| 2003
Inductee: Cliff Swain |
|
 Cliff
Swain | Braintree, Mass.
(Athlete, Inducted 2003)
With over 80 pro victories to his credit, Swain is considered by many to be the best racquetball player ever. He dominated the pro circuit throughout the 90's and continues to do so into a new century. In 2002, at the age of 35, he became the first player to win six (6) professional season-ending rankings titles (1990, '93, ‘94, '95, '98, 2002).
At the time of his induction, Swain also boasted two U.S. OPEN titles (1997, 2001) and
had finished No. 3 at close of the 2003 IRT season. Swain actually could have earned many more tour victories and possibly two more season-ending rankings titles had he not quit racquetball for two years to pursue a tennis career. After his pro tennis detour in the early '90's Swain returned to the racquetball court and promptly took back his No.1 ranking in the first year.
|
| 2002
Inductee: Andy Roberts |
|
 Andy
Roberts | Memphis, Tennessee
(Athlete, Inducted 2002)
One of the most dominant pro players of the 90's, Andy Roberts finished six seasons with a top five ranking — twice finishing in the No.2 spot (1993, 1995). With over 15 tour wins to his credit, Roberts finished with a top-10 season ranking on the tour as recently as 1999.
After graduating from Memphis State University (with several titles) Roberts
captured a National Doubles title in 1985, a National Singles title in 1988 and a U.S. Olympic Festival singles win in 1991. He recaptured the National Doubles crown 15 years later in 2000.
Selected as the USRA Athlete of the Year twice (1988, 1990), Roberts was also appointed to the U.S. National team for eight consecutive terms (1985-1991), where he added Tournament of the Americas, and World Championship titles to an impressive resume.
|
| 2001
Inductee: Caryn McKinney |
|
 Caryn
McKinney | Atlanta, Georgia
(Athlete, Inducted 2001)
Well known for her court-sense, Caryn McKinney dominated the Women’s
Pro Racquetball Association [WPRA] Tour throughout the 80’s and into
the 90’s, where she consistently placed in the top five. During her
professional career she reached the semifinals in nearly 50 pro events,
winning eight. Her career peaked in 1989 when she captured the WPRA
National Championship, the top spot in the rankings and was named the
tour’s Player of the Year. As late as the 1998 U.S. OPEN, McKinney
remained competitive on the women’s pro tour, reaching the semi-final
there against an tough field of up-and-coming current tour regulars.
Well respected as an instructor and coach, she taught at the Elite
Olympic Training Camp for eleven years, longer than any other
instructor.
|
| 2000
Inductees: Dubolsky, Gonzalez, Winterton |
 Van Dubolsky
| Gainesville, Florida
(Contributor, Inducted 2000)
Van Dubolsky has been a guide and advisor to racquetball for over a quarter of a century, first through his involvement in his home state of Florida, then later
in the first of several terms on the then-AARA Board of Directors in 1983. Founder of the Florida Racquetball Association, which held the #2 spot among all USRA state affiliates for many years, Dubolsky played a key role in the development of racquetball in the Southeast, while remaining competitive in the sport
and earning a series of national titles in his own right. Recognized as the primary architect of the USRA’s Long Range Planning and Vision Statement,
Dubolsky’s insights and guidance have contributed to the overall steady growth of the sport through what many have termed its “lean years.”
[Top]
 Ruben Gonzalez
| Staten Island, New York
(Athlete, Inducted 2000)
Ruben Gonzalez has excelled in the sport by maintaining the most consistent level of excellence by a single player over the course of a 20-year career on both the amateur and professional circuits. Even now, at 48 years of age, he shows no sign of slowing down – going so far as to
become the oldest athlete to ever earn an appointment to the U.S. National Team.
