By Doug Zaleski—
DELAWARE COUNTY, IN—The Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame has found a home in downtown Muncie to display various memorabilia that helps define the long history of sports at 18 current and former high schools in the county.
Several display cases packed with sports relics from the past 80 years have been installed in the indoor walkway between the Horizon Convention Center and Courtyard by Marriott. A touch-screen kiosk, provided by a grant from Destination Muncie, is available for additional information. There is no charge to visit the area, which is open during normal HCC hours of operation.
The new display area will be celebrated with a grand-opening from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9. A ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Muncie Chamber of Commerce will be at 3:45. Mark Foerster will broadcast his weekday Power Hour radio show at the site from 4-5 p.m.
The hall of fame was formally established in 1980 by Muncie resident Francis Lafferty, a former president of the organization. Previous locations of the displays included brief stints at the White River Plaza, Hotel Roberts and the lobby of the Muncie Children’s Museum.
“This was a lifelong dream of Francis,” current DCAHF president Mike Bush said. “I am sure that Mr. Lafferty would be proud. Many thanks go to all the board members who have played a role in getting us to this point. We believe this will become a must see attraction for visitors to our community.
“We are pleased and excited to reveal the vision of our founding board members has become a reality. Sharing the historic athletic heritage of Delaware County was the endeavor of these members and what today’s board members have continued to strive to accomplish.”
For most of its 46-year history the hall of fame primarily existed as a virtual location on its website (delcohof.org)
Information and artifacts from current Delaware County schools Muncie Central, Burris, Cowan, Daleville, Delta, Wapahani, Wes-Del and Yorktown, as well as previous schools Albany, Center, Desoto, Eaton, Gaston, Harrison Township, Muncie Northside, Royerton, Selma and Muncie Southside are represented in various displays. Memorabilia will be swapped out at the start of each sports season during the year.
Chuck DeNeal, board member and chairman of the Memorabilia Committee, is excited for the organization to find a public home. In previous years the memorabilia was largely packed in storage.
“You will find school banners of all the original and consolidated Delaware County high schools, in addition to a wide range of artifacts covering many sports categories from which the hall inducts its members,” DeNeal said. “It’s finally exciting to have the opportunity to share the history of Delaware County athletics with the many visitors who will walk the hallway at the HCC.”
The hall of fame has thousands of pieces of memorabilia, including uniforms, letter jackets, trophies, newspaper articles, etc. DeNeal said anyone interested in donating a piece of history can do so by contacting any board member.
Two important events are coming up next month for the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame. Its annual fundraiser golf outing will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 24 at Crestview Golf Club. Entry fee is $240 per team. Hole sponsorships are also available.
The hall’s 46th annual induction ceremony for 11 new members will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at the Ball State Alumni Center, including the presentation of seven academic scholarships, headlined by the Francis Lafferty Hall of Fame Scholarship for $3,500. Longtime Muncie area educator and coach Kaye Harrell will also be honored as the James Lightbody Award of Excellence recipient.
More information on how to attend the golf event and induction ceremony can be found online at delcohof.com
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