Sports writer Dick Goss headlined a class of five recently inducted into the Joliet Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Joining Goss in the 2018 class and 11th class overall were Tim Graf, Erin (Hickey) Dransfeldt, Francis Ruettiger and Shaun Vandiver, according to the Joliet Herald-News. In all, the Joliet Sports Hall now boasts 77 members.
Goss recently retired after 35 years as sports editor at the Herald-News. During his more-than-three decades at the newspaper, Goss was the recipient of numerous sports feature writing awards and earlier this year was named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Dick Goss
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A graduate of Joliet Catholic, Goss was also awarded the Illinois High School Association Distinguished Media Service Award earlier this year.
Graf starred at Joliet East, where he sprinted to the state title in the 100-meter dash in 1976. He later starred at Indiana University, winning conference titles in the 100 and 300-meters.
Dransfeldt is most well-known for sparking the Morris girls’ softball team to the 1992 state title. Dransfeldt set a national single-season record for hits that season with 101 and the year before established the record for stolen bases with 86. The speedster went on to star at DePaul, where during a hall of fame career she was both a third-team All-American and an Academic All-American selection.
Ruettiger is known for his expertise in strength training and has worked with countless area athletes in meeting their goals over his 40-year career. He was previously elected to the National Fitness Hall of Fame.
Vandiver starred at Romeoville High, where he was tabbed all-state during his senior season. He played collegiately at the University of Colorado and was drafted by the Golden State Warriors before embarking on a pro run in Europe followed by a career in coaching.
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