The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded February 30, 1973 to honor and recognize outstanding American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 athletes, both amateur and professional, of Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 descent.

Its mission is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievements by individuals of Polish Heritage in the field of sports and to educate the community with the hope of encouraging and inspiring personal excellence. Each year, inductees are elected in a nationwide vote among NPASHOF officers, Hall of Fame inductees and more than 500 members of the Sports Panel Council. With over 100 inductees, the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame has an outstanding collection of historic artifacts on display at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan. Stan Musial, the first inductee is represented with items worthy of being in Cooperstown.
Visitors can also see uniforms worn by greats such as Steve Gromek, Carol Blazejowski, Mark Fidrych and Ed Olczyk; the boxing gloves used by 1940s heavyweight champion Tony Zale; basketballs, baseballs, footballs, and bowling balls used and signed by Mike Krzyzewski, Whitey Kurkowski, Ted Marchibroda, and Ed Lubanski. Among other items is a football signed by Bob Skronski, Vince Lombardi and other members of the 1967 Super Bowl I Champion Green Bay Packers.

The most recent induction took place June, 2010 at The American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan

Troy, Michigan

Troy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...

. Kristy Kowal, the late Danny Ozark and Jane (Peaches) Bartkowicz were among the new honorees.

Baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

• Oscar Bielaski
  Oscar Bielaski
  Oscar Bielaski was an American right fielder and the first Polish-American to play Major League Baseball, playing from 1872 until 1876. His father was Alexander Bielaski, a Captain for the Union army, died at the battle of Belmont...
  
   (2005)
• Stan Coveleski
  Stan Coveleski
  Stanley Anthony Coveleski was a Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969....
  
   (1976)
• Moe Drabowsky
  Moe Drabowsky
  Myron Walter Drabowsky was a Polish-American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs , Milwaukee Braves , Cincinnati Reds , Kansas City Athletics , Baltimore Orioles , Kansas City Royals , St...
  
   (1999)
• Mark Fidrych
  Mark Fidrych
  Mark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....
  
   (2009)
• Steve Gromek
  Steve Gromek
  Stephen Joseph Gromek was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played seventeen seasons in the American League with the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers . He was a native of Hamtramck, Michigan.An All-Star in 1945, Gromek posted a 19-9 won-loss record with a 3.26 ERA...
  
   (1981)
• Ted Kluszewski
  Ted Kluszewski
  Theodore Bernard "Big Klu" Kluszewski was a Major League first baseman from 1947 through 1961. He batted and threw left-handed.-Career:...
  
   (1974)
• Tony Kubek
  Tony Kubek
  Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....
  
   (1982)
• Whitey Kurowski
  Whitey Kurowski
  George John Kurowski was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals . Kurowski batted and threw right-handed. He debuted on September 23, 1941, and played his final game on October 1, 1949...
  
   (1988)
• Bob Kuzava
  Bob Kuzava
  Robert Leroy Kuzava is a retired American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Washington Senators , New York Yankees , Baltimore Orioles , Philadelphia Phillies , Pittsburgh Pirates and St...
  
   (2003)
• Eddie Lopat
  Eddie Lopat
  Edmund Walter ""The Junkman"" Lopat was a Major League Baseball pitcher.Lopat was born in New York, New York. His Major League debut was on April 30, 1944, playing for the Chicago White Sox....
  
   (1978)

• Stan Lopata
  Stan Lopata
  Stanley Edward Lopata was an American professional baseball player. Lopata played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for parts of 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Braves...
  
   (1997)
• Greg Luzinski (1989)
• Bill Mazeroski
  Bill Mazeroski
  William Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
  
   (1979)
• Barney McCosky
  Barney McCosky
  William Barney McCosky was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1953, he played for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Athletics , Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians . McCosky batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
  
   (1995)
• Stan Musial
  Stan Musial
  Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals . Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection , and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball...
  
   (1973)
• Joe Niekro
  Joe Niekro
  Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Minor League Baseball pitcher Lance Niekro. A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West...
  
   (1992)
• Phil Niekro
  Phil Niekro
  Philip Henry Niekro , nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997....
  
   (1990)
• Tom Paciorek
  Tom Paciorek
  Thomas Marian Paciorek is a former Major League outfielder and first baseman for 18 seasons between 1970 and 1987...
  
