Lloyd McClendon calls Gary Sports Hall of Fame induction “special”

The inaugural Gary Sports Hall of Fame ceremony was an enormous success as 12 former local athletes were inducted in the main auditorium of Indiana University Northwest.

Alex Karras, Tom Harmon, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, Ron Kittle, George Taliaferro, Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, Lee Calhoun, Hank Stram, Rhonda Brady, Tony Zale, Dick Barnett and Lloyd McClendon were recognized for their estimable accomplishments on a national and international level.

“Obviously, I have had a lot of awards and recognitions over the years, but nothing like this,” McClendon told me before the event. “And it has nothing to do with the accolade itself, other than the fact that I am a part of this city. It’s my life; I grew up here. To be able to come back in this fashion and let kids know that they can look up and see a little Black boy that came from the inner-city…all you have to do is try hard and believe in who you are and you can make it. That’s the special part of this award.”

I was pleased to present Lloyd McClendon for induction following his emotional acceptance speech.

I described McClendon as a “baseball lifer” during my presentation. He has performed admirably as a big league player, coach and manager (Seattle, Pittsburgh and Detroit). He now serves as the manager of the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens.

“I thought I was retired last year, but they talked me back into it,” he said with a laugh. “It obviously has been a fabric of my life. I have been very blessed to have been a part of baseball for so long. Our kids need to know that it is a wonderful industry and I wish we could get more kids involved and partake in it, because it is great.”

McClendon, who became known as “Legendary Lloyd” after hitting five straight home runs in the Little League World Series for Gary, played at Valparaiso University before being drafted by the New York Mets in 1980. He made his debut with the Cincinnati Reds before playing for the Cubs and Pirates during and eight-year playing career. He is concerned about the future of baseball when it comes to African-American participation.

“Listen, from a financial standpoint, it’s extremely tough. But I think our leaders really need to step up in this case and take a look at what the possibilities are,” he said. “Because of the (George) Taliaferros and Earl Smiths and on and on and on…they produced kids like myself and Ron Kittle and Wallace Johnson and Joe Gates. It’s possible. In order for these kids to make it, they have got to have leaders. And they have to have people who care about them. I had that.”

The Gary Sports Hall of Fame was the brainchild of board president Earl Smith, my former Tolleston High School coach in football and track. Smith, who was a star football and track athlete at Iowa, is a member of the Indiana Football, Track and Basketball Halls of Fame as an esteemed athlete and coach from Gary. Chuck Hughes, longtime director of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, serves as the vice president.

The Gary Sports Hall of Fame will be accepting nominations for future inductions on its website (garysportshalloffame.org), which is expertly managed by Sherita Smith.