ruffffm Tffff l_ff&ffffr$$-*tp #F T#M LAwfffffruCff_ THff fr#l$ffaff# SpffffT$ HELL fff FAMH HffN#ff$- &hlff Hff$*FS, C#L#ffAff# ATHtffTff$ IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE AN Y COLORADO resdenr who has not heard of John Elway, a name synonymous n the state wth footb aii greatness. Not as well known s Jm Toupal, although the two share the same sports plateau. Both are members of the colorado $po1.ts Hall of Fame. \fth sx more names fr?go ths year, there are'now 245 sports fgures n the hall. Former Denver Broncos quarterback Elway was elected to the hall n L999, frre years before he was named to the Pro Football,Hall of Fame. Toupal, nducted nto the hall ths year, had a 32-year basketball coachng c:rreer that regstered a 6lg-333 recond" coachng 12 N!-Amercans attrtndad state Junor college before rerrng n 2004. Toupal's teams never lost a home game n the lff0s. wnnng a record I3Z straght. clockwlsf; rr$m UpPfrR LffFT: HALL #F FAMfRAND Sp*RTSw#r4HNl or coloran* HXlCLjTtVH DtR f;ct#r, j#atnth fftrkland; TOM LAWRHf{CH Aruff 2S I S ATHLHTf; *F THHYHAR, LIh}*SHYVCI\N; 20t5 NDUCTHH j$$4rd GAGLtARmtANm Hp'lfrHff ffavh L$GAN; INTERIOR OI CSLORAM# SF$RTS HALI- *F FAMH; TOM LAWRHNCff, f999 tnmuernf; JfF{rd HtwAX m*arm r"lffmmf;r THEO GRFG*RYA[Nff COL*RAN# LT G#VHRF{*R J*ff GARESA
Others n the 201,6 Hall of Fame class nclude former Colorado Rockes star Vnny Castlla, Avalanche standout Mlan Hejduk, Denver Rockets/Nuggets honoree Ralph Smpson, plus Aurora coach and admnstrator Rhonda Blanford-Green and record-settng Eaton Hgh School baseball coach Jm Danley. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, created n 1954, has had a physcal presence snce 2001 wth a museum at Sports Authorry Feld at Mle Hgh. The hall, under the leadershp of Presdent and CEO Tom Lawrence snce 2003, has now become more than a way to honor elte sports fgures from Colorado. Lawrence has taken the hall out of ts fnancal doldrums nto a tool to help sports across the state. colfnunty sports orgaruzatons. Colorado, Expresson contacted some other state sports halls of fame about ther efforts. Some, lke that n oregon, have awarded small scholarshps to ndvdual student-athletes, and others, lke Kansas, don't rase funds specfcally to donate to communty groups but have donated money from fundrasers to groups lke Grls on he Run n sedgwck county, Kan. None apparently do t on the level that the Colorado sports Hall of Fame does. In addton to corp o.rate sponsorshps, the hall rases funds through events lke the annual nducton and awards banquet, whch wll be held Aprl 19 at the Denver Marcott Cty Center, the champonshpsaturduy 5A and4a hgh school champonshp games, and an arvtual CSHOF Golf Classc tournament. It also handles tours of Sports Authorty Feld, whch ncludes a vst to the hall's museum tsef. Roots n Colorado Lawrence knows Colorado and the state's sports ntmate y. He grew up n Aurora and played on a basketball scholarshp at the Unversty of Colorado n Boulder, graduatng n 1977 wth dual bachelor degrees. After college, he worked wth a number, of sports organlzatronq ncludng the Denver Nuggets and the sports marketng and consultng frm Bonham Group. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (CSHOF) was a moneylosng organnaton when Lawrence came on board, wth about $250,000 n debt and sreadly losng money. He's proud he was able to turn that around-now wth $500,000 n The entrance to the museum, whch sees 40,000 vstors annually, s located just nsde Gate 1 on the west sde of the stadum. As you walk nsde ts glass doors, you'll see two pllars dsplayng plaques for the nductees. Between them s a dsplay honorng, orr a recent vst, former colorado A&M and Detrot Lons football player Thurman "Fum" McGraw. Smlar dsplays are set up for about two dozen other nductees; the dsplays rotate perodcally, and also nclude areas celebratng