ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame announced today the five people, one event and two moments that will make up the Class of 2009.

The athlete inductees include H.A. “Red” Boucher, Alaska Baseball League pioneer, Nina Kemppel, U.S. Nordic ski champion and mountain running legend, Wally Leask, World War II era southeast basketball legend, Hilary Lindh, Olympic medalist and Colonel Norman Vaughan, long-time polar explorer and adventurer.

The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) was selected as the event and joins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Great Alaska Shootout in the Hall in its category. Since its inception in 1961, WEIO has grown into an internationally famous event that celebrates Alaska’s indigenous, games and their athletes.

The moments selected were the epic first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley in 1967 and Doug Herron’s stunning performance in the track in 1985, when he clocked a national-best 1:49.2 in the 800 meters at the 1985 Alaska High School Track and Filed Championships. The successful summit bid by Art Davidson, Ray Genet and Dave Johnston was chronicled in the book “Minus 148”, now widely regarded as one of the greatest survival stories ever written. Herron’s feat catapulted him into the national spotlight and paved the way for a successful collegiate running career.

“We are very pleased to welcome in the Class of 2009,” said Harlow Robinson, President of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. “It is a group remarkable for its resume and for its diversity and it is certainly a stellar representation of sports in Alaska.”

The public is welcome to attend the induction ceremony for the class in February, 2009 at the ConocoPhillips atrium in Anchorage. The date and time will be announced. ConocoPhillips is a major sponsor of this event.

Class of 2009 Inductees

H.A. “Red” Boucher, the founder of the Alaska Goldpanners in Fairbanks. Red pushed Alaska baseball into prominence in the 1960’s in the form of the Alaska Baseball League, which continues to bring top-level college players to the state each summer. One of many future major league baseball stars to play for Boucher, Hall of Famer Tom Seaver once said, "the enthusiasm coach Boucher displayed instilled a great sense of pride in all his players, so much so in fact, that there still remains a feeling of brotherhood among us fortunate enough to have played for him."
Nina Kemppel, Anchorage’s West High School graduate who went on to become the standard-bearer for U.S. Nordic Skiing. Kemppel competed in four Olympics for the United States and won 18 national championships in cross country skiing over the span of her illustrious career. She also dominated the Alaska mountain running scene, winning a record nine Mount Marathon championships, including a streak of eight in a row.

Wally Leask, hoopster extraordinaire from Metlakatla. Known as the “dribbling dervish” and the “howitzer” during his basketball career, Leask was the first big-time basketball player from Alaska. He captained the University of Washington basketball team to a 25-5 record as a senior in 1943. His team lost in what is now known as the Elite Eight, but Leask missed the tournament to fulfill his duty as a U.S. Army fighter pilot in World War II. Leask had offers to play professionally for the Harlem Globetrotters and Minneapolis Lakers upon his return from the war, but he opted for a higher paying job and focused or raising a family instead. He died in 2004 at the age of 84.

Hilary Lindh, Olympic Silver Medalist from Juneau. Lindh was only 14 years old when she joined the United States Ski Team and by 16, she became the first American to win a World Junior Championships downhill title. Her silver medal in the downhill at Albertsville was the pinnacle moment of her skiing career but her resume also includes a downhill gold medal at the World Championships in Sestrier, Italy in 1997. Lindh earned three World Cup victories, five podiums and 27 top-ten finishes during her storied 11-year World Cup career.

Norman Vaughan, polar explorer and longtime adventurer. Vaughan left Harvard University to join Admiral Byrd’s first expedition to the South Pole from 1928-1932. Admiral Byrd named a mountain on the continent after Vaughan and in 1994 at the age of 88 Vaughan returned to climb the 10,302 foot peak. Vaughan competed in the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York in the sprint dog racing exhibition. He moved to Alaska at the age of 68 to “start a new life.” Vaughan went on to compete in 13 Iditarod races (finishing four) and embark on numerous Arctic expeditions. Vaughan died in 2005. He was 100 years old.

Selection panel: Bob Eley, sports editor, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (chairman); Beth Bragg, columnist and former sports editor, Anchorage Daily News; Dennis Egan, radio broadcaster, Juneau; Lew Freedman, Chicago, former Anchorage Daily News sports editor and author of numerous books about Alaska sports; Mike Janecek, Palmer, longtime high school coach and athletics administrator; Danny Martin, sports writer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner; Steve Nerland, Anchorage, American Legion baseball manager; Mike Sica, longtime Alaskan sports broadcaster and journalist. Results of Internet voting by the public constituted the panel’s ninth vote.

The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization established June, 2006. The mission of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame is to teach, to honor and to inspire. For additional information about the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, visit www.alaskasportshall.org, contact Harlow Robinson at 907.240.3684 or Denise Brown Robinson at 907.360.1832.