On the pro circuit, Gonzalez captured his first tour title in 1989, which – at the time – earned him the distinction of becoming the oldest pro tour athlete to win such an event. Throughout his tour career, he has been recognized for his outstanding sportsmanship and dedication to fair play, while consistently finding himself – at each season’s end – with ranking positions among the top 10 through 1995. [Top]
 Jim Winterton
| Syracuse, New York
(Contributor, Inducted 2000)
Jim Winterton has gained renown as one of the best racquetball coaches in the world, after service to the U.S. National Team for a full decade, during which time his squads brought home the World Cup from every International Racquetball Federation World Championship played in the period. He also led national teams to five Tournament of the Americas team crowns and a clean sweep of the 1995 Pan Am Games, where the USA brought home six gold and two silver medals. For his last hurrah as U.S. National Team Head Coach at the 1999 Pan Am Games, Winterton’s team nearly repeated that clean sweep of the medals, claiming six gold, a silver and a bronze medal. [Top]
|
| 1999 Inductee: Earl Acuff |
|
 Earl
Acuff
| Asheville, North Carolina
(Athlete, Inducted 1999)
Since his first career win — in the Men’s 60+ division in
1984 — Earl Acuff had medaled 34 times at major national and
world senior events, and walked away with the gold at 20 of them. In
the year preceding his induction, Earl was a double-gold winner in Men’s 75+,
earned his seventh U.S. national doubles title, matching
the singles victory he had earned that spring. His
1998 men’s 80+ world title and three other world seniors crowns
combine to present quite a distinquished, 16-year career for Earl
Acuff. [Top]
|
| 1997 Inductees: Adams, Hogan, Leve, McKay, Peck,
Yellen |
|
 Lynn
Adams
| Libertyville, Illinois
(Athlete, Inducted 1997)
Lynn Adams won 325 of her 369 professional matches, for a .887
winning percentage. An eight-time player of the year (1982-88, 90),
Adams won six pro tour season titles (1982-83, 85-88) and seven
overall championships (1982-83, 85-88, 90). Even more impressive is
Adams’ courageous fight against multiple sclerosis throughout
her life and racquetball career. [Top]
 Marty
Hogan
| Chesterfield, Missouri
(Athlete, Inducted 1997)
The sport’s first million dollar man, Hogan owned the men’s
professional tour from 1977 to ‘82, with six national
championship titles. In his early -- and later renewed -- amateur
career Hogan garnered several top honors from the ‘75 Boy’s
18-and-under crown to the ‘94 Men’s 25-and-over national
doubles championship. Over the course of his career Hogan's name
became synonymous with the sport, he was tagged as the “King of
Racquetball” and is credited with transforming the sport into the
power game that it is today. [Top]
 Chuck
Leve
| Northbrook, Illinois
(Contributor, Inducted 1997)
An integral part of racquetball since 1969, Leve was the
Executive Secretary of the International Racquetball Association (IRA)
in ‘70. After following IRA President Robert Kendler, in 1973, to
the newly formed National Racquetball Club (NRC), Leve privately felt
that the amateur players had been left out. In 1976, he formed the
United States Racquetball Association to service those players outside
the professional ranks. In 1979, Leve joined the National Court Club
Association, now known as the International Health, Racquet &
Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). Now the Director of Sales and Promotions
for IHRSA, Leve continues to lend his support to the sport of
racquetball. [Top]
 Heather
McKay
| Brisbane, Australia
(Athlete, Inducted 1997)
Heather McKay (Brisbane, Australia) had lost only two matches in two
decades of international squash dominance before turning to the sport
of racquetball in 1980, at the age of 39. McKay didn’t waste much
time earning the title of best women’s racquetball player in the
world, winning the pro national’s in 1980 and ‘81. She again
won the coveted title in ‘84. Before returning to Australia in ‘85, the Canadian national
amassed nine national titles and the ‘84 Steding Cup, given
yearly by the women’s pro tour for outstanding contributions to
women’s racquetball. [Top]
 Dave
Peck
| Austin, Texas
(Athlete, Inducted 1997)
Peck was awarded the professional tour’s Rookie of the Year
trophy in 1978. In the year’s following, Peck established his
place among the racquetball elite, winning the Ektelon National
Championship in 1981 and ‘82. The powerful Texan also captured
the Catalina National title and Player of the Year honors in ‘81.
