Elgin Sports Hall of Fame announces 5 new inductees

The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation will has selected five former athletes/coaches for induction to the Hall of Fame on Sunday, Nov. 5 when the organization holds its 37th annual induction ceremony and banquet at The Centre of Elgin.

Jennifer Haley, Dave Huxtable, Jessie Henderson, Bob Pleticha and Bethany Goldsmith will be inducted on that night, in addition to Dennis DeBoer receiving the Vic Masi Award, outstanding achievements of the past year being recognized and nearly 30 individuals receiving scholarships from the foundation.

•Jennifer Haley, a 1976 Larkin graduate, is being inducted for her achievements in softball. A pioneer in girls athletics in the 1970s, Jennifer played at the varsity level in four sports. She led her basketball and softball teams to the first Upstate Eight Conference championships for females at Larkin. Haley earned an athletic scholarship to Eastern Illinois University where she was a four-year starter in softball and also played on the volleyball team. Haley went on to coach several sports and was for a time an athletic director at Streamwood.

•Dave Huxtable, a 1975 Larkin graduate who played three sports for the Royals, is being inducted for serving as a college football coach since 1982. During that time, Huxtable has coached linebackers, special teams and served as defensive coordinator for numerous major college programs, including Georgia Tech, East Carolina, North Carolina, Central Florida, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina State, where he is currently the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He has coached defenses in several bowl games, including the Rose Bowl with Big 10 champion Wisconsin (2012), the Liberty Bowl (twice) and the Peach Bowl (twice). He was named National Linebackers Coach of the Year by Football Scoop in 2011.

•Jessie Henderson (Elgin High 1990) was two-time most valuable player for the Elgin High basketball team. He was the leading scorer on the 1990 Elite Eight team and finished his career as the fifth leading scorer at EHS with 1111 points. Henderson twice was named to the Upstate Eight All-Conference team and the Daily Herald All-Area team. He played three years at the University of Illinois-Chicago as a top seven player, appearing in 80 games. Henderson was inducted in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.

•Bob Pleticha is being inducted for his achievements in weightlifting and as a friend of sports. He is a four-time world champion weightlifter in the World Masters Powerlifting Association. Pleticha is a 15-time National Powerlifting Association champion and was named among the Top 25 Supermen of the 20th Century in two weight classes. As a friend of sports, he founded the Elgin Sharks Track Club in 1980 for the youth of Elgin with the goal of instilling healthy habits and alternatives, as well as maintaining good health through running. The program has grown to an average of over 100 participants (many come from underprivileged backgrounds) annually from Elgin and the surrounding communities.

•Bethany Goldsmith is being inducted as a baseball player. She graduated from Elgin High School in 1944. She played for three seasons in the all-American Girls Professional Baseball League (subject of the film A League of Their Own), one of only two Elginites to play in the league.

•Dennis DeBoer - Vic Masi Award: Dennis DeBoer will be receiving the Vic Masi Service Award (posthumously). He served the ESHOF as a member of the board of directors for 32 years, including president. In addition, he coached in youth sports (including Classic Little League baseball) was an assistant football coach at St. Edward High School for many years.

•Deryl Carter - Vic Masi Award: Carter is a longtime Elginite who created the Channing YMCA Youth Basketball League in 1984. He coached softball and baseball for many years, including leading the 1994 and 1995 Big League softball teams to the World Series. He has made a significant contribution to the families of the southwest side of Elgin, providing thousands of hours of volunteer time to the expansion of the Elgin Continental Little League. He is currently his daughter Corry's assistant coach on the Whitney Young girls basketball team and a volunteer assistant for his son Deryn's Larkin boys basketball team.

Also being recognized will be the 1967 Larkin football team and the 1995-96 Elgin girls basketball team.