2014 Colorado Springs Hall of Fame Class

Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame

2014 Class of Inductees

Don Cockroft, a graduate of Fountain-Fort Carson High School where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball and track, ended his sports career as one of the greatest punter/kickers in collegiate and NFL history. A walk-on hopeful at Adams State College, Cockroft was a varsity football letterman from 1963-1966, playing as a punter/kicker and strong safety. He led all college punters his senior year with an average of 48.1 yards per punt, earning him NAIA All-American honors.

Horst Richardson led the Tigers to the NCAA Division III playoffs 19 times and guided his teams to six conference titles in the Rocky Mountain Conference. Heading into the 2014 season, CC’s 8 th year in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Richardson ranked among the top 10 collegiate soccer coaches of all-time with his 552 victories. His Tigers received four NCAA Tournament bids since 2000. In 2004, with All-American and NCAA Division III Player of the Year Patrick McGinnis leading the way, the Tigers finished 16-4-1. His teams were 144-68-16 during the 1990s, including an 18-2-2 mark and a trip to the national semifinals in 1992. He graduated from the University of California-Riverside in 1963, playing on the varsity soccer team and winning four letters. He earned a Ph. D. from the University of Connecticut and served as a member of the CC faculty in the German Department for 45 years.

Pete Geronazzo came to Colorado College from Trail, British Columbia, as a walk-on and watched the 1991-1992 Tiger ice hockey team from the stands. He then proceeded to become an All-American, Hobey Baker top-ten finalist, and one of the school’s most productive players in history.

Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, the Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, was appointed in 2013 and was the first female to hold that position. Johnson was a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s class of 1981 and one of the Academy’s most outstanding women’s basketball players during her career. She ended her four-year stint with the basketball team with 1,706 points, second-best in the school’s history.

Tom Falgien is a sports legend in Colorado Springs after five decades of service and contribution to prep sports, academics and youth in the city. His career in Colorado Springs began in 1958 when he became a teacher and coach at South Junior High and Palmer High. His coaching and teaching career includes stops at Palmer, Wasson, and Mitchell High Schools where he developed outstanding student athletes and was a tremendous administrator. Later, he also served as the Principal at St. Mary’s High School for two years.

The Colorado Springs Brown Bombers baseball team of the 1940s and 1950s remain one of the most cherished parts of the city’s sports legends and history. In an era of racism and segregation, this semi-professional baseball team, made up of all-black players, won back-to-back championships in 1949-1950 in the Colorado Springs City Baseball League, a very popular league prior to the professional Colorado Springs Sky Sox coming to town in 1950.

Col. F. Don Miller Award – Mark Beranek

Mark Beranek has carved out one of the most successful basketball coaching careers in Colorado high school history. His Sierra High School boys teams won the state Class 4A title in 1997 and 2000, defeating Evergreen in 1997 and Dakota Ridge in 2000. He was honored to be selected as the coach for the West Team in the 1997 McDonald’s High School All-American Game that included future college and NBA stars.

Thayer Tutt Sportsman Award
Dave Palenchar

Dave Palenchar remains one of the most important individuals in the growth, traditions and history of sport in Colorado Springs. He serves as a Trustee of the El Pomar Foundation, which throughout its history, has consistently played a major role in connecting Colorado Springs to sports, including the relocation of the United States Olympic Committee from New York to Colorado Springs in 1978 and the creation of the new Broadmoor World Arena.