On Saturday night, 15 of the most prestigious athletes and coaches from the area will be honored at the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.
The inaugural Seymour High School Athletic Hall of Fame class will be inducted before the varsity boys basketball game against Jennings County.
Brandon Harpe, former Seymour athletics director and current Seymour Community School Corp. assistant superintendent, and Dave Urbanski, assistant athletics director, spearheaded the idea in 2014.
“Dave Urbanski and I started collecting information about how other schools did it and then started to form it to fit something workable for Seymour,” Harpe said. “There has been a tremendous amount of planning.”
A committee chose the inductees after a yearlong public nomination period. Nomination forms were made available online and at Seymour athletic events.
Twenty-six nominations were submitted during the process.
In order to be eligible for the hall of fame, an athlete or team must have completed high school at least 20 years ago. A coach or contributor must have at least 10 years of service to Seymour High School.
The inaugural class will include Mickey Beck, Joe Goodman, Bode Hill, Baron Hill, Bud Surface, Rick Mousa, Larry Shade, Donna Sullivan, Teri Moren, John Britton, Walt Wintin, John Judd, Danny Thomas, Barney Scott and Julie VonDielingen Shelton.
“It was difficult,” Harpe said. “A strong case could be made for every candidate who was nominated, but we had to cut it off somewhere. There are many more deserving people out there who did not get nominated.
“As far as what they have meant to the school, these are some of the athletes and coaches who put us on the map,” he said. “Visiting fans often bring up these names when they come to our facilities. I also hope that our young athletes can connect with our stars of the past and strive to leave an impression on our community, as well.”
Those on the committee include current Seymour Athletics Director Kirk Manns, Urbanski, Harpe, Sullivan, Beck, Arv Koontz, Greg Prange, Rexanne Ude, Amanda Gerth, Stu Silver, Bud Shippee, Reuben Cummings, Curt Nichols and Art Juergens.
Manns and Harpe said right now, they are planning on inducting former athletes and coaches every other year.
“The athletic department will continue to organize the collection of nominations and then have an induction on odd-numbered years,” Harpe said. “Most likely, the classes will be smaller moving forward, but we shouldn’t have any problem continuing to have quality candidates to consider. I hope that this will encourage folks to nominate their favorite SHS athletes of all-time.”
Manns said there is a wall in the high school commons that will display plaques with all of the hall of fame members in the near future.
“Right as you walk in the commons, there’s an open area on one of the walls, and we will have plaques up there,” he said. “They won’t be up right away, but we will get that completed as soon as possible.”
The induction will take place Saturday between the junior varsity and varsity games. The JV game will start at 5:30 p.m. with the induction to follow.
“One of the things I loved about being the AD was hearing stories from Owls of the past,” Harpe said. “There is a rich, proud history, and the hall of fame helps tell part of the story.”
Manns also said it’s important to honor the past.
“I think a lot of schools do a really good job of celebrating the present, but I think all schools need to do a better job of celebrating the past,” Manns said. “We want athletes to have a better understanding of the history and traditions that have come before them.”
Look for a special edition of The Tribune next week where all 15 Seymour High School Athletic Hall of Fame members will be recognized for their achievements.
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What: Inaugural Seymour High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction
When: Saturday following the junior varsity boys basketball game (JV start time 5:30 p.m.)
Where: Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium
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