HomeNews Lubick & Smith Highlight Colorado Sports Hall of Fame '09 Class
Lubick & Smith Highlight Colorado Sports Hall of Fame '09 Class
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
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DENVER —Longtime Colorado State University football coach Sonny Lubick and recently retired Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith are among the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame’s six-person class of 2009.
In addition to Lubick and Smith, the selection committee Monday morning also elected former Colorado Rockies chairman Jerry McMorris; former NHL star and long-time Colorado hockey figure Ralph Backstrom; Lt. Col. John Mosley, an ex-Colorado A&M (Colorado State) standout football player and wrestler as well as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II; and Laurice “Lo” Hunter, the trailblazing and legendarily successful volleyball coach at Evergreen High School.
The six officially will be inducted at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Banquet, Tuesday, April 14 at the Denver Marriott City Center. Please call the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, www.coloradosports.org , 720-258-3535, for ticket and table information.
Lubick coached the Rams for 15 seasons, from 1993-2007, compiling a 108-74 record and leading the previously moribund program to nine bowl berths and six conference championships. He also has been a beloved goodwill ambassador for the university in Northern Colorado, around the state, and even around the nation. His departure from the CSU coaching position came last November, and he follows his long-time coaching opponent – but long-time friend—Fisher DeBerry, a member of the 2008 class, into the Hall.
Rod Smith officially announced his retirement from the Broncos in July after he was unable to play in the 2007 season because of a hip injury that required two surgeries. His story was both inspirational and improbable. He was an undrafted free agent from Missouri Southern who received a $5,000 signing bonus; made his first NFL catch for a 43-yard, game-winning touchdown as time expired against Washington in 1995; and went on to hold Broncos franchise records for career receptions (849), receiving yards (11,389), touchdown receptions (68) and total touchdowns scored (71).
Lt. Col. John Mosley, a Denver native who lives in Aurora, was a standout football player and wrestler, as well as a National Merit scholar, at Denver’s Manual High School, then became Colorado A&M’s first African-American football player during his career in Fort Collins, from 1939-42. In contrast, the University of Colorado, a member of the Mountain States Conference with A&M at the time, didn’t integrate its program until the mid-1950s. Mosley played fullback and guard for the Aggies through 1942, was an all-league guard as a senior, also was a regional wrestling champion, and twice was vice president of his class in a time when the Fort Collins school had fewer than a dozen black students enrolled. After his Tuskegee Airman service during World War II, he remained in the Air Forces reserves, also serving during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, was a YMCA official and worked in the federal department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Laurice “Lo” Hunter was a Wichita State University graduate who came to Colorado to coach, and was a pioneer in Colorado high school girls’ sports. She was best known for her work at Evergreen High School, where her volleyball teams won nine state championships, including eight in a row from 1978-85, and also won 182 consecutive matches, a national record at the time. She also coached basketball, gymnastics, golf, and track and field.
Ontario native Ralph Backstrom was a member of six Stanley Cup champions with the Montreal Canadiens and was the NHL’s rookie of the year in 1959. His connection to Colorado began when he joined the World Hockey Association’s Denver Spurs in 1974. He bought a home in Parker and has been a Colorado resident ever since, including during brief coaching and playing stints elsewhere. He was both an assistant coach and head coach at the University of Denver, was the founder of Roller Hockey International, and founded and was co-owner of the phenomenally successful Colorado Eagles Central Hockey League franchise that is based in Loveland and draws from all of Northern Colorado.
Coloradan Jerry McMorris was the Colorado Rockies’ president and chief executive officer during their first nine years in the National League. At first intending to be a limited partner of limited visibility, he stepped up when the original major figures in the expansion team’s ownership ran into financial and legal problems before the team had played a game. He helped make up the $20 million shortfall in the expansion fee, rounded up other support, became the public face of the ownership group for the team’s first years – including when it moved into the new Coors Field. No longer involved with the Rockies, McMorris has family farming and ranching interests near Fort Collins, is committee chairman of the horse show at the National Western Stock Show, is vice chairman of the Denver Police Foundation, and is on the board of directors of the Poudre Valley Fire Authority.
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