Illinois Valley Hall of Fame night brings laughs and tears

Shaw Media’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame banquet always comes with a lot of laughs and smiles and fun remembrances each year.

This year’s sixth annual event also came with sorrow and sadness Thursday at the Auditorium Ballroom in downtown La Salle.

One of the honorees, Charlie Ellerbrock, who told the stories of many of this year’s Hall of Fame class, died in February. The 1997-98 Hall Red Devils state runner-up basketball team took its enshrinement with a heavy heart with the loss of its teammate and dear friend, Derek Baird, to cancer last October.

Ellerbrock, this year’s Distinguished Media honoree, was fondly remembered. He covered Illinois Valley sports for 50 years for the NewsTribune, Bureau County Republican and the Times of Ottawa. He developed personal relationships with the teams and athletes he covered, and they loved him back.

“This one’s not easy losing a good friend of all of ours,” emcee Lanny Slevin said.

Members of the Red Devils basketball team, by chance, were assigned to table No. 33, Baird’s uniform number.

“It’s hard. We miss him. He was a big part of what we did,” Hall team member Ryan Anderes said of his lifelong friend and neighbor.

Baird’s widow, Maria, and his parents, Rich and Lorna, accepted the award on behalf of the team and their loved one.

Longtime Princeton volleyball coach Rita Placek returned to Hall of Fame night just two years after her 1990 state champion Tigresses were enshrined. She shared how she expected to be a cheerleading coach when she started her teaching career in 1974, but with the passing of Title IX, she picked up all three girls’ sports to coach.

She found her niche in volleyball, compiling a 495-178-14 record in 25 seasons at PHS, guiding three teams to state with 15 regional and district titles and nine sectional championships.

She said coaching volleyball was both challenging and rewarding.

Known as the Blue Bullet for his blazing speed, Ken Bourquin was an all-state running back for Walnut High School, leading the state in scoring his senior season in 1952 with 175 points.

He went on to play for the University of Illinois and Western Illinois before launching a 38-year coaching career, most notably at Manlius, where he led the Red Devils to a 34-1-1 record from 1969-72. The Bureau County Hall of Famer became the first head coach at Bureau Valley High School in 1995.

“I really enjoyed coaching, especially the kids. That’s why I did it for 38 years,” Bourquin said.

Gary Vancil impacted Ottawa High sports for 30 years. In 13 years as head basketball coach, he led the Pirates to 13 regional championships, two sectional titles and a state appearance in 1985. His Pirates compiled a 45-game win streak at home at Kingman Gymnasium.

Vancil said he was fortunate to come to Ottawa and be able to pick the brains of coaching greats like Gil Love and Dean Riley.

Roger Essman was hired as football coach at Earlville only to have the program dropped. He turned to coaching junior high boys soccer, which laid the groundwork for one of the most successful tenures in the state.

He led the Red Raiders to five regionals, two sectionals with back-to-back runs to state in 2006 and 2007. Between Earlville and Paw Paw, he had a 465-263-28 record, ranked third most in state history.

“It was amazing how the community adapted to soccer and the kids got better and better,” he said.

Glen Mudge was named All-State in his senior basketball season at L-P in 1977, graduating as the Cavs’ scorer leader with 1,392 points, now third in school history. He went on to play two years for IVCC and was inducted in the IBCA Hall of Fame in 1988.

Mudge said it was fun playing at L-P and the competition was good in the NCIC.

Joe Perona (class of 1987) was a three-sport star at St. Bede. He went on to play baseball for Northwestern University, where he was named a two-time All-Big Ten selection and team MVP. He shared his experiences playing minor league baseball for five seasons after being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1991 and the challenges he faced trying to break in, reaching Class AA.

Lonnie Hewitt said he didn’t have any idea he was going to be a high jumper until he tried it in Galen Nord’s PE class at Buda Western and proved to be a natural. He became a three-time IHSA state high jump champion, a feat matched only by the legendary Dwight Eddleman of Centralia, and a two-time All-American for Augustana College.

The Bureau County Hall of Famer was an IHSA girls basketball official, capped by three state finals appearances.

