PHILLIPS-BANNISTER, Kristie Inducted: 2006 Born: Baton Rouge, Louisiana-USA Kristie Phillips-Bannister is either the only woman gymnast or at least only one of a small number of women gymnasts to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Unfortunately, the poor luck or mojo that mystically seems to come with the honor rode Kristie’s shoulders right … Read more
ALLEN, Ken Special Web Site Guest LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE – 2008 With eight NAIA and three NCAA Division II men’s gymnastics titles to his credit, Ken Allen is regarded as one of the most successful head coaches in UW-Oshkosh history. Taking Reins: Allen, who retired as head coach of the Titans in 1992, began his … Read more
YONGUE, Jimmy Inducted: 2009 At the Hall of Fame ceremonies numerous friends of Jimmy’s from St. Martin Parish drove to attend, while others flew in from Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Chicago. “Over the years, Jimmy made a lot of friends who were Olympians,” said coach Jeff Hennessy, who mentored Yongue at UL (then USL) in the … Read more
WRIGHT, Jerry Lifetime Achievement Honoree: 2001 Born: September 25, 1935 Jerry Wright was the Founding Father of the Men’s National Gymnastics Judges Association. In his efforts to standardize judging on a national and international level, he was a pioneer in the dissemination of information about the science of judging men’s gymnastics. He was a teammate … Read more
WILLS-Cline, Judy Inducted: 1993 Every gymnast who wishes to progress must have a divergent, creative mind when it comes to developing performance routines. Some have even run old films backwards to see if any stunt or combination of stunts might be reversed. In our reveries, we sometimes laugh at the routines we mentally compose since … Read more
TODD, Jerry Inducted: 1978 Born: L.A. California Respectfully dubbed “The King of Invitational Gymnastics”, Jerry hosted, judged, or was chief commentator for over 100 invitational men’s and women’s competitions. Jerry’s “Pasadena Invitational” (P.N.I.) attracted world-class competitors from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, China, Spain, Russia, & Australia plus numerous college gymnasts who considered an invitation a special … Read more
TANAC-SCHROEDER, Joyce Inducted: 1990 Born: Seattle, Washington-USA Joyce Tanac-Schroeder has a unique record under her belt. She has won all five events in a single competition more than once. These meet “scoops” began during her Jr. Gymnastics days, and culminated in the 1969 National AAU Championships. That’s a lot of gymnastics’ medals for only one … Read more
SCHABACKER, Dr. Joseph C. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: 2007 Joe Schabacker was a major player in the world of gymnastics and acrobatics for many years. At the recent (2007) HOF Induction Ceremony, we spoke briefly, and, surprisingly, he remembered me. We joked a bit about my gymnastics, and I came back a bit with comments … Read more
SANS-ABELN, Jennifer Inducted: 2015 Born: Kansas City Jennifer in the center, between passes during winning individual Gold for Women’s Double Mini trampoline at 1996 World’s in Vancouver, Canada. Also in photo are Kimberly Sans (L) and Jennifer Parilla (R). American Team-Gold at 1996 World Championships. Erin Maguire, Kimberly Sans, Jamie Strandmark and Jennifer Sans. Sans … Read more
ROZANAS, James Inducted: 1960 James Rozanas was the man to lead you if you had designs on becoming an elite gymnastics competitor. He was known as being demanding, and expected his athletes to do stunts, combinations, and exercises until they learned it well. His disciplinary ways have been compared to those of Bela Karolyi. Every … Read more