The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field of sports and to educate the entire community with the hope of encouraging and inspiring personal excellence. The hall is located in

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of ...

. Each year, inductees are elected in a nationwide vote among NPASHF officers, Hall of Fame inductees and more than 500 members of the Sports Panel Council. With over 150 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 Stephen Joseph Gromek (January 15, 1920 – March 12, 2002) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the American League with the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. In 447 career games, 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 Kurowski, Ted Marchibroda, and

Eddie Lubanski Eddie Lubanski (September 3, 1929 – November 8, 2010) was an American bowler whose competitive career spanned more than four decades, and whose achievements entered the Guinness book of World Records. He was named Bowler of the Year in 1959, ...

. Among other items is a football signed by Bob Skoronski,

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

and other members of the 1967

Super Bowl I The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super BowlI and referred to in contemporaneous reports, including the game's radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl) was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the ...

Champion

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

. In 2013, the Hall of Fame instituted its NPASHF Excellence in Sports Award and race driver Brad Keselowski was the initial recipient. Other winners include Liz Johnson, Frank Kaminsky, Gary Kubiak, Joe Maddon, Dave Dombrowski, and

Sam Mikulak Samuel Anthony Mikulak (born October 13, 1992) is a retired American artistic gymnast. He is a six-time U.S. national all-around champion (2013–2016, 2018–2019), the 2018 World bronze medalist on high bar, and a three-time Olympian (2012, ...

. In 2022, Natalie Wojcik of the University of Michigan was awarded the Excellence in Sports Award by the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame inon June 20, 2019, named its inaugural Excellence in Media Award the Tony Kubek Award and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was the inaugural recipient. Sportswriter Joe Posnanski won in 2021. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame held its 49th Annual Induction Banquet on June 16, 2022, inducting

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

, Mark Gubicza, Loreejon Ogonowski and

John Danowski John Danowski (born March 12, 1954) is an American college lacrosse coach who has been the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team since the 2007 season. Previously, he had spent 21 seasons as the head coach at Hofstra. Danowski co ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

* Oscar Bielaski (2005) * Stan Coveleski (1976) * Art "Pinky" Deras (2011) *

Moe Drabowsky Myron Walter Drabowsky (July 21, 1935 – June 10, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher, best-remembered for throwing scoreless innings of relief to win Game 1 of the 1966 World Series. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...

(1999) * Mark Fidrych (2009) *

(1981) * Mark Grudzielanek (2019) * Mark Gubicza (2022) * Ryan Klesko (2014) *

Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 wit ...

(1974) *

Jim Konstanty Casimir James Konstanty (March 2, 1917 – June 11, 1976) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player of . He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia P ...

(2008) *

Mike Krukow Michael Edward Krukow (born January 21, 1952), nicknamed "Kruk", is an American former professional baseball player and sportscaster. As a starting pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

(2020) * Tony Kubek (1982) * Whitey Kurowski (1988) * Bob Kuzava (2003) * Eddie Lopat (1978) * Stan Lopata (1997) * Greg Luzinski (1989) * Bill Mazeroski (1979) * Barney McCosky (1995) * Stan Musial (1973) * Joe Niekro (1992) * Phil Niekro (1990) * Danny Ozark (2010) * Tom Paciorek (1992) * Ron Perranoski (1983) * A. J. Pierzynski (2020) * Johnny Podres (2002) * Jack Quinn (2006) *

Ron Reed Ronald Lee Reed (born November 2, 1942) is a former two-sport star who spent two seasons as a power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before spending nearly two decades as a Major League Baseball pitcher. Early life and e ...

(2005) *

Jenny Romatowski Jenniffer A. Romatowski ��Romey″(September 13, 1927 – March 12, 2014) was an American baseball utility player who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 145 lb., she batted and threw righ ...

(1999) * Ray Sadecki (2007) *

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

(1975) * Bill Skowron (1980) *

Frank Tanana Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, ...

(1996) * Alan Trammell (1998) * Connie Wisniewski (2020) *

Carl Yastrzemski Carl Michael Yastrzemski ( ; nicknamed "Yaz"; born August 22, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year Major League career with the Bost ...

(1986) * Richie Zisk (2004)

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

* Carol Blazejowski (1994) * Vince Boryla (1984) * Ann Meyers Drysdale (2016) * Mike Gminski (2003) * Tom Gola (1977) *

Bobby Hurley Robert Matthew Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach at the University at Buffalo. As a college ...

