2006 Inductees

Connie Martin | Gresham, Oregon
(Contributor, Inducted 2006)
Connie Martin has been involved in the teaching and programming of racquetball since 1975. Currently Connie is the Program Director for Cascade Athletic Clubs in Gresham, Oregon, the commissioner of the Oregon Racquetball Association and coaches the Gresham High School Racquetball Team and the Mt. Hood Community College Team. She was the founder and executive director of PARI (Professional Association of Racquetball Instructors), now known as AMPRO. She has published numerous books on racquetball programming including the original PARI teaching manual and the YMCA training program for Junior Racquetball. Connie Martin and her club were the recipients of the first International Racquet and Sport Club Association (IHRSA) award for outstanding service. Additionally Connie played the Women's Pro Tour and was a member of the US Racquetball Team in 1987 winning 2 golds and 1 silver at the World Championships.

Susan Pfahler (left) & Mary Lyons (right) | Neptune Beach, Florida
(Amateur Team, Inducted 2006)
In both Open and Age Division competition, the championship record of doubles team Susan (Morgan) Pfahler and Mary Lyons is unmatched in racquetball history. No other pairing, male or female, can claim 17 doubles titles. Their run began in 1984 with Women's 25+ titles and a bronze medal in Women's Open. Over the next two decades, they accumulated a total of 17 gold medals, including a double gold in 1992 (Women's Open and Women's 35+) followed by five consecutive wins in the Women's 35+ division from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2005, they captured their Age Division title each year. Both players have earned the respect and admiration of their peers through long and outstanding performance, good sportsmanship, teamwork and fair play.

Nomination Procedures

The Racquetball Hall of Fame is maintained to recognize and honor those athletes and contributors who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in competition, or in the development, leadership, and advancement of the sport. The award is based upon years of consistent excellence in one or more of the following areas:

COMPETITOR In either an amateur or professional field, the person must have influenced other competitors with his or her performance through any or all of the following: high performance standards; sportsmanship and fair play; competitive techniques; persistent and inspirational leadership.

CONTRIBUTOR The person must have made a significant and noteworthy contribution, which has left a lasting, positive effect on the advancement of the sport. The person's efforts should have been devoted to the sport and organization of racquetball.

NOMINATIONS If you have a candidate who fits the bill, please review the guidelines that follow, then submit the proper text and support materials to complete your nomination. If the needed documentation is available in digital form, you may deliver it by email, or send your postal package to:

"Racquetball Hall of Fame"
ATTN: Heather Fender
1685 West Uintah
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Past Inductees

