NFL in scoring three times and retired after the 1938 season. Hewas a charter inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and hasbeen honored by the College Football Hall of Fame. Clark died in1978.