Bob Newell had a legendary career coaching baseball with 704 wins, the 21st most in IHSA history, including 568 victories in 35 years at Henry-Senachwine from 1966-2000. He led the Mallards to state appearances in 1979 and 1993.

“Dad loved baseball and sharing his passion with his players,” LeeAnn Meinhold said of her father. She was presented the scorecard of her dad’s final victory at the state tournament in 1993 by Slevin, who had saved the memento over the years.

The 2025 induction class brought two of the finest female athletes to play for Mendota High School, Tracy Stroyan-Maynard and Jaci Bice.

Stroyan-Maynard was a three-sport standout at Mendota, leading the Spikers volleyball teams to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 1980 and 1981 (placing second). She was a two-time all-state selection and crowned the state discus champion.

She went on to play volleyball for ISU and was inducted into its Hall of Fame. At 24, she became volleyball coach at Illinois Wesleyan, where she spent eight seasons.

“I had a lot of great memories and moments,” Stroyan-Maynard said.

Bice was a four-time NewsTribune Girls Basketball Player of the Year. She led the Lady Trojans to back-to-back state appearances, including a fourth-place finish in 1998-99, finishing with a school record 2,111 points.

She moved to IVCC to be a two-time NJCAA All-American for IVCC and enlisted in the Army, where she was a two-time All-Army choice.

The 1997-98 Hall team was brought to the podium by their trademark intro music, “Welcome to the Jungle.” Eric Bryant’s Hustlin’ Hall Red Devils were ranked No. 1 from the preseason on in 1997-98, making a return to the Class A State title game. They finished 32-1, falling to Nauvoo-Colusa 45-39 in the state finals.

Coming off their runner-up finish the year before, team spokesman Adam Curran said they entered the season with the expectation of winning a state championship.

Nick Sterling, Anderes and Curran said the Red Devils formed a brotherhood that carries over today.

“We cared about winning and about one another,” Curran said.

The 1973-74 Ottawa Marquette Crusaders also had a run to the state championship game, falling to Lawrenceville 54-53 in the state title game to finish 29-4. They defeated defending state champ Ridgeway and Quincy Catholic to make the title game.

The Crusaders, like the Red Devils, created a tight bond.

“We played for each other,” Marty Brown said.

Lifetime Achievement Award

DePue native John Cruz is this year’s winner of the Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award. He coached baseball in the Illinois Valley for 51 years at the Little League, American Legion, high school and collegiate levels.

“I am grateful to be recognized for my contributions to the game of baseball. I was able to do something I loved for 51 years and none of that would have been possible without the kids and coaches that were with me for this incredible journey,” Cruz said.

Legacy Award

This year’s Legacy Award winners, Fran Cahill and George Meagher, were inducted posthumously.

Cahill, the LaSalle-Peru star, played football and baseball at NIU after serving in World War II, leading the NCAA in receiving yards (876) and TD catches (11) as a senior in 1951. He was named to the NIU’s All-Century football team in 1999

He was selected by the New York Giants in the 1952 NFL Draft and signed as a free agent with the CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats.

Joe Cahill, who accepted the award in honor of his father, said he always “talked more about his teammates than himself.”

Meagher rose out of DePue to achieve national acclaim, setting a national prep long jump record and competing against Olympic legend Jesse Owens for Notre Dame.

The Bureau County Hall of Famer was a star in football, basketball and track and field. He claimed 42 first-place medals, leading the Little Giants to four Bureau County track championships and was crowned as the 1932 state long jump champ.

A lifelong physician, Meagher practiced medicine in his hometown DePue until 1959 and in Peoria from 1960 until he died in 1996. Hall of Fame committee member Tom Dobrich of DePue accepted the honor on behalf of the Meagher family.

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Members of the 1997-98 Hall Boys Basketball Team were recognized during the 2025 Shaw Media Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame at the Auditorium Ballroom in La Salle. The team honored Derek Baird, a member on the team passed away in 2024 from cancer. The Baird family accepted the award in his honor. (Scott Anderson)