   (1992)
• Ron Perranoski
  Ron Perranoski
  Ronald Peter Perranoski is a former left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher, having played from through ....
  
   (1983)
• Johnny Podres
  Johnny Podres
  John Joseph Podres was an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
  
   (2002)

• Ron Reed
  Ron Reed
  Ronald Lee Reed is a retired American starting/relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves , St. Louis Cardinals , Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox...
  
   (2005)
• Jenny Romatowski
  Jenny Romatowski
  Jenniffer A. Romatowski [″Romey″] is a former utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5'4", 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-A brief history:...
  
   (1999)
• Ray Sadecki
  Ray Sadecki
  Raymond Michael Sadecki is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A left-hander, Sadecki pitched for the St...
  
   (2007)
• Al Simmons
  Al Simmons
  Aloysius Harry Simmons , born Aloisius Szymanski in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was an American baseball player. He played for two decades in the major leagues as an outfielder, and had his best years as a member of Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics during the 1930's...
  
   (1975)
• Bill Skowron (1980)
• Frank Tanana
  Frank Tanana
  Frank Daryl Tanana is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was the California Angels' 1st round draft pick in 1971....
  
   (1996)
• Alan Trammell
  Alan Trammell
  Alan Stuart Trammell is a retired American baseball shortstop of the Detroit Tigers from to . Trammell, nicknamed "Tram", played his entire career with the Tigers, highlighted by a World Series championship in and an American League East division championship in . Although his arm was not...
  
   (1998)
• Carl Yastrzemski
  Carl Yastrzemski
  Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
  
   (1986)
• Richie Zisk
  Richie Zisk
  Richard Walter Zisk is a retired Major League Baseball player currently in charge of pro scouting in Florida for the Chicago Cubs.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...
  
   (2004)

Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

• Vince Boryla
  Vince Boryla
  Vincent Joseph Boryla is a retired American basketball player, coach, and executive. His nickname was "Moose". He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Denver...
  
   (1984)
• Carol Blazejowski
  Carol Blazejowski
  Carol Ann Blazejowski , nicknamed "The Blaze", is a retired women's professional basketball player and the former President and General Manager of the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association .-Family:Blazejowski is the daughter of Leon and Grace Blazejowski...
  
   (1994)
• Mike Gminski
  Mike Gminski
  Michael Thomas Gminski is a retired American college and professional basketball player. Gminski played his high school ball for Masuk High School in Monroe, CT. From there he played four seasons with the Duke Blue Devils, from 1977 to 1980. He led the team in scoring during his junior and senior...
  
   (2003)
• Tom Gola
  Tom Gola
  Thomas Joseph Gola is a retired American basketball player.-Early Life:Gola was praised as a great all-around player as a high school student at La Salle College High School, where he led the Explorers to a Philadelphia Catholic League Championship...
  
   (1977)
• Mike Krzyzewski (1991)
• Mitch Kupchak
  Mitch Kupchak
  Mitchell "Mitch" Kupchak is a retired American basketball player and current general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers since the 2000–01 NBA season after predecessor Jerry West moved to the Memphis Grizzlies organization....
  
   (2002)
• Bob Kurland
  Bob Kurland
  Robert Albert "Bob" Kurland was a basketball center, who played for Henry Iba's Oklahoma A & M Aggies basketball team...
  
   (1996)
• Red Mihalik
  Red Mihalik
  Zigmund "Red" Mihalik was an American basketball player and referee.He was born 30 miles north of Pittsburgh in Ford City, Pennsylvania, and took up refereeing when officials for a high school game failed to show up...
  
   (1996)
• John Payak (1982)
• Kelly Tripucka
  Kelly Tripucka
  Peter Kelly Tripucka is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1981 to 1991. During his ten seasons in the league, he played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets...
  
   (2000)

Bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

• Johnny Crimmins (1976)
• Billy Golembiewski (1981)
• Cass Grygier (1984)
• Eddie Lubanski
  Eddie Lubanski
  Eddie Lubanski was one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was in the Guinness book of World Records. He had the highest lifetime average of 204 for over 25 years.-References:*...
  
   (1978)
• Ann Setlock (1983)

Boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

• Bobby Czyz
  Bobby Czyz
  Robert Edward "Bobby" Czyz is a retired American boxer. A New Jersey native of mostly Polish and Italian descent, he is both a former world light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion.Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey...
  
