The Elgin Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 204 members since 1980. All of the Inductees are celebrated for their outstanding achievements and accomplishments in their respective sport(s). As the highest honor in Elgin athletics, entrance into the Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding contributions to a variety of sports.
2022 Inductees
Bruce Bazsali
Bruce Bazsali, a 1963 graduate of Elgin High School, is inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame for coaching.
Bruce Bazsali
Bazsali coached boys track and field for 5 years at St. Edwards of Elgin and Carmel of Mundelein, setting season records for wins at each school. Bazsali then served as girls’ track and field coach at Rolling Meadows for 9 years, during which his teams won 84 dual meets, while losing 8 and capturing 3 conference championships. Those teams included 30 state qualifiers, 6 medalists, and one state champion.
As the girls softball coach at Prospect High School (1987-1990), Bazsali’s teams compiled a record of 88 victories and 17 losses, winning 2 conference and 3 regional titles.
Bruce began his football coaching career at St. Edwards where he helped lead the team to a 6-3 record and the Sun-Times Comeback Team of the Year award; he also coached ESHOF member and NFL Hall of Famer Dave Casper. Bruce went on to serve as the offensive coordinator for the Class 7A state champion Prospect High football team in 2005. As a head varsity football coach, Bazsali won 104 and lost 85, posting a .550 winning percentage. While at Elk Grove High School, he coached three playoff teams, losing in the state quarter-finals in 2004 following an undefeated regular season. During his tenure at Rockford Lutheran, his teams were 53 – 24 with three conference championships, made the state playoffs five times and reached the Class 4A semi-finals in 2013. His teams set school records with 11 victories at Elk Grove (2004) and Rockford Lutheran (2013, 2014, 2015). As a football coach, Bazsali prepared NFL running back James Robinson while at Lutheran.
Beginning in 2018, Bruce was the assistant head coach/quarterback coach at Casa Grande High School in Arizona where he was instrumental in helping the program win its first playoff game in 23 years, advance to the final four for the first time in program history, and win the state championship in 2021.
Bruce was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006. Bruce’s legacy lies in the innovative programs he created and the athletes he motivated to achieve success not only in sports, but in life.
Ken Ok Hyung Kim
Grand Master Ken Ok Hyung Kim is inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame for martial arts.
Ken Ok Hyung Kim
Mr. Kim has taught Tae Kwan Do and Judo to men, women and children in the Elgin area since opening Kim’s Black Belt Academy in Elgin (1968). His Elgin studio is the birthplace of the American Kyuki-Do Federation, which he established in 1976. Since then, many affiliated training academies/studios have opened throughout the United States.
Mr. Kim was awarded his 8th Dan Black Belt and awarded the rank of Grand Master in 1980. He was promoted to 9th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do by the International Council of Martial Arts Education in 1985. Grand Master Kim served as president of the Alumni Association of the Korean Sports and Science College from 1989-1991, was promoted to 7th Dan Head Master in Judo by the KJA in 1990, and awarded the 8th Dan in Judo in 1994. He is one of the highest ranking Black Belt Grand Masters in the United States.
Mr. Kim has traveled the world in his quest to promote and improve the martial arts. While he has taught martial arts to thousands of students, Grand Master Kim still places a tremendous emphasis on the importance of family, community and education, and this philosophy is reflected in every aspect of his teaching
Michelle Pelka
Michelle Pelka, a 2007 graduate of Elgin Academy, is inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame for swimming.
Michelle Pelka
While in high school, Michelle swam and qualified for the IHSA state swimming meet as an individual in the 200 meter freestyle as a sophomore and in the 200 meter and 500 meter freestyle as a junior.
