Utah Sports Hall of Fame

Dave Checketts at Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation

The Utah Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, organized in 1967 as The Old Time Athletes Association, was founded "to celebrate and preserve Utah's storied sports heritage."[1] The charter class of 18 members was inducted in 1970 and included Jack Dempsey, Gene Fullmer, and Frank Christensen. Other inductees include professional basketball player Fred Sheffield (1975),[2] Major League Baseball pitcher Kent Peterson (1977),[3] and rodeo champion Earl W. Bascom (1985).[4]

In 2015, the hall inducted former Major League Baseball pitcher Kelly Downs, former Olympic marathoner Ed Eyestone, former National Football League quarterback Scott Mitchell, Olympic gold medalist wrestler and wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, and former college basketball player Wayne Estes.[5]

The fall 2016 class, inducted on October 18 in Salt Lake City, comprised women's college basketball coach Elaine Elliott, former National Basketball Association player Devin Durrant, philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., volleyball player Annette Cottle, and NCAA steeplechase champion Farley Gerber.[6]

In May 2019, the organization opened a museum in 99 West on South Temple at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City.[7][8]

  1. ^ "About – Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation". Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Old Timers to be Inducted Into Sports Hall of Fame". The Daily Herald. October 28, 1975. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Dunn, Marion (November 4, 1977). "Former Major League Hurler Waits Induction Slated For Nov. 16". The Daily Herald. p. 6. Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Rodeo champion dead at 89". The Index-Journal. Associated Press. August 31, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Utah Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2015". Deseret News. July 15, 2015. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "Utah Sports Hall of Fame class of 2016 announced". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 4, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum grand opening". KTVX/ABC 4 Utah. Salt Lake City. May 18, 2019. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Benson, Lee (July 10, 2022). "Thanks to Norma, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum survived the pandemic and is going strong". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2024.