2005
Jerry Hilecher | Northridge, Calffornia (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2005) Jerry Hilecher was one of the "original" players being involved in racquetball from the very first IRA Championships held in St. Louis, MO in 1973.	Dan Obremski | Irwin, Pennsylvania (Amateur Athlete, Inducted 2005) Many credit Dan Obremski with changing the modern pro tour by bringing advanced sport specific fitness training to the game.
Steve Strandemo | San Diego, California (Contributor, Inducted 2005) Steve Strandemo is widely recognized as the father of racquetball instruction. The author of three instructional books and five instructional videos, Steve organized the first formal certification camp for instructors.
2004
Shannon Wright | Fridley, Minnesota (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2004) Shannon Wright dominated women’s racquetball throughout the late 1970’s and early 80’s.	Fran Davis | San Francisco, California (Contributor, Inducted 2004) Fran Davis is known throughout racquetball as one of the top clinicians in the game.
2003
Cliff Swain | Braintree, Massachusetts (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2003) With over 80 pro victories to his credit, Swain is considered by many to be the best racquetball player ever. He dominated the pro circuit throughout the 90's and continues to do so into a new century.
2002
Andy Roberts | Memphis, Tennessee (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2002) One of the most dominant pro players of the 90's, Andy Roberts finished six seasons with a top five ranking — twice finishing in the No.2 spot (1993, 1995). With over 15 tour wins to his credit, Roberts finished with a top-10 season ranking on the tour as recently as 1999.
2001
Caryn McKinney | Atlanta, Georgia (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2001) Well known for her court-sense, Caryn McKinney dominated the Women’s Pro Racquetball Association [WPRA] Tour throughout the 80’s and into the 90’s, where she consistently placed in the top five.
2000
Van Dubolsky | Gainesville, Florida (Contributor, Inducted 2000) Van Dubolsky has been a guide and advisor to racquetball for over a quarter of a century, first through his involvement in his home state of Florida, then later in the first of several terms on the then-AARA Board of Directors in 1983.	Ruben Gonzalez | Staten Island, New York (Professional Athlete, Inducted 2000) Ruben Gonzalez has excelled in the sport by maintaining the most consistent level of excellence by a single player over the course of a 20-year career on both the amateur and professional circuits.
Jim Winterton | Syracuse, New York (Contributor, Inducted 2000) Jim Winterton has gained renown as one of the best racquetball coaches in the world, after service to the U.S. National Team for a full decade, during which time his squads brought home the World Cup from every International Racquetball Federation World Championship played in the period.
1999
Earl Acuff | Asheville, North Carolina (Amateur Athlete, Inducted 1999) Since his first career win — in the Men’s 60+ division in 1984 — Earl Acuff had medaled 34 times at major national and world senior events, and walked away with the gold at 20 of them. In the year preceding his induction, Earl was a double-gold winner in Men’s 75+, earned his seventh U.S. national doubles title, matching the singles victory he had earned that spring.
1997
Lynn Adams | Libertyville, Illinois (Professional Athlete, Inducted 1997) Lynn Adams won 325 of her 369 professional matches, for a .887 winning percentage. An eight-time player of the year (1982-88, 90), Adams won six pro tour season titles (1982-83, 85-88) and seven overall championships (1982-83, 85-88, 90).	Marty Hogan | Chesterfield, Missouri (Professional Athlete, Inducted 1997) The sport’s first million dollar man, Hogan owned the men’s professional tour from 1977 to ‘82, with six national championship titles. In his early -- and later renewed -- amateur career Hogan garnered several top honors from the ‘75 Boy’s 18-and-under crown to the ‘94 Men’s 25-and-over national doubles championship.
Chuck Leve | Northbrook, Illinois (Contributor, Inducted 1997) An integral part of racquetball since 1969, Leve was the Executive Secretary of the International Racquetball Association (IRA) in ‘70.	Heather McKay | Brisbane, Australia (Professional Athlete, Inducted 1997) Heather McKay (Brisbane, Australia) had lost only two matches in two decades of international squash dominance before turning to the sport of racquetball in 1980, at the age of 39.
Dave Peck | Austin, Texas (Professional Athlete, Inducted 1997) Peck was awarded the professional tour’s Rookie of the Year trophy in 1978. In the year’s following, Peck established his place among the racquetball elite, winning the Ektelon National Championship in 1981 and ‘82.	Mike Yellen | West Bloomfield, Michigan (Professional Athlete, Inducted 1997) Mike Yellen made his mark on the men’s pro circuit in the same era as Hogan and Peck, claiming a spot as one of the most fundamentally sound and powerful players on the tour.
1996
Mary Low Acuff | Asheville, North Carolina (deceased) (Amateur Athlete, Inducted 1996) Hall of Fame athlete Mary Low Acuff dominated the "upper echelons" of age group competition among women beginning in 1984, with career wins that include forty-five national titles, nine silver medals and a scant two bronze medal finishes.	Keith Calkins | Mission Viejo, California (Contributor, Inducted 1996) Keith Calkins boasts a career of service to racquetball, from developing one of the first junior camps in California, to a long-running term as a member, and often-elected officer, of the organization's board of directors.
Johnny Hennen | Chattanooga, Tennessee (Amateur Athlete, Inducted 1996) Johnny Hennen is probably one of the best liked and respected athletes to ever play the game. On court Johnny is legendary for a lack of defense, and a non-stop, aggressive style.	Gary Mazaroff | Albuquerque, New Mexico (Contributor, Inducted 1996) Gary Mazaroff began an un-interrupted presidential term with the New Mexico Racquetball Association in 1974, bringing that organization to the forefront of the AARA's state affiliate structure.

Click here for a complete list of inductees into the Racquetball HOF