(2006) * Larry Krystkowiak (2018) * Mike Krzyzewski (1991) * Mitch Kupchak (2002) * Bob Kurland (1996) * Christian Laettner (2008) * June Olkowski (2012) * John Payak (1982) * Juliene Brazinski Simpson (2017) * Kelly Tripucka (2000)

Billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

* Loree Jon Hasson (2022) * Frank Taberski (2020)

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thoug ...

* Johnny Crimmins (1976) *

Billy Golembiewski Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

(1981) *

Cass Grygier Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

(1984) *

(1978) *

Aleta Rzepecki-Sill :''This name should not be confused with the name Aelita.'' Aleta may refer to: Fictional characters * Queen Aleta, wife of Prince Valiant, Queen of the Misty Isles in the comic strip ''Prince Valiant'' * Princess Aleta in the television series ...

(2008) *

Ann Setlock Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(1983)

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

* Duane Bobick (2014)Duae Bobick , National Polish-American Sports Hall Of Fame *

Bobby Czyz Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titlist at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey a ...

(2009) * Stanley Ketchel (1984) * Teddy Yarosz (2005) * Tony Zale (1975)

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

Janusz Bednarski Janusz () is a masculine Polish given name. It is also the shortened form of January and Januarius. People * Janusz Akermann (born 1957), Polish painter *Janusz Bardach, Polish gulag survivor and physician *Janusz Bielański, Roman Catholic prie ...

(2017)

Figure Skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...

Janet Lynn Janet Lynn Nowicki (born April 6, 1953) is an American figure skater. She is the 1972 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time world championships medalist, and a seven-time U.S. national champion. Amateur career Lynn began to skate almost as soon ...

(1990) * Elaine Zayak (2013)

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

* Danny Abramowicz (1992) * Pete Banaszak (1990) *

Steve Bartkowski Steven Joseph Bartkowski (born November 12, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985) and the Los Angeles Rams (1986). He was a tw ...

(1993) * Zeke Bratkowski (1995) *

Bob Brudzinski Robert Louis Brudzinski (born January 1, 1955) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Ohio State Brudzinski was a four-time letter winner and a three-year starter at defensive end ...

(2005) * Lou Creekmur (2001) *

Zygmont Czarobski Zygmont "Ziggy" Peter Czarobski (September 13, 1922 – July 1, 1984) was an American football player. He played at the tackle position for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1942–1943; 1946–1947) and in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

(1980) *

(2022) *

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year ...

(2001) * Conrad Dobler (2018) * Jim Dombrowski (2013) *

Forest Evashevski Forest "Evy" Evashevski (February 19, 1918 – October 30, 2009) 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 ...

(2000) * Frank Gatski (1989) * Jim Grabowski (1993) * Jack Ham (1987) *

Leon Hart Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American football end. He won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award while at the University of Notre Dame in 1949 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight ...

(1988) * Vic Janowicz (1987) *

Ron Jaworski Ronald Vincent Jaworski (born March 23, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was also an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is the CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc. ...

(1991) * Mike Kenn (2006) * Joe Klecko (1999) *

Ed Klewicki Edward Leonard Klewicki (May 6, 1912 – July 20, 1997) was an American football player. Of Polish descent, he is in the National Polish-American Hall of Fame. Klewicki was born in Pittsburgh and moved to Hamtramck, Michigan with his family at ...

(1982) * Gary Kubiak (2017) *

Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush (January 20, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an 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. Kush was also the head coach of the ...

(1998) * Ted Kwalick (2005) * Greg Landry (2012) * Johnny Lujack (1978) * Ted Marchibroda (1976) * Chester Marcol (2016) * Mike McCoy (2019) * Lou Michaels (1994) * Walt Michaels (1997) * Dick Modzelewski (1986) * Mike Munchak (2003) * Bronko Nagurski (2020) * Tom Nowatzke (2008) *

Dominic Olejniczak Dominic John Olejniczak (August 18, 1908 – April 16, 1989) was a real estate broker, politician, and American football executive. Olejniczak served as an alderman of Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 1936 to 1944. He was then elected mayor, serving ...

(2020) * Bill Osmanski (1977) * Walt Patulski (2014) * Frank Piekarski (2005) * Bill Romanowski (2011) *

Mark Rypien Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...

