Category Archives: Public News

World Cup skier Kristina Koznick, veteran NHL center Bryan Smolinski and World Champion Beach Volleyball player Randy Stoklos have been elected into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame for 2015.

Kristina Koznick is one of the United States most decorated female World Cup slalom racers, racing 12 World Cup seasons with six World Cup wins, 20 podiums and 55 top ten finishes. She was the top U.S. female in World Cup slalom standings every year from 1995 -2005, and ranked in the top 15 in the world from 1998-2006, rising to as high as second in 1998-1999 and again in 2001-2002.  Koznick is a five-time U.S. National Slalom Champion and a three-time Olympian (1998, 2002 and 2006).  She retired in 2006.

Bryan Smolinski started playing college hockey in 1989 at Michigan State University and was drafted as the 21st pick in the 1990 NHL Draft. He joined the Bruins after completing his four years at MSU where he was named All-CCHA first team and NCAA All-American.  Smolinski played 17 seasons in the NHL with the Bruins, Penguins, Islanders, Kings, Senators, Blackhawks, Canucks and Canadiens.  He played in 1,056 NHL games, scoring 651 points with 274 goals and 377 assists.  Smolinski was a two-time member of Team USA for the World Cup (1996 and 2004) and a two-time member of the U.S. World Championship team (1998 and 1999).

Randy Stoklos played 19 years on the professional beach volleyball tour earning his first career title at the 1981 Manhattan Beach Open.  He went on to win 122 Career Opens which is third on the all-time wins list.  Stoklos won three U.S. Championships (1982, 1988 and 1990) and was voted AVP’s Most Valuable Player three times (1988, 1989 and 1991).  Stoklos teamed with Sinjin Smith to win the Beach Volleyball title at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona as a demonstration sport which became an official Olympic sport at the following Olympics in 1996.  He became the first player to reach the $1 million mark in earnings and finished his career ranked third on the AVP Career Earnings list.

The awards will be presented to the recipients at the 43rd Annual Induction Banquet on Thursday, June 18, 2015, at the American Polish-Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan.  Tickets for the banquet, which begins at 6 p.m., are $100 and can be ordered by calling (313) 407-3300.  Information about the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is available at www.polishsortshof.com.

As a young skater, Lori Nichol would become absorbed in whatever music was playing in the ice rink;
an early indication of her future brilliance as a choreographer. Originally from London, Ontario, she
trained with many world-renowned coaches, and then spent three years honing her craft as a member
of the John Curry Skating Company. Although she enjoyed coaching for a few years, choreography
was her true calling in the skating world. Her ability to design skating programs that combined detailed
technical elements with the best qualities of each individual skater, all perfectly timed to each subtle
nuance of the music, revolutionized the sport.

Although she has choreographed many Olympic and World Championship winning programs, her
greatest joy is working with athletes and helping them find the style and skills that create their unique
place in the skating world. As a result, many of her programs are considered unparalleled signature
skating pieces. And she is never prouder than seeing the pure joy on an athlete’s face when the
program has been skated at its best.

She continues to push the sport forward as an author and presenter, and has been recognized by
many Hall of Fames around the world.

Inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame 2012.

LUBBOCK, Texas — The National College Baseball Hall of Fame announced today the 2015 recipient of the National Collegiate Umpire Award honoring a lifetime of excellence in umpiring.

The recipient of the this year’s award is John Magnusson, who umpired postseason college baseball for 23 consecutive years from 1984 to 2006. He worked a total of six College World Series at three different levels and along the way served in the evaluation, training and scheduling of umpires for 26 years in Florida.

“John’s career speaks for itself,” said Mike Gustafson, president and CEO of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. “His peers recognized his on-field excellence as well as his professional contributions to umpiring, and that speaks volumes.”

Magnusson’s selection was the result of a nomination and screening process by past and current NCAA national coordinators of umpires, NCAA regional advisers, conference umpire coordinators and four collegiate head coaches.

“To be included in this group, and especially the umpires that precede me, gave me a rush of emotions,” Magnusson said. “When I was notified, I was on the way to my home town of Kissimmee, (Fla.) where my love of baseball was fostered. I visited the site of my first game as an umpire at Oak Street Park 49 years ago. I kept thinking of all my family that allowed me to pursue such a dream.”

Magnusson will be honored as part of the Hall of Fame’s annual Night of Champions on June 29 in Lubbock, Texas.

For more information, contact Mike Gustafson at [email protected] or (806) 749-2233.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The International Sports Heritage Association’s (ISHA) board of directors has voted for the second straight year to expand the grant programs offered to its membership.

ISHA members will now have the opportunity to apply for seven different grants to receive assistance attending the annual conference and for special projects.

The organization will award up to three conference grants that can be worth as much as $1,000 each. There will be a fourth grant opportunity worth up to $2,000 that will be available to a member institution located outside of North America. Those grants are designed to offer financial assistance for a member to attend the annual conference, which this year will be held October 21-23 in Williamsport, Pa. — home of the World of Little League Museum. ISHA will also award two conference registration grants (covering the conference registration fee only) for emerging sports heritage professionals.

Additionally, ISHA will award a $2,000 special projects grant.