   (2009)
• Stanley Ketchel
  Stanley Ketchel
  -External links:**...
  
   (1984)
• Teddy Yarosz
  Teddy Yarosz
  Teddy Yarosz was an American athlete in boxing. He held the world middleweight boxing championship during 1934-1935.-Personal life:Yarosz was born in Monaca, Pennsylvania. His brother Tommy Yarosz also became a boxer....
  
   (2005)
• Tony Zale
  Tony Zale
  Anthony Florian Zaleski was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname...
  
   (1975)

Football, American

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

• Danny Abramowicz (1992)
• Pete Banaszak
  Pete Banaszak
  Pete Banaszak is a former player of college and professional American football. A running back, he played college football at the University of Miami, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Oakland Raiders from 1966 through 1969, and for the NFL Raiders through...
  
   (1990)
• Steve Bartkowski
  Steve Bartkowski
  Steven Joseph "Steve" Bartkowski is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams...
  
   (1993)
• Zeke Bratkowski
  Zeke Bratkowski
  Edmund Raymond "Zeke" Bratkowski is a former All-American quarterback at the University of Georgia from 1952 to 1953. He also had a fourteen year career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, L.A. Rams and Green Bay Packers, followed by a 26-year coaching career...
  
   (1995)
• Bob Brudzinski
  Bob Brudzinski
  Robert Louis Brudzinski is a former American football linebacker who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League.-Ohio State:...
  
   (2005)
• Lou Creekmur
  Lou Creekmur
  Louis Creekmur was an NFL left offensive tackle/guard for the Detroit Lions from 1950-59. He was also used as a defensive lineman in critical situations...
  
   (2001)
• Zygmont Czarobski
  Zygmont Czarobski
  Zygmont "Ziggy" Peter Czarobski was an American football defensive tackle. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977.-External links:*...
  
   (1980)
• Mike Ditka
  Mike Ditka
  Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
  
   (2001)
• Forest Evashevski
  Forest Evashevski
  Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
  
   (2000)
• Frank Gatski
  Frank Gatski
  Frank Gatski was an American football player.Gatski was born on March 18, 1919 in Farmington, West Virginia....
  
   (1989)
• Jim Grabowski
  Jim Grabowski
  James S.Grabowski is a former American football player and broadcaster. Grabowski played collegiately at the University of Illinois and professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, and served as an analyst on University of Illinois football radio broadcasts for nearly 30 years,...
  
   (1993)
• Jack Ham (1987)
• Leon Hart
  Leon Hart
  Leon Joseph Hart was an American football tight end and defensive end. He was raised in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh....
  
   (1988)
• Vic Janowicz
  Vic Janowicz
  Victor Felix "Vic" Janowicz was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Ohio State University and was drafted in the seventh round of the 1952 NFL Draft...
  
   (1987)
• Ron Jaworski
  Ron Jaworski
  Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski is a former American football quarterback and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is also CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey, and manages golf courses in southern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...
  
   (1991)
• Joe Klecko
  Joe Klecko
  Joseph Edward Klecko is a former American football player as a defensive lineman best remembered for his days as a member of the New York Jets' famed "New York Sack Exchange."-Temple University Owls:...
  
   (1999)
• Ed Klewicki
  Ed Klewicki
  Edward Leonard Klewicki was an American football player. He is in the National Polish-American Hall of Fame.Edward L. Klewicki was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to Hamtramck, Michigan with his family at a young age. At the time, Hamtramck was an enclave of Polish immigrants in the...
  
   (1982)
• Frank Kush
  Frank Kush
  Frank Joseph Kush is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1...
  
   (1998)
• Ted Kwalick
  Ted Kwalick
  Thaddeus John Kwalick is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and World Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1977. In 1975 he also played with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League...
  
   (2005)
• Johnny Lujack
  Johnny Lujack
  John Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...
  
   (1978)
• Ted Marchibroda
  Ted Marchibroda
  Theodore "Ted" Joseph Marchibroda is a former American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League.-Player:...
  
   (1976)
• Lou Michaels
  Lou Michaels
  Lou Michaels is a former American football player who was a standout defensive lineman for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, 1955-57. After Kentucky's victory over archrival Tennessee in 1957, Michaels was quoted as saying, "Nothing sucks like a Big Orange." Michaels later played pro football...
  
