Six Gary sports legends each had their name and likeness immortalized in Gary sports lore Friday at the fourth annual Gary Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony.
The list of inductees spanned multiple generations of Gary sports history, from world-renowned track and field stars and coaches like Marce Gonzalez Sr., who graduated from Froebel High School during World War II, to more contemporary athletes like Angela Hamblin-Blakely, who graduated from Lew Wallace High School in the mid-1990s.
Common Council President Lori Latham set the tone early with a lighthearted anecdote involving Hamblin-Blakely.
“I am very proud and would be remiss if I didn’t say that I actually got a chance to ride the bus on Angela Hamblin-Blakely’s basketball team when she played for Lew Wallace,” Latham said to laughter and applause from the audience.
“Of course, I was never on the court with her, or even on the bench with her, but I did get to ride the bus with her.”
Latham expressed her pride in Gary’s athletic history.
“[Indiana University Northwest] is a crown jewel in our community,” Latham said. “But the Gary Sports Hall of Fame being housed here, I think, puts a little sparkle in it.”
Hamblin-Blakely, who is currently the head girls’ basketball coach at West Side Leadership Academy, was introduced by Rhonda Anderson, her former track coach. Anderson detailed Hamblin-Blakely’s athletic prowess in multiple sports, including track, where she won state titles.
“Track wasn’t even her favorite sport,” said Anderson, who herself was inducted into the Gary Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Hamblin-Blakely was a four-year starter at Wallace, finishing with 2,053 career points. As a senior, she averaged 26.2 points, 18 rebounds, 5.3 steals, and 2 blocks per game. In 1994, she earned All-American honors from Kodak, USA Today, and Parade magazine, and was a first-team AP All-State and Indiana All-Star.
She attended the University of Iowa, where she started for three years and earned All-Big Ten honors twice. The WNBA’s Detroit Shock drafted her 23rd overall in 1998 after she was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1997 Big Ten Tournament. She entered the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and now leads the Hamblin Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers girls through sports.
“This is something I wanted and didn’t know I needed,” Hamblin-Blakely said as she wiped away joyful tears.
“What a gift. And I’m so grateful, and so humbled by this. Thank you for guiding me on my journey and reminding me that Gary has always been a place that raises greatness.”
While Hamblin’s story celebrated individual excellence, J. Donald Leek’s legacy reflected a lifetime of shaping young athletes.
His family convened in Gary for the ceremony as if it were a family reunion. According to his daughter Cynthia Leek Cleveland, family members traveled from across the country — from North and South Carolina to California and Colorado — to witness his induction.
Leek helped lead Roosevelt High School’s 880-yard relay team to a state championship in 1947 and was also a state runner-up in hurdles that year. He went on to compete in track and football at North Carolina Central College, winning two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association low hurdle titles and a Junior National high hurdle championship, and competing in the Penn Relays from 1948 to 1950. In 1950, he earned a spot on the U.S. Track and Field Team for international competition.
But perhaps Leek’s greatest contribution to the city is what he taught a younger generation. He returned to Gary Roosevelt as head track and field coach in 1956, leading the team to nine city and sectional titles between 1959 and 1967. Named Track Coach of the Year in 1962, he became athletic director for Gary Public Schools in 1971, where he launched the city’s first Institute for Athletics and Education Conference. He was inducted into the Indiana Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1974.
“As athletic director for the entire school system, which was much larger than it is now, he not only focused on high school athletics, but middle school athletics and elementary school athletics,” said his wife, Barbara Leek. “I even witnessed a preschool program with players from Bethune one year.”
Dave Shelbourne, a 1967 Lew Wallace graduate, was a standout quarterback at Northwestern University and later spent 33 years as a high school football coach, compiling a career record of 211 wins and 142 losses. He led Highland High School to two undefeated seasons and a 5A runner-up finish, and also coached at Avon and Warren Central high schools. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame inducted Shelbourne in 2000.
At Northwestern, he set a total offense record and earned All-Big Ten honorable mention in 1968. After graduating in 1971, he coached at NU and Wabash College. In high school, he led Lew Wallace to an 18-0 record as starting quarterback.
“When I retired as a head football coach in Indianapolis, the thing I remember most about it — and [I’m] very honest when I say this — I said, I love Indianapolis, but my heart’s still in Gary,” Shelbourne said.
Other inductees included:
- Willie Williams was a three-time All-American, two-time NCAA 100-meter champion, and gold medalist in the 4×100 relay at the 1955 Pan American Games. He was a 100-meter finalist in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic trials, and broke the world record in 1956 while serving in the U.S. Army. He later coached track at West Side High for 11 years, winning five state titles.
- Jerry Shay, the former Lew Wallace, Purdue University and NFL player, was unable to attend the ceremony, but appeared via recorded video. Shay is currently the assistant director of college scouting for the New York Giants and has been a member of the team’s scouting staff since 1977.
- Marce Gonzalez Sr., a graduate of Froebel High School and the University of Illinois, made his mark in track and field and served 48 years as a teacher, coach, and administrator in Gary schools. He led Tolleston’s track team to a state championship in 1966. His athletic honors include Indiana 100- and 200-yard dash champion, 1945 Big Ten 220-yard champion, NCAA champion with Illinois in 1946, world-record mile relay member, and Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee.
Dr. Philip N. Eskew was named the inaugural winner of the Earl H. Smith Jr. award for his efforts in seeing that the Hall of Fame would be housed at Indiana University Northwest.
“It’s been amazing knowing that every year there will be more deserving honorees for many years to come,” said Sherita Smith, CEO of the Gary Sports Hall of Fame. “This city is filled with a rich history when it comes to sports, and we intend to make that a realization.”
Chuck Hughes, president of the Hall of Fame, extended thanks to the university, which houses the Hall of Fame as well the induction ceremony throughout the evening.
“Indiana University Northwest is one of our universities we should support, and they stepped up again,” he said. “They don’t allow much in this building, but they saw the significance of this.”