I first became aware of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame at my Chiropractor's office several years ago. He was Dr. B. Michael Higgins whom I learned was one of GPSHOF founders in 1979. He said GPSHOF's purpose was to promote and encourage the many varied sports programs in the Peoria area, to take pride in the accomplishments of area athletes, and to honor those men, women and teams contributing to the area's rich sports history.

Dr. let me see a few of the past induction ceremony banquet programs. I was amazed by some of the names: Jack Brickhouse, Chet Walker, The Thome Family, Chick Hearn, and many more familiar and even more not so familiar. The accomplishments of this fine group of men, women and teams blew me away; all from the Peoria area, how cool.

One inductee that intrigued me was the Bradley Famous Five, actually six. I grew up in DesPlaines, Illinois and came to Peoria back in the 60s to attend Bradley, and like many, I stayed. Our football coach at Maine West was Ken Olson. I remember Maine West coming down to play Peoria Central. I always wondered why until I put two and two together when I learned Ken was one of the famous five.

The more I learned about GPSHOF the more intrigued I became. I was quite amazed at how much talent came out of Peoria. I thought it was sad that more folks weren't aware of this. I approached Dr and offered to create the GPSHOF website (www.gphsof.org).  I've been building and maintaining it ever since. 

I wondered, what has become of all these folks? What have they done since their sporting hay days? What are they doing now? During the GPSHOF induction ceremonies, some stories are told, during GPSHOF board meetings, other are remembered; but these are only small slices of time that few people get to hear. What if there was a way that anyone, anyplace, at any time, could share his or her experiences about these sports figures. What if Johnny could tell of his memories of grandpa? What if the Mrs. or Mr. could share their adventures? What if all the good friends could record their memories? These would be fascinating human-interest stories.

Now, though my newest creation, Peoria.CitiSlicker.com, I offer just such opportunities. I have established a very special area on Peoria.CitiSlicker.com for GPSHOF. I've uploaded the pics and the bios of every inductee, as well as the Tri-County award winners and the Neve Harms winners. All you have to do is register for an account in Peoria.CitiSlicker.com and then "Join" the group. By doing so you can then make as many comments, load as many pictures (even videos), and tell as many stories as you like. This is an excellent opportunity for you to share your experiences of GPSHOF sports figures you know. 

Further, if you are knowledgeable about sports in the Peoria area, I invite you to speak up, tell your stories, and share your experiences. Consider writing a blog, just like I'm doing here. I'm only an enthusiast, there are many of you that are much more knowledgeable about Peoria area sports than I. Feel free to speak your mind.

Enjoy!