women n sports, the Broncos, a Colo rado sports hstory panelshowng mportant dates back to 1852, a Kds' Zone wth jerseys and equpment, and panels for the Colorado Golf Assocaton, reserves-but perhaps s proudest about the hall's fnancal abrty to help other organrzatons and ndvduals. "I went to the board and told them that t s great to honor these athletes but I wanted to take t further," he says. "I wanted to help kds. Let's also honor dsabled athletes; that encompasses what sports s all about." Lawrence bult relatonshps wth corporate and orgtnzattonal sponsors. Now, wth corporate partners lke Gatorade, Kng Soopers/Cty Market, Denver Broncos Football Club, Sports Authorry, \7e11s Fargo. CenturyLnk and El Pomar Foundaton, the CSHOF has donated rnore than $ 1 mllon to youth sports programs, ncludng $650,000 to the Colorado Hgh School Actvtes Assocaton. The hall donated $200,000 ths year alone. "\7e're a nonproft. so ln,e don't have to donate mon ey:' Lawrence sa],is" -But t's somethng that I'm convnced s the rght thng uo do. \fle can reach out and make a dfference- Ifs sbmethng we're extremely proud of." Lawrence says the Col orado hall s unusual- frrlc perhaps unque, n rasn g and donatng flrds no lnelp
':r.: TOM LAWRTNCEAND?O I4 INPI."JCTEETODD HELTON Specal Olympcs Colorado, Gold Crown Foundaton, and the Natonal Sports Center for the Dsabled, among others. In ahallway between the museum andthe stadum sutes s a wall wth addtonal plaques and panels. At 2,,500-square feet, Lawrence says the museum s the rght sze. "Brck and mortar can be expensve," he says. "Our overhead s about 17 percent, whch s a lot lower than other museums." Lawrence says the hall's man purpose s stll the preservaton of Colorado's sports hstory, what he calls "managrrrg a publc trust. Our pr-t{nary job s to make sure that ths orgarzatlon contnues to honor the great attrletes for years to come." tr ut o l (E z tr L TE Y ct F o I (L I wdely recognzed. A seres of votes are taken to wnnowthe the publc. In January t names the athletes of the year for the number down to the four-ro-sx ;r-to-sx chosen as nductees. 4o o make- -at - : : prevous year. I sure that "old-tmers" are not forgotten, a subcommttee s The 2015 professonal and amateur athletes, honored ths I charged wth selectng nomnees from the 1960s and 1970s. t: Aprl, are Colorado Rockes thrd baseman Nolan Arenado and "Usually we have a wealth of great athletes," Hunt.,\ffe says. year's nductees from nomnatons from ts members and Stanford runnng back Chrstan Mccafft y. Collegate standouts I I: send out preparatonpackets ahead of tme so people are, dre Denver Unversty lacrosse player \Tesley Berg and I well-versed when they come to the meetng." Colorado State Unversty volleyball player Adranna Culbert. I O*rer than the annual nductees and athlete hororees, don,t :I: :t: Hgh school honorees are Lyons cross country runner Paul I exnect the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to alter'ts course, Roberts and Mountan Vsta soccer player Ma1lory Pugh. Nka I u*."rr.. says. He and the hall's board have dscussed t' addng Davenport, a Denver powerlfter from Specal Olynpcs I another fundrasng event but he says there are no current plaqs : Colorado, was the Athlete wth Dsabltes award-w'nner. I n phce. "Rght now," Iawrence says, "we're dong thnes at a..: Davd Hunt, who chars the selecton commttee, says there I t*" level and we wanr ro keep dong *r, "@ are about 100 nomnees to consder every year. Commuee "*n -.-=_' -_=..-.-.-,----.._-.._- t: - j- members have nformaton on all the nomnees and have tre Brad Smtb s a long+me.tnce Colorado journalst and :. - ).: n the October meetng to voce ther opnons. Some selectxs I frntoru urter ubtse.work'bas appeared n nany are "nebraners," Hunt says, because ther accomplshments are I krcal and nat,onal zl publcatons. :! cotorado ExpREsSt'ON ApRIL/MAy 2O16 55