For the 23rd year, the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association is pleased to announce its incoming Hall of Fame Class, set to be inducted at its annual award banquet to be held on Sunday, April 8th at Valle Vista Country Club in Greenwood.
This year’s class includes the following personalities who have graced Hoosier newspapers, radio stations, and television airwaves over the last several decades. The inductees are as follows:
Conrad Brunner, formerly of the Indianapolis Star & News, Pacers.com, 1070thefan.com–Affectionately known to Central Indiana sports fans as Bruno, Conrad spent nearly 30 years chronicling all things Indy sports, notably the Pacers and Colts. His work with Pacers.com became groundbreaking in the early 2000s, as Bruno blazed a trail for legitimate sports journalism on team websites. These days, Bruno has launched a new full-time career, with the opening of Bruno’s Shoebox, his vintage baseball card store in Noblesville.
Larry Clisby, play-by-play voice of Purdue basketball–Affectionately known as Cliz, Larry has been broadcasting in Lafayette for over 40 years, and for nearly all of that time, has had a connection to Purdue University. He has served as either the lead announcer, color analyst, or sideline reporter. Since 1984, Larry has been the voice of Boilermaker Basketball, and he’s been on the call of 1,200 games during that time frame. Larry also spent eight years as the play-by-play voice of Boilermaker Football as well.
Tim Ethridge, Evansville Courier & Press–Tim’s work in the newspaper industry began when he had a paper route when he was 11 years old. He began working at the Evansville Courier at the age of 15 writing obits, taking scores, and serving as a copy editor. His career as a sportswriter in Evansville began in 1980, and by 1986 he became sports editor of the Evansville Press. After working for the Indianapolis Star & News for three years in the late 90s, Tim returned to Evansville in 2000, and was named as the Executive Editor for the combined Courier & Press in 2012. Tim’s sports coverage included Final Fours, Kentucky Derbys, Super Bowls, and multiple IHSAA state championships.
Steve Krah, formerly of the Elkhart Truth, now IndianaRBI.com–Simply put, Steve is the foremost expert on high school baseball in the state of Indiana. Steve began writing for the Middlebury Independent while still in high school, and upon graduating from Ball State, became a writer for the Brazil Times. Following 26 years writing for the Elkhart Truth, Steve now serves as a correspondent for various newspapers across the state. His website, IndianaRBI.com, offers in depth coverage of all things Indiana baseball.
Mark Montieth, formerly of the Indianapolis Star & News, now Pacers.com & MarkMontieth.com–Mark has been covering Indiana sports for over 40 years, beginning his career with the Marion Chronicle-Tribune. Mark served as a beat writer for Purdue basketball in the late 80s and early 90s before making the transition to covering the Pacers on a full-time basis. For many years, Mark hosted the popular ‘One-on-One’ program on 1070 The Fan in Indy, spending an hour with notable sports personalities throughout the state. His latest book about the early ABA days of the Indiana Pacers, ‘Reborn,’ was released in October.
Tom Rietmann, formerly of the Indianapolis Star & News–After working in both Illinois and Arkansas, Tom returned to his home state to work for the Indianapolis News, and stayed with the Star & News until his retirement in 2008. Tom served as the first beat writer for the Colts for the News for the first eight years of the team being in Indy. Tom also spent two seasons on the Indiana University beat as well. Tom served in a variety of roles at both the Star & News, including assistant sports editor and copy desk chief.
In addition to these new Hall of Famers, the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association will recognize winners of annual honors like the Marv Bates Sportscaster of the Year, the Corky Lamm Sportswriter of the Year, The Ron Lemasters Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Bob Williams Helping Hand Award. Those winners are as follows;
Marv Bates Sportscaster of the Year: Mark Jaynes, lead announcer IndyCar Radio Network/IHSAA Champions Network– Mark is beginning his third season as the lead voice of the Verizon IndyCar Series on the radio, which also makes him the Voice of the Indy 500. Mark is just the sixth person to hold that distinction in the 64-year history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Mark also calls a variety of IHSAA state championships every year on Fox Sports Indiana, including football, basketball, baseball, and wrestling. Mark teaches broadcasting to students at Monrovia High School, his alma mater.
Corky Lamm Sportswriter of the Year: Todd Golden, Terre Haute Tribune-Star–Todd’s work has graced various Hoosier newspapers for nearly 20 years, and for the last 13 at the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Todd has served as the sports editor, primary sports columnist, and beat reporter for Indiana State athletics. His ‘Down in the Valley’ column regarding the Sycamores and all things Missouri Valley Conference are a must-read after every game.
Ron Lemasters Lifetime Achievement Award: Paul Condry, Regional Radio Sports Network–Following a handful of years spent in coaching, Paul began broadcasting high school sports in northwest Indiana in 1988. Four years later, the Regional Radio Sports Network was born and coverage of high school sports throughout the state has been the better for it. Also in 1992, Paul began publishing the Indiana Football Guide, a statewide preseason book featuring a preview of every team in the state. In 2005, that effort was rechristened as the Indiana Football Digest. Since 1999, Paul has coordinated the Indianapolis Colts High School Coach of the Week program, honoring great high school football coaches each season around the state of Indiana.
Bob Williams Helping Hand Award: John Harrell–John spent 48 years in the