With a brilliant pro career under his belt, Peck continues to play
competitively in the amateur ranks. In 1995, he captured both the
national singles and doubles crowns for the Men’s 35-and-over age
groups. [Top]
 Mike
Yellen
| West Bloomfield, Michigan
(Athlete, Inducted 1997)
Mike Yellen made his mark on the men’s pro circuit in the same
era as Hogan and Peck, claiming a spot as one of the most fundamentally sound and powerful
players on the tour. His year was 1983, when he claimed three national
championships in one season to take the #1 spot. In the process he
defeated all of the top names: Hogan, Peck, Harnett, Gonzalez,
Hilecher and anyone else who crossed his path. Like McKay, Yellen took
important lessons from his second passion, squash, and applied them to
a racquetball career which has served him well. [Top]
|
| 1996 Inductees: Acuff, Calkins, Hennen, Mazaroff |
|
Mary Low Acuff
| Asheville, North Carolina
(Athlete, Inducted 1996)
Hall of Fame athlete Mary Low Acuff dominated the "upper
echelons" of age group competition among women beginning in 1984,
with career wins that include forty-five national titles, nine silver
medals and a scant two bronze medal finishes. In 1994 alone, Mary Low took five national titles and a world
championships victory, then followed up in 1995 with a record of nine
national wins and another world title to her credit. The mother of
eight is a long time supporter of the USRA and is a living legend in
racquetball, who continues to compete in every tournament available to
her. In 1999, Mary Low was joined by her husband Earl
in the Hall of Fame -- the two are the only husband-and-wife pair to
share this honor. [Top]
Keith Calkins
| Mission Viejo, California
(Contributor, Inducted 1996)
Keith Calkins boasts a career of service to racquetball, from developing one of the first junior camps in California,
to a long-running term as a member, and often-elected officer, of the
organization's board of directors. In addition to his terms as both
treasurer and president of the board, Keith served international
racquetball interests with elected appointments to the Pan American
Racquetball Federation and the International Racquetball Federation. But Keith is best known for his professional guidance of the AARA
(now USRA) during its most turbulent time, and for the type of
subsequent leadership which has enabled the association to take its
place among the most well-regarded national governing bodies in the
U.S. Olympic Committee structure. [Top]
Johnny Hennen
| Chattanooga, Tennessee
(Athlete, Inducted 1996)
Johnny Hennen is probably one of the best liked and respected
athletes to ever play the game. On court Johnny is legendary for a
lack of defense, and a non-stop, aggressive style. Hennen is probably
best known for his doubles prowess, where he earned six national
doubles titles, five of them paired with fellow Hall of Famer Ed
Remen. Johnny matched this record with six national singles titles,
becoming one of a rare group of athletes to earn dual titles in any
given year — doing so four times, in 1983, 1988, 1992 and 1993. After a difficult recovery from a life-threatening illness, Hennen
and Remen paired up again in 1998 to win yet another national doubles
crown -- exactly ten years after winning their first as a team. [Top]
Gary Mazaroff
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(Contributor, Inducted 1996)
Gary Mazaroff began an un-interrupted presidential term with the
New Mexico Racquetball Association in 1974, bringing that organization
to the forefront of the AARA's state affiliate structure. Through APRO
and AmPRO instructional programs, Gary has certified hundreds of
players and instructors, while himself serving as a teaching pro and
instructor since the late 70s. Gary also served as an assistant coach for two world championship
U.S. national teams, then took that expertise "on the road"
by coaching national teams from other countries. [Top]
|
| 1994 Inductee: Jo Kenyon |
|
Jo Kenyon
| Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
(Athlete, Inducted 1994)
Jo Kenyon was the 15th inductee to the USRA Hall of Fame, on the
basis of her long-history of age group competition. A retired
veterinary receptionist, Kenyon took up racquetball at the age of 50
and quickly laid claim to over 25 national title over the ten year
period preceding her induction. Her love of the game, and the tournament environment, helped her
become one of the top female age group competitors -- even after
undergoing a hip replacement in May of 1998. Only three months after
that procedure, Kenyon was back in top form, winning a silver medal in
doubles, followed by a renewed string of gold medal finishes in
subsequent seasons. [Top]
|
| 1992 Inductee: Jim Austin |
|
Jim Austin
| Cypress, Texas
(Athlete/Contributor, Inducted 1992)
Jim played for 27 years, 17 at the state/regional level, 16 at the
national level. From 1970 to 1980 Jim won 15 Texas Open Singles and
Doubles championships. In 1971 he captured the IRA Open Singles
Championship and went on to win 21 national singles and doubles
championships in age divisions. Jim was named the AARA Male Athlete of
the Year in 1984. During his career he was selected as one of the top
16 players to play on the first pro racquetball tour in 1973. In 1969 he helped found the first national racquetball association -
the International Paddleball Association and was founder and president
of the Texas Racquetball Association in 1973. Jim served on the Board
of Directors of what is now the AARA for six consecutive years and was
the National Rules Commissioner for three years. Jim has made numerous
other contributions to the sport and to clubs on both the local and
national levels. [Top]
|
| 1991 Inductees: Cindy Baxter, Ed Remen |
|
Cindy Baxter
Reedsville, Pennsylvania
(Athlete, Inducted 1991)
Cindy was instrumental in building a reputation for the U.S.
