HORSHAM, Pa. – The Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame announced the inductees for the class of 2020 on November 24, 2020. The 2020 class of inductees includes seven professional athletes; the creation of a new category, recognizing all current and former Ukrainian professional hockey personnel whose name is listed on the Stanley Cup (currently there are 54); nine Olympic and world athletes; eight amateur athletes; 11 individuals recognized as “Builders” of Ukrainian sport; and one in the “Teams” category; and four in the newly created “Legacy” category. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 induction ceremony will be held with the 2021 class of inductees in mid-2021.
Professional athletes included the following individuals: Osyp Choma (boxing, U.S.A.); William “Wild Bill” Ezenicki (hockey and golf, Canada); Paul Henry Konerko (baseball, U.S.A.); Tony Elswick/Lesvick (hockey, Canada); Gene Makowsky (football, Canada); Ivan Podubny (wrestling, Ukraine); and Tammie Lee (Barbie) Shewchuk (women’s hockey, Canada).
Olympians and world athlete inductees included the following people: Peter Fick (swimming, U.S.A.); Volodymyr Ivanovych Holubnychy (race walking, Ukraine); Yana Oleksadrivna Klochkova (swimming, Ukraine); Inessa Kravets (triple jump, Ukraine); Larisa Latnina (gymnast, Ukraine); Volodymyr Ivanovich Morozov (kayaking, Ukraine); Oleksandyr Maksymovych Shaparenko (rowing, Ukraine); Zinaida Turchyna (handball, Ukraine); Nina Dmytrivna Umanets (Ukraine).
Amateur athletes included the following indviduals: Bohdan Anniuk (soccer, U.S.A.); Zenon Bilas (barefoot water skiing, U.S.A.); Peter Eshenko (football, Canada); Ivan Fedorovych Firtsak-Kroton (boxing, wrestler and strongest man, Ukraine); Andrew Hlushko (soccer, U.S.A.); George Karol (basketball, U.S.A.); Marika Jaworska Rumsavich (volleyball and tennis, U.S.A.); and Taras Sczur (soccer, U.S.A.).
The “Builders” category included the following individuals: Len Bilous (soccer coach, U.S.A.); Ihor “TJ” Kostecky (soccer coach, U.S.A.); Dr. Ostap Stromecky (soccer coach, U.S.A.); Ray Kinasewich (hockey coach, Canada); Valeriy Lobanovskiy (coach, Ukraine); Mike “Martillo” Martynovych (coach, U.S.A.); Mijalo Mitar Mike Paliwoda (coach, U.S.A.); Severin “Erko” Palydowycz (skiing, KLK [Carpathian Ski Club] organizer, U.S.A.); George Popel (skiing, KLK organizer, U.S.A.); Dr. Lorne Sawula (volleyball coach, Canada); and Anatoli Volochyn (journalist, Ukraine).
The 1948-1949 Ukrainian hockey team in Mittenwald, Germany, displaced persons camp was inducted in the “Teams” category. Four organizations or entities were recognized in the “Legacy” category: SUMA Federal Credit Union (Yonkers, N.Y.); Nova Federal Credit Union (Clifton, N.J.); Ukrainian National Federal Credit Union (New York, N.Y.); and Svoboda Ukrainian newspaper (Parsippany, N.J.).
Zenon Bilas
Boating Magazine
Zenon Bilas
Zenon Bilas, a Boating Magazine contributor, eight-time U.S.A. barefoot waterskiing champion, joins the ranks of Wayne Gretzy, Mike Ditka and others. Bilas, 58, started skiing on tiny Round Lake, Ill., outside of Chicago. It was on those shores that the local Ukrainian immigrant community, to which Bilas’ parents belonged, purchased land for recreation. “Dad took us fishing,” recalled Bilas. “Fishing led to a boat, and a boat led to an outboard and the outboard – a 7.5 [horsepower] Evinrude – led to skiing.”
I am extremely grateful that the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame has inducted me into its 2020 class. My parents emigrated from Ukraine to the U.S. in 1955. For Boating Magazine, Bilas wrote: “I want to keep promoting the sport, skiing and speaking to experienced boaters and the general public alike. I am a teacher, and sharing through an article or a seminar or one-on-one instruction makes me happy.”
Bilas has appeared in film, TV and penned innumerable magazine articles, many for Boating Magazine. In fact, his byline will next appear in the magazine’s June-July 2021 issue. For additional information, readers can visit the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame and Museum website, www.ukrainiansportsmuseum.org. The Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is located within the Tryzub Ukrainian Sports Center clubhouse in Horsham, Pa.