Maddux leads way to local sports hall of fame

Pitcher and brother among those to be honored

Four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux is a sure fire Baseball Hall of Famer.

Yet, for all his accolades, including a World Series title, 10 Gold Gloves and eight All-Star Game appearances, the longtime Las Vegan was still thrilled to make a stop at the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame on his way to Cooperstown. Maddux, a 1984 graduate of Valley High School, was recently honored as one of six new inductees into the Hall, which was created in 1997 and now resides at Findlay Toyota at the Valley Auto Mall in Henderson.

Maddux will enter the Hall, in a formal ceremony at Cox Pavilion Feb. 7, alongside his older brother Mike, also a longtime Major League hurler, Rodger Fairless, his old high school coach, and Mike Morgan, Lori Harrigan and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"I grew up here. Vegas is home," Maddux said. "A lot of times you get awards and you're the only one happy about it. This one I can share with my brother and my high school coach -- people who really helped me advance my baseball career."

Fairless, who compiled a 493-80 record and guided his teams to 12 state titles in 17 years at Eldorado, Valley and Green Valley, is impressed with the modesty of Maddux, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

"The thing that impresses me most about Greg is that he's never allowed fame and money to deter him from battling hard on the field or from being a good person off of it," he said.

Mike Maddux, who played for nine teams in a 15-year big league career and was recently named pitching coach of the Milwaukee Brewers, was honored to enter the Hall with his little brother.

"It's the ultimate honor you can have as an athlete and I'm humbled by it and I'm humbled to go in with a class like that," said Maddux, who is very active in charitable work in Southern Nevada. "Me and my brother have done a lot together. We broke into the big leagues together, we golf together and now we'll go in the Hall together.

"I know my Hall of Fame journey ends here. This is his first step."

Greg Maddux recently filed for free agency. While he wouldn't say what his plans were, he did say he intends to keep playing.

"I still want to keep playing. I still like it," he said. "It's still fun."

Mike Maddux, a 1979 graduate of Rancho High School, said it would be a little more fun for him to have his brother on the staff of the Brewers.

"I'd love to coach my brother," he said. "When I go to the ballpark, it still feels like Christmas morning. As long as I have that excitement, I'll still be involved in the game."

Morgan, a 1978 graduate of Valley High School, has pitched for a professional sports record 12 teams in parts of four decades. As an Arizona Diamondback, he won the first game of the 2001 World Series against the Yankees. He recently filed for free agency.

Harrigan was an all-American softball pitcher at UNLV in the early 1990s before helping the United States win a pair of gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Harrigan, who now works at The Bellagio, threw a no-hitter in the opening game of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

"What a privilege it is for us to be adding such a distinguished group of individuals this year, each of whom have played such a significant role in the world of sports in Southern Nevada," said Steve Stallworth, the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame Chairman. Stallworth, a former football player at UNLV, helped come up with the idea for the Hall, along with Cliff Findlay, Rich Abajian and others, in the early 1990s.

The Hall is a nonprofit organization committed to recognizing the outstanding achievements by Southern Nevada athletes, both in the world of sports and the local community.

The group of sports aficionados decided to start the Hall by inducting local football legend David Humm, who starred at Bishop Gorman before moving on to the University of Nebraska and the Oakland Raiders. With his health failing, Humm was honored in an emotional ceremony attended by Al Davis, Tom Osborne, Jim Plunkett, Otis Sistrunk and others.

"Our first induction ceremony was awesome," Stallworth said. "It was a home run. It was emotional, it was sold out and we knew then we had something special."

While some would question the location of the Hall, which is free and open to the public both for viewing pleasure and as a place to have meetings, Stallworth said the spirit of the athletes honored is the main thing.

"The Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame is not about a place, it's about the spirit of the athletes being honored," he said. "We'll have a place built for the Hall at some point. We're going to outgrow this, but to be real honest, this is awesome for us."

The Hall, which has donated more than $136,000 to various local charities, features 40 stadium seats and each visitor receives a 78-page souvenir guide free of charge.

There are glass-enclosed cases honoring each inductee and several other items are on display, including a bronze bust of Jerry Tarkanian, along with his old Fresno State jersey, Marty Barrett's Boston Red Sox uniform and bat, the first football ever used in a UNLV game and more.

"The Hall was created to give the kids of Las Vegas someone to look up to and something to shoot for, in hopes of building heritage in our city," Abajian said. "For anyone who has been here a short period of time, this is a good way to catch up on the history of athletics in Las Vegas."

The Hall also features the 1977 and 1990 UNLV basketball teams, Randall Cunningham, Lionel Hollins, Sheila Tarr-Smith, Jim Colbert, Johnny Tocco and others.

Induction activities scheduled for Feb. 7 include a golf tournament at the Siena Golf Club, cocktails and a silent auction at the Cox Pavilion at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Those interested can call 566-2000, ext. 2551 or visit www.sportshall

offame.org.


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