National Racquetball Team in the eighties by distinguishing herself as
a major competitor on the international racquetball scene. Early in
her career, Cindy became the first U.S. athlete to win three
consecutive gold medals in the World Games, first in 1981, again in
1984, and again in 1986. Her achievements in the sport have been
documented by the Guinness Book of Records, and have yet to be
matched. [Top]
Ed Remen
| Sterling, Virginia
(Athlete/Contributor, Inducted 1991)Early in his career, Ed Remen parlayed handball and stickball skills
learned in the Bronx into an exceptional racquetball talent. His
accomplishments include sixteen national titles, a gold medal at the
first Master's Games in Toronto, a World Senior Championship, and a
state and regional winning streak that spans ten years. As an
instructor, Ed has taught racquetball at the college level. He has
organized and instructed many racquetball camps, workshops and clinics
for all age groups. He has also been a Master Clinician for the
President's Council on Physical Fitness for Region 3. [Top]
|
| 1989 Inductees: Garfinkle, Schmidtke, Wilde |
|
Charlie Garfinkle
| Buffalo, New York
(Athlete, Inducted 1989)
Charlie, known as "The Gar" was a colorful player on the
courts. He began playing racquetball as a college student. Garfinkel
had played both tennis and squash, and entered his first racquetball
tournament in 1966. He went on to claim 15 national titles. He sported
a flamboyant style of psyching out his opponent. He played on the pro tour for many years and was a regular
contributor or event coverage and instructional material in early
racquetball magazines and authored two racquetball instructional
books. He remains the man to beat on the Senior/Masters circuit. In
1980 & 1982 he won the men's 40+ singles, in '85 & '86 he took
the same title in men's 45+. He has been both a club pro and an
instructor. [Top]
William Schmidtke | Apple Valley, Minnesota
(Athlete, Inducted 1989)
Bill became interested in racquetball while employed at the
Madison, Wisconsin YMCA in 1968, where he was playing a lot of
paddleball at the time. He learned racquetball quickly and started
competing in 1968. He was the runner up at the first National
Championships held at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jewish Community Center
and alter won the national singles in 1971 in Salt Lake City. Again in
1974 he won the national singles and then the men's 40+ doubles with
partner, Jim Austin in 1983. Bill played on the pro tour in its early days and was sponsored both
by Head and then X. He participated on the pro tour as a referee for
an additional four years. Bill was named the Male Athlete of the Year
in 1974. He served as both chairman of the International Racquetball
Association and as chairman of the Minnesota association. [Top]
Luzell Wilde
| Salt Lake City, Utah
(Athlete, Inducted 1989)
Luzell Wilde has been winning championships in his age division
since 1983 when he won the men's 65+ singles, has been a consistent
finalist, and maintained high ranking positions in each of his
subsequent age divisions. He has also participated for many years in
doubles competition with partner Earl Acuff. Luzell started playing
when he was 50 years old. He hadn't been active in any other sport prior to taking up
racquetball, however mastered the sport and remains active on the
Senior/Masters circuit and is always a top competitor at national
singles and doubles events. [Top]
|
| 1988 Inductee: Robert J. Kendler |
|
Robert J. Kendler | Chicago, Illinois (deceased)
(Contributor, Inducted 1988)
Kendler was the moving force in the birth of racquetball's
organization. He was a homebuilder and contractor whose interests
originated with handball, as the first president and
organizer of the International Racquetball Association. He began
pushing racquetball in the United States Handball Association magazine
and then started the first racquetball magazine. Kendler was often called the "benevolent dictator" and
resigned from the IRA over a disagreement with its board of directors.
