Hank Stram, left, and Dick Barnett

Next up for Gary, a sports hall of fame

Contributed By:Tommy Williams

Jeff Colby, you are brilliant, partner.

I went to Jeff's Playboy barber shop to get my haircut (Jeff: You will get an advertisement bill from us soon) when Mr. Colby started talking about the great job former Gary Wallace basketball coach Earl Smith is doing promoting a Gary Sports Hall of Fame.

And so Jeff and I did what other sports fans in our position would do (that is, after Jeff took a little off the sides and trimmed my mustache, of course).

We talked about who would be our first inductees into the hall? And for the record, who would be your, say, top five guys or girls who would be nominated?

Tell you what: You guys can talk amongst yourselves about who would get the nod (you don't even need to have your hair cut unless you need it).

The good thing about having this column? I can give you my list right now. Mind you, I will give you three no brainers now and three more next week. To Jeff and Coach Smith: thank you, gentlemen. Now, let’s dance.

1. Former NFL coach Hank Stram

This first one is a bit embarrassing because I remember interviewing Stram at Gary Wallace high school years ago, and at the time not realizing he was from Gary. Duh. Which means it took me even longer to figure out that the first ever Super Bowl, featured two guys from the Steel City (Stram and defensive back Fred Williamson, both with Kansas City).

Stram would lose to the Packers that year, but three Super Bowl's later he would beat Minnesota which showed off his coaching genius and also gave us a preview of coming attractions as far as Stram being the ultimate entertainer. If you never saw the Super Bowl IV NFL Films piece with Stram miked up the entire game, you missed a gem. Oh, as for the preview of coming attractions, Stram would have a long and successful career as the radio color commentator of Monday Night Football with radio hall of famer Jack Buck.

As a coach, Stram was the head guy for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs for 15 years and won more AFL titles (3) than any other coach in the league. He also had more victories (87) and post season games (seven) and was inducted into the pro football hall of fame in 2003.

2. Former NBA star Dick Barnett

Barnett's story would be impressive if you just looked at athletics. Barnett had a great high school basketball career at Roosevelt (including leading the Panthers to the 1954-55 state title game against Indianapolis Attucks which would be the first time in Indiana (if not in national) history that two predominantly black schools would play for a state title.

In college, he led Tennessee A&I to three straight NAIA national championships, with Barnett being named tourney MVP in two of the three title runs (one pretty good reason why Barnett was inducted into the college basketball hall of fame). And of course, he was a two time NBA champion with the New York Knicks.

But Barnett's come from behind success in the classroom is even more impressive. Barnett admitted that he was not exactly the perfect student early in life, but would eventually turn his academic fortunes around and get his PhD in education.

3. Former Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon

Not only was he a dynamo as a football player, he was also partly responsible for the star of one of your favorite TV shows. More on that later.

Harmon had a phenomenal college career as a running back at Michigan, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1940 and being named to the college football hall of fame in 1954. His professional career wasn't as successful as his decorated military service in which he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star in the mid 1940's.

Like Stram, Harmon also was a sportscaster (and one of the first to make the transition from athlete to announcer) and also did work on the silver screen which is ironic. Because his only son, who was a quarterback at UCLA, followed in his footsteps. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Mark Harmon, the star of NCIS.

OK, those are half of my no brainer picks for the Gary Sports Hall of Fame. More coming next week.

Story Posted:07/22/2016