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JAMESTOWN — The North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame will hold its induction ceremony this year in November.
The induction ceremony is usually held in June or July, but one of the inductees won’t be available until November, said Dave Greenwood, president of the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. The plan was then made to move the induction ceremony to November for just this year.
There is always somebody out there that is deserving and should be looked at.
The inductees have not been announced. Previous inductees into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame include Phil Jackson, Roger Maris, Lute Olson, Darin Erstad, Phil Hansen, Virgil Hill, Jim Kleinsasser, Ricky Helling and Travis Hafner, among others.
The North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame is located inside the Jamestown Civic Center.
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The purpose of the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame is to honor and recognize individuals who have played a major role in the growth and development of sports in the state and to further promote sports and sportsmanship by honoring those who have made outstanding contributions in sports, according to its website. The North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame was established by the North Dakota Legislature in 1989.
North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame inductees receive the Cliff Cushman Award. Cushman, a hurdler in track at the University of Kansas, was named the 1960 North Dakota Athlete of the Year. He won a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1960 Olympics. His dream of winning a gold medal at the 1964 Olympics came to an end after he stumbled over a hurdle at the final U.S. Olympic trial meet in Los Angeles but wrote a letter of inspiration to the Grand Forks Herald asking young people in his hometown to not feel sorry for him and to set goals for themselves.
Greenwood said the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame is always interested in more nominations for inductions.
“There is always somebody out there that is deserving and should be looked at,” he said.
He said a committee of about 12 to 14 people look through the nominations and vote for three to four to be inducted. If a nomination does not get enough votes to be inducted, the committee does not eliminate any of the past nominations. The committee can vote on the past nominations again in future years.
The Civic Center also houses other organizations’ halls of fame such as for amateur baseball and basketball, fishing and bowling, among others.
For more information about the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, visit ndsportshalloffame.com .
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