John Weatherly. E.L. "Doc" Bencini. Joe Ozburn. Lisa Foster. Gene Ebersohl. Tim Bowers. Tom Ashman. The 1947 Football Team.
What do those seven people and that one team have in common? They are all now, officially, part of the Murphysboro High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony and banquet for the 2010 Hall of Fame Class was held last Saturday night at the Murphysboro Elk's Lodge with over 260 people in attendance.
The evening was the culmination of over a year-and-a-half of hard work put in by the eight-person committee that chose the inaugural class.
"I'm excited in a lot of ways,'' said committee member Molly McDaniel. "These people here deserve it. It's been a long time coming.
"I grew up knowing some of the names, and some of them I coached. It's just really exciting to see people being recognized for their accomplishments."
The evening began with a social before dinner was served. Then a little after 7 p.m. the induction ceremony began.
Each inductee was introduced by a member of the committee, which included Len Novara, Julie Erbes, Scott Maloney, Mike Austin, Don Brewer, Gene Sims, Burt Ozburn and McDaniel.
The evening was full of laughs, and there were a few tears. And for those in attendance it was a special night.
"This the big one,'' Ashman said of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. "I'm humbled by this."
The long-time coach led the Red Devil varsity basketball team through much of the 1970's. He moved on to John A. Logan College, where he coached for several years and was honored with several awards.
Ashman grew up knowing he would be a Red Devil some day.
"I grew up in this community and knew at an early age that I wanted to be a Red Devil,'' he said. "My brother was a Red Devil and he was my hero and I learned to be just like him.
"Coming back and coaching here was really kind of special. To be honest, I think I was at the right place at the right time when I took the head basketball job. I had just finished coaching a really talented group of junior high boys and they were coming into the high school. I knew we had a lot to look forward to. That's why I say I was at the right place at the right time. We had some talent."
Speaking of talent, Foster had a little bit of that.
"I'm proud to be here,'' Foster said in her comments to the crowd. "I was blessed with God-given talent. The coaches put me in a position to succeed."
"But I was really successful because of the people sitting at these two tables,'' Foster said, pointing towards the tables. "They're the ones that were behind the scenes. They'll never know how much looking up into the crowd meant to me. It's because of them that I'm here tonight. It's a culmination of my God-given talent, my coaches and my family."
A family much like the Red Devil family, some of who were in attendance just to be able to say they were there.
"You'll here one of the inductees --- Tom Ashman --- say that when you crack open that old chest there is an old Red Devil in there," Butch Brasel said. "It's a very exciting time for Red Devil athletics, and for anyone who is a Red Devil. No matter what has happened, this is where it all started for a lot of us."
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John Weatherly. E.L. "Doc" Bencini. Joe Ozburn. Lisa Foster. Gene Ebersohl. Tim Bowers. Tom Ashman. The 1947 Football Team.
What do those seven people and that one team have in common? They are all now, officially, part of the Murphysboro High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony and banquet for the 2010 Hall of Fame Class was held last Saturday night at the Murphysboro Elk's Lodge with over 260 people in attendance.
The evening was the culmination of over a year-and-a-half of hard work put in by the eight-person committee that chose the inaugural class.
"I'm excited in a lot of ways,'' said committee member Molly McDaniel. "These people here deserve it. It's been a long time coming.
"I grew up knowing some of the names, and some of them I coached. It's just really exciting to see people being recognized for their accomplishments."
The evening began with a social before dinner was served. Then a little after 7 p.m. the induction ceremony began.
Each inductee was introduced by a member of the committee, which included Len Novara, Julie Erbes, Scott Maloney, Mike Austin, Don Brewer, Gene Sims, Burt Ozburn and McDaniel.
The evening was full of laughs, and there were a few tears. And for those in attendance it was a special night.
"This the big one,'' Ashman said of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. "I'm humbled by this."
The long-time coach led the Red Devil varsity basketball team through much of the 1970's. He moved on to John A. Logan College, where he coached for several years and was honored with several awards.
Ashman grew up knowing he would be a Red Devil some day.
"I grew up in this community and knew at an early age that I wanted to be a Red Devil,'' he said. "My brother was a Red Devil and he was my hero and I learned to be just like him.
"Coming back and coaching here was really kind of special. To be honest, I think I was at the right place at the right time when I took the head basketball job. I had just finished coaching a really talented group of junior high boys and they were coming into the high school. I knew we had a lot to look forward to. That's why I say I was at the right place at the right time. We had some talent."
Speaking of talent, Foster had a little bit of that.
"I'm proud to be here,'' Foster said in her comments to the crowd. "I was blessed with God-given talent. The coaches put me in a position to succeed."
"But I was really successful because of the people sitting at these two tables,'' Foster said, pointing towards the tables. "They're the ones that were behind the scenes. They'll never know how much looking up into the crowd meant to me. It's because of them that I'm here tonight. It's a culmination of my God-given talent, my coaches and my family."
A family much like the Red Devil family, some of who were in attendance just to be able to say they were there.
"You'll here one of the inductees --- Tom Ashman --- say that when you crack open that old chest there is an old Red Devil in there," Butch Brasel said. "It's a very exciting time for Red Devil athletics, and for anyone who is a Red Devil. No matter what has happened, this is where it all started for a lot of us."
