Stack Pawlak headlines Elgin Hall of Fame ballot
Former state champion bowler Lisa Stack Pawlak from Larkin is one of eight additions to the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Foundation's ballot this year.
Stack Pawlak, placed on the ballot in her first year of eligibility, won the 1995 girls state bowling championship, establishing a then-state record pinfall total of 2,615. Stack Pawlak is the only girl in Illinois High School Association history to place in the top five of the state bowling tournament all four years she competed.
Stack Pawlak earned first-team All America honors her senior year at Central Missouri State and was named to the Great Plains All-Conference team four times.
The remainder of the new candidates includes:
Tom Aley -- Nominated for basketball. The 1955 Elgin High School graduate averaged 16.6 points and scored 849 points in his two-year varsity career which made him the all-time leader at that time. Aley set then-school records with a 40-point game and a 37-point performance in the state tournament. Aley helped the 1954-55 team to a state runner-up finish. At Dartmouth, Aley helped the program to an Ivy League title in his junior and senior seasons.
Richard Andresen -- Nominated for coaching. The Elgin High School graduate mentored 60 state swimming qualifiers, including eight boys and seven girls who scored points in the state meet at EHS. Also coached the YMCA Pelicans and the Dundee Park District Dolphins. Swam at Elgin High and later at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Andresen earned Sectional Coach of the Year honors in 1987, 2000, 2001 and 2006.
Mike Coyle -- Nominated for track and field. The 1967 Larkin graduate lettered in track for three years as a Royal. In his senior year, Coyle had the fourth-fastest state qualifying time in history in the 440 (48.4 seconds) and finished fourth in the state track meet in that event. He was a member of the State Track Honor Roll (the equivalent of All-State) and was the first Larkin athlete to be named to the All-State Track Team (1967). He received a scholarship to attend the University of Indiana, where he participated in track for two years before injuries curtailed his career.
Glenn Dallman -- Nominated for coaching. The Elgin High School graduate coached varsity wrestling for 20 seasons at Byron and Stillman Valley high schools, amassing a 309-132-4 dual record. Dallman has led three teams to the Elite Eight and placed third in the state once. In addition, he has coached six individual state champions, 20 individual place-winners and 42 individual state qualifiers. Dallman also wrestled on the 1961 Elgin High team which placed sixth in Illinois. He is a past inductee of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.
Steve James -- Nominated as a friend of sports. The Elgin High School graduate and bowling journalist is a former inductee of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, the Illinois Bowling Association, the Elgin Bowling Association and the Greater Rockford Bowling Hall of Fame.
James earned honorary membership from the Professional Bowlers Association in 1972 and co-authored two editions of the book Bowlers Guide. Also served on the ABC Hall of Fame's Board from 1982-2001 and is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America, previously serving as president.
Lowell Miller -- Nominated for ice speed skating. Miller was a top speed skater when he moved to Elgin from Minnesota in the mid-1930s. Miller won Tri-State championships while competing in Elgin in 1936-38 and 1940 and also won a prestigious Chicago Tribune Silver Skates race. As an 18-year-old, he finished ninth in the 5,000-meter qualifying races at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Lake Fowler in Oconomowoc, Wis. Miller passed away in 1995.
Miller returns to the ballot after being removed per ESHOF bylaws after failing to garner at least 5 percent of the vote from the membership for three straight years.
Dave Russell -- Nominated for wrestling. The 1961 graduate of Elgin High became the Maroons' first state wrestling champion, finishing 31-0 in the 180-pound weight class during his senior season. Russell won the Big Eight Conference title, in addition to the district and sectional titles that same season. He helped the Maroons to a sixth-place finish as a team at the state tournament. He earned a freshman letter in 1962 at the University of Illinois and lettered twice on the varsity in 1963 and 1964 while wrestling up as a heavyweight.
The eight additions to the ballot in 2007 brings the total eligible honorees to 29. A candidate must receive 30 percent of the vote by ESHOF members to be inducted. Ballots will be mailed to members in the coming weeks.
The 2007 banquet and induction ceremonies will be held in November. For more information on the new candidates and the remainder of the ballot and information on how to join the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame, visit www.eshof.org.