   (1994)
• Walt Michaels
  Walt Michaels
  Walt Michaels was a former professional football player and coach who is best remembered for his six-year tenure as head coach of the NFL's New York Jets from 1977-1982.-Collegiate and early NFL career:...
  
   (1997)
• Dick Modzelewski
  Dick Modzelewski
  Richard Blair Modzelewski is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. He also served as interim head coach of the Browns in the final game of the 1977 season...
  
   (1986)
• Mike Munchak
  Mike Munchak
  Michael Anthony Munchak is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He played college football as a offensive lineman for Penn State University from 1978 to 1981. After his career at Penn State, He was drafted in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Houston...
  
   (2003)
• Bill Osmanski
  Bill Osmanski
  Bill Osmanski was a college and professional football player, playing fullback. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.-College of the Holy Cross:...
  
   (1977)
• Frank Piekarski
  Frank Piekarski
  -References:...
  
   (2005)
• Bob Skoronski
  Bob Skoronski
  Robert Skoronski was a tackle in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. Skoronski attended Indiana University and went to high school in his home state of Connecticut at Fairfield College Preparatory School....
  
   (2000)
• Hank Stram
  Hank Stram
  Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...
  
   (1985)
• Dick Szymanski
  Dick Szymanski
  Richard "Dick" Szymanski was a center who played fourteen seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League. Szymanski attended the University of Notre Dame and Scott High School....
  
   (1994)
• Frank Szymanski
  Frank Szymanski
  Frank Szymanski was an American football player and probate judge in Wayne County, MI. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and played for three teams in the National Football League, winning an NFL Championship with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1948.-High School:While living...
  
   (1995)
• Frank Tripucka
  Frank Tripucka
  Francis Joseph Tripucka is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback, at Notre Dame, in the National Football League, in the Canadian Football League, and in the early American Football League.-Notre Dame Fighting Irish:Tripucka was backup quarterback to Heisman Trophy...
  
   (1997)
• Steve Wisniewski
  Steve Wisniewski
  Steve Wisniewski nicknamed "The Wiz" is a former Offensive Lineman who played 13 seasons with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and is now an assistant offensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1989 NFL Draft. His rights were traded...
  
   (2004)
• Alex Wojciechowicz
  Alex Wojciechowicz
  Alexander Francis Wojciechowicz was a professional American football player in the National Football League. He was an NFL Hall of Famer as an offensive lineman and linebacker for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles....
  
   (1975)

Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

• Billy Burke (2005)
• Betsy King
  Betsy King
  Betsy King is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won six major championships and 34 LPGA Tour victories in all.-Career:...
  
   (2000)
• Warren Orlick (1983)
• Bob Toski
  Bob Toski
  Robert John Toski, born Algustoski , is an American golfer and teacher.He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of Polish descent. He learned to play at Northampton Country Club, where he caddied and two of his elder brothers were assistant professionals...
  
   (1987)
• Al Watrous
  Al Watrous
  Albert Andrew Watrous was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s....
  
   (1979)

Ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

• Walter Broda (2005)
• Len Ceglarski
  Len Ceglarski
  Leonard Stanley Ceglarski is a native of East Walpole, Massachusetts. He was an All-American left wing on Boston College's 1949 NCAA championship team, and was captain of the 1950–51 squad. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympic...
  
  (1993)
• Ed Olczyk
  Ed Olczyk
  Edward Walter "Eddie" Olczyk is an American former head coach for the National Hockey League Pittsburgh Penguins and former center for Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins...
  
   (2004)
• Pete Stemkowski
  Pete Stemkowski
  Peter David Stemkowski - is a former player in the National Hockey League. Over fifteen seasons, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings...
  
   (2002)

Wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

• Stanley Zbyszko
  Stanislaus Zbyszko
  Stanislaus Zbyszko was a Polish strongman and professional wrestler popular in the United States during the 1920s. He was one of the most influential European grapplers of all-time, he was also among the sport’s great pioneer champions...
  
   (1983)
• Wladek Kowalski
  Killer Kowalski
  Władek "Killer" Kowalski was a Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the NWA and WWF, and was a known heel wrestler...
  
  (2007)

External links

• National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
• http://www.americanpolishcenter.com