He then formed two rival organizations, the National Racquetball Club
and the United States Racquetball Association. Both organizations
remained in existence until they went bankrupt in 1982. It has been
said that without his clout and financial input the organization that
was then the AARA (now the USRA) wouldn't have started when it did. [Top]
|
| 1982 Inductees: Grapes & Gumer |
|
Gene Grapes
| Irwin, Pennsylvania
(Athlete/Contributor, Inducted 1982)
Gene was an early supporter of the new sport of racquetball. Prior
to the formation of the IRA, he helped organize and played primarily
in the Pennsylvania State YMCA sponsored tournaments. He was elected to the board of directors of the IRA in
1975 and served as executive vice president during his tenure on the board. He
held five national doubles and national singles titles, in addition to
national singles and doubles invitational titles. Gene overwhelmingly
dominated his age group for nearly 10 years. [Top]
I.R. Gumer
| Louisville, Kentucky
(Athlete, Inducted 1982)
Ike started playing racquetball in 1962 at the Jewish Community
Center in Louisville. He still plays occasionally and as recently as
1982 Ike was still practicing law in a semi-retired fashion and it was
said that you could check your watch by his arrival at the center at
4:30 p.m. every day. Ike was instrumental in establishing the Kentucky Racquetball
Association and served as a board member of the IRA. His lifelong
doubles partner, Irv Zeitman, also of Louisville, passed away in 1992.
Ike was known for his gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship and
was one of the forerunners of the two wall pinch shot. [Top]
|
| 1974 Inductees: Brumfield, Muehleisen, Sobek,
Steding |
|
Charlie Brumfield
| San Diego, California
(Athlete, Inducted 1974)
Charlie is a legend of the 1970s. He was a handball player until a dislocated finger prompted
him to take up paddleball in 1964. He won his first paddleball singles
championship in 1968, which led naturally to racquetball. He won back to back singles championships in 1972-73 and continued
playing world class racquetball for the next 10 years. He graduated
Magna Cum Laude from the University of San Diego with degrees in
economics and business administration and then went on to earn a
degree in law from USD during this period. He was a four time national
singles champion and in 1973 he won the national doubles title with
partner Steve Serot and again in 1975 with partner Craig McCoy. [Top]
Bud Muehleisen
| La Mesa, California
(Athlete/Contributor, Inducted 1974)
"Dr. Bud" Muehleisen has sometimes been called the most
influential man in racquetball. He began playing paddleball in 1962,
won four national titles, then took up paddle rackets in 1969, edging
out Brumfield and win one of the first national
championships in the sport that would become racquetball. Bud served on the IRA board of directors for seven years
as the first rules committee chairman and was instrumental in the early formation of the game's first
rules. He
won an unprecedented 41 national titles, was a coach and teacher, a regular contributor of instructional material to
early magazines and worked with most of the major equipment
manufacturers in developing racquets, balls and other products. [Top]
Joseph Sobek
| Greenwich, Connecticut (deceased)
(Contributor, Inducted 1974)
Joe Sobek has been credited with inventing the sport of
racquetball. Joe was a club tennis pro in Greenwich and found the
handball could be modified with a racquet (with strings) and had the
first racquetball racquet developed with a test run of 25 in 1950. He
then went to work with various companies to develop a proper ball for
the sport and began promoting it throughout the country, founding the
Paddle Rackets Association. He never competed in any tournaments. When
Robert Kendler formed the IRA, Sobek stepped aside. Tennis was in his
blood, however and he faded from the racquetball scene. [Top]
Peggy Steding
| Odessa, Texas (deceased)
(Athlete, Inducted 1974)
Peggy started playing racquetball in 1971. She had always been
athletic and was attending Odessa College on a tennis scholarship. She
had also competed in basketball, volleyball and fast-pitch softball,
before discovering racquetball. Peggy dominated women's play in the
early 70's and continued playing in the senior divisions prior to her
death in 1991. In 1992 the USRA Female Age Division
Athlete of the Year award was renamed the Peggy Steding Award in her
honor. It is said that Peggy elevated the game of racquetball for
women during her reign as champion. [Top]
|
| 1973 Inductee: Larry Lederman |
|
 Larry
Lederman
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(Contributor, Inducted 1973)
Larry was the first man to organize a national racquetball
tournament, which occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1968. He was
both a founder and the man behind the scenes in the development of the
International Racquetball Association in 1969. Larry was the first national commissioner and was an active member
of the early boards of directors. He was active in the development of
racquetball in Wisconsin as well as throughout the international
community. He served as the state chairman in Wisconsin and organized
that state program. Larry was the athletic director at the YMCA in
Milwaukee when racquetball was growing up. He helped the sport mature
in both its popularity and organization.
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