 

With over 30 projects completed at universities across the nation, exhibit fabrication firm 1220 Exhibits has found a niche in higher education, fabricating halls of fame and activating brands throughout campus. Most recently, 1220 completed updates to the Wally Pontiff Jr. Hall of Fame for Louisiana State University’s baseball team, fabricating two display cases showcasing jerseys of the most recent former Tigers making headlines in Major League Baseball. The 2008 SEC Championship trophy was replaced with the 2013 SEC Championship trophy, a 2014 plaque was added to the History wall along with an NCAA plaque to the Tiger Tradition case. 1220 fabricated exhibits for the Hall of Fame’s opening in 2013 has become a long-term partner, providing updates in 2014 and 2015.

In addition to creating the opening exhibits for the Highers Athletic Complex at Baylor University in 2008, 1220 has been a trusted resource to provide yearly updates and additions to the exhibitions with the 2015 updates including adding recent bowl victories, academic All Americans and installing All America plaques.

With over 100,000 square feet of production facility in Nashville, TN, 1220 provides breakthrough solutions for the fabrication and installation of exhibits, events and experiences. Past clients range from history museums and nature centers, to sports and music halls of fame. For more information on how 1220 can make your vision a reality, contact (615) 333-1220 or visit www.1220.com.

The successful completion of a few projects for Hall of Fame Museums in Canada brought Zone Display Cases to join the Association (ISHA). The Wayne Gretzky Sports Hall of Recognition in Brantford, Ontario, is their most recent completed project.

 

The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre is the hub for sporting activities in Brantford and surrounding areas and it is only fitting that is the location of the NEW Brantford & Area Sports Hall of Recognition.   Numerous Olympic, National and International athletes have called Brantford and surrounding communities home.  The Sports Hall recognizes hometown heroes, including the Great One, Wayne Gretzky who changed the face of hockey.

 

The new Sports Hall is an exciting new tourist attraction featuring display cases, memorabilia, interactive trivia game, and mini-theatre to honour Wayne Gretzky and the many accomplished athletes in the Brantford area now and for years to come.

 

Zone Display Cases, a leading manufacturer of museum quality display cases in North America, is proud to have been part of the project while supplying museum quality display cases that would showcase artifacts from Gretzky’s many accomplishments and feature a variety of items from various Olympians and athletes who have competed globally.

 

Find more about Zone Display Cases and what they do at: www.zonedisplaycases.com

 

Find more about the Wayne Gretzky Sports Hall of Recognition at: http://www.waynegretzkysportscentre.ca/AboutUs/SportsHallofRecognition.aspx

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. –  The Lake Placid Olympic Museum recently rediscovered a scrapbook dating from the 1910’s to the 1920’s, created by Henry Uihlein II, in its archives while undergoing an inventory of the collections.  This treasure reveals a new story of how Lake Placid became a mecca for winter sports and has recently been digitized and uploaded to the New York Heritage Digital Collections website (http://newyorkheritage.org/), where it is now able to be browsed in its entirety.

The album is a unique collection of beautiful black and white photographs, articles, and objects relating to speed skating around Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.  When Museum staff first looked through the scrapbook, they were amazed to learn that largely through Henry Uihlein’s efforts, Lake Placid gained world-wide recognition when he brought the village’s first International event in 1920; when they hosted the International Outdoor Speed Skating Championships.

Museum Director, Alison Haas, stated, “As you flip through the pages of the book, it becomes evident that Henry Uihlein, a businessman, had a passion for speed skating and was a proud supporter of Lake Placid’s area youth, including skater, Charles Jewtraw, the 1924 Olympic champion.  History always gives credit to Godfrey Dewey, President of the 1932 Olympic Winter Games, but Henry should no longer be overlooked and is equally important to our story.”

Funded by the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation, staff at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum along with the Northern New York Library Network worked together to digitize the scrapbook to help preserve the contents found inside.  The scrapbook provides a unique record of Lake Placid’s history and museum staff is in the beginning stage of planning an exhibit to be installed in the spring of 2016.  The exhibit will feature content found within the scrapbook and focus on the hard work and dedication of Lake Placid’s winter sports pioneers and speed skating.

If you would like to learn more about this project and the stories of speed skating in Lake Placid, please visit the Lake Placid Olympic Museum on Main Street.  The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

About Lake Placid Olympic Museum

The mission of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum is to tell the world about the Olympic movement and Lake Placid’s rich winter sports’ history in order to promote the values of Olympism to the broadest possible audience.  The museum and its collections is governed by the Lake Placid Olympic Museum board of trustees and is a 501 c3 corporation.  For more information about the museum, visit: www.lpom.org.

Recently the Hockey Hall of Fame called upon fans to help come up with a name for the newest addition to the HHOF family and the response was overwhelming! Over 2,300 creative submissions were received from all over North America.

Judging took place by a panel of Hockey Hall of Fame staff who thoroughly reviewed each entry. After much deliberation, the panel narrowed it down to a name that received over 70 submissions, thus resulting in a random draw.

And the winning submission is … SLAPSHOT.

Congratulations to Diane Leib from Fort QuAppelle, Saskatchewan. Diane is the Grand Prize winner with SLAPSHOT.