As a member of the Carthage College women’s swim team, Pelka was an undefeated, 24 time conference champion swimmer in four years of competition in the 200 and 400 meter individual medleys and the 200 meter fly, in addition to being a member of numerous 200 and 400 meter free and medley relay teams. While being the most decorated swimmer in Carthage history, Michelle was a 15 time All-American and three time Academic All-American. She set conference records in the 200 meter individual medley, 400 meter individual medley, and as part of the 200 meter freestyle relay team. She qualified and competed all four years in the NCAA Division II National Meet finishing 4th in the 400 individual medley, 6th in the 200 fly, 6th in the 200 freestyle relay, and 8th in the 400 freestyle relay in 2008-2009. Michelle placed in those same events the following year with an 8th in the 200 freestyle relay. In her senior season of 2011, she placed 6th in the 200 meter fly and 10th in the 400 individual medley. In total, Pelka was a six time 1st team All-American and a nine time honorable mention.
Michelle was inducted into the Carthage College Hall of Fame in 2017, still holding three individual records and as a member of four school relay records. She has gone on to earn her medical doctorate and is currently a pediatric cardiologist.
Hannah Perryman
Hannah Perryman, a 2012 Elgin High School graduate, is being inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame for softball.
Hannah Perryman
Hannah Perryman, a 2012 graduate of Elgin High School, is inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame for softball.
Hannah was a four time Upstate 8 selection and three time All-Area softball pitcher for Elgin High. In her senior year, she was selected by the Daily Herald and Upstate 8 as “Pitcher of the Year” and by the Courier News as All-Area “Player of the Year.” Hannah was a two time All-State selection and set numerous records at EHS, including a single season strikeout record of 372 (176 innings) and career strikeouts with 840. Perryman had an earned run average of 1.31 as a senior (career 2.1), held opponents to a .112 batting average, and pitched nine shutouts. As a hitter, she batted .333 in her senior year and .360 for her career with 26 home runs and 108 runs batted in. She also shared the state record for most grand slam homers in a single season and career.
In her four year pitching career at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Hannah was Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week 16 times, Pitcher of the Year three times, GLVC All-Conference all four years, All-Midwest Region First Team selection by the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. and Daktronics four times, and an All-American selection each year by the NFCA and Daktronics. After her junior and senior seasons, she was a Top 3 finalist in the Schutt Sports/NCAA Division II National Player of the Year. Perryman led the NCAA D-II in strikeouts twice, strikeouts per seven innings three times, and won 128 games. She pitched a record nine perfect games and also set records for career strikeouts (1725) and single season strikeouts (567). In addition, Hannah ranks high on the NCAA D-II list in consecutive victories (22), career no-hitters (15), victories and shutouts (61).
Hannah was the first student-athlete in any UMSL team sport to be named an All-American all four years. She was drafted by the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch Softball League in 2016 as a pitcher and was with the team for two years. In 2017, Hannah received the John E. Wray/Myron Holtzman Award from the St. Louis Baseball Writers Association of America for achievement in a sport other than baseball. She was inducted into the USML Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020.
John Radtke
John Radtke is inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame as a Friend Of Sports.
John Radtke
John Radtke, nominated as a friend of sports, has been a high school sports reporter and editor for the Daily Herald from 1997–2022 and a staff sports reporter for the Courier News for 14 years previously. During his time with the Daily Herald, John covered and reported all boys and girls sports. He has been the on-line sports editor of the third largest daily newspaper in Illinois, supervising a staff of 16 and overseeing all on-line presentations. In addition, he’s managed a content management system for the website which has won awards for its football and basketball sites. Radtke has communicated with athletic directors and coaches on a daily basis and organized and moderated banquets at numerous locations honoring all-area athletes. John received the Peter Lisagor Award (2012) for a series of articles on Title IX, the Daily Herald’s Editorial Award for Excellence (2010), IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award (2014), the IHSA Soccer Coaches Association Media Person of the Year (2007), two Northern Illinois newspaper awards for articles on Title IX, and the James S. Copley Ring of Truth Award. He was the founder and coach for many years of the Elgin Lightning softball team and has been inducted into the IBCA Hall of Fame (2001) and the Burlington Central HOF (2014).
Corinne (Cohen) Grotenhuis – Elgin Sports Fall of Fame Induction – 2016
Experience it in person!
If you’d like to view see Prior Years’ Inductees we invite you to the ESHOF on-site Touch Pro Experience, located at The Centre of Elgin, or visit the Virtual Hall of Fame.