(2006) * Tom Sestak (2007) * Bob Skoronski (2000) * Emil Sitko (2020) *

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...

(1985) *

Dick Szymanski Richard Frank Szymanski aka “Dick" Szymanski(October 7, 1932 – October 28, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a center for thirteen seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). Born and r ...

(1994) * Frank Szymanski (1995) * Frank Tripucka (1997) * Steve Wisniewski (2004) *

Alex Wojciechowicz Alexander Francis "Wojie" Wojciechowicz (; August 12, 1915 – July 13, 1992) was an American football player from 1935 to 1950. He was a two-way player who played at center on offense and at linebacker on defense. He has been inducted into both ...

(1975)

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

* Billy Burke (2005) * Betsy King (2000) *

Warren Orlick A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

(1983) *

Bob Toski Robert John Toski, born Algustoski (born September 18, 1926), is an American professional golfer and golf instructor. He was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2013. Early years He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of ...

(1987) * Al Watrous (1979) *

Evan Williams Evan Williams may refer to: __NOTOC__ People In sport * Evan O. Williams (c. 1889–1946), American football and basketball coach * Evan Williams (footballer) (born 1943), Scottish football goalkeeper * Evan Williams (jockey) (1912–2001), horse ...

(2018)

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

* George Szypula (1985)

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

Walter Broda Walter Edward "Turk" Broda (May 15, 1914 — October 17, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. A goaltender, Broda played his entire career for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1935 an ...

(2005) *

Len Ceglarski Leonard Stanley Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was an American ice hockey player and coach. 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 ...

(1993) * Joe Kocur (2016) * Tom Lysiak (2012) *

Allison Mleczko Allison Jaime "A. J." Mleczko Griswold (born June 14, 1975) is an American ice hockey player and analyst. She won a gold medal at the Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics, 1998 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the Ice hockey at the 2002 Wi ...

(2019) * Ed Olczyk (2004) * Bryan Smolinski (2015) * Pete Stemkowski (2002)

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

(2022)

Motor Sports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

* Tony Adamowicz (2016) * Tom D'Eath (2011) * Alan Kulwicki (2001)

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

* Kristina Koznick (2015)

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Ed Tyson Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

(1974)

Sports Journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the ...

Ed Browalski Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

(1983) * Billy Packer (1988)

Sports Officials

* Steve Javie (2017) * Stan Javie (2011) * Red Mihalik (1996)

Speed Skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skati ...

J.R. Celski John Robert "J. R." Celski (, born July 17, 1990) is a retired American short track speed skater, three-time Olympian, and three-time medalist in the Winter Olympics. Celski has held a total of five combined Short Track World and Junior World R ...

(2020)

Swimming

* Rachel Komisarz Baugh (2018) *

Chet Jastremski Chester Andrew Jastremski (January 12, 1941 – May 3, 2014) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic medalist and world record-holder. Jastremski attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he swam for Doc Counsilman's Indian ...

(2007) * Kristy Kowal (2010) * Joe Verdeur (2009)

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

* Arlene Limas (2019)

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

* Jane "Peaches" Bartkowicz (2010) * Frank Parker (1988)

Track & Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Bob Gutowski Robert Allen "Bob" Gutowski (25 April 1935 – 2 August 1960) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia in the Pole Vault where he w ...

(1980) * Stella Walsh (1974) * Frances Sobczak Kaszubski (2020)

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Andy Banachowski John Andrew Banachowski (born August 1945) is an American volleyball coach. He was the head coach of the women's volleyball team at UCLA (1965–2010). He had more wins than any other Division I coach, with 1,106 total victories and an overall rec ...

(2009)Banachowski Inducted Into National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
* Randy Stoklos (2015)

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...

Monte Nitzkowski Kenneth Monfore "Monte" Nitzkowski (September 7, 1929 – July 28, 2016) was an American former competition swimmer and water polo coach. He represented the United States in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland ...

(2016)

Weightlifting

* Norbert Schemansky (1979) * Stanley Stanczyk (1991)

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

* Władek "Killer" Kowalski (2007) * Stanley Zbyszko (1983)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Polish-American Sports Hall Of Fame Polish-American culture in Metro Detroit All-sports halls of fame Polish Ethnic museums in Michigan Sports museums in Michigan Polish-American organizations Awards established in 1973 1973 establishments in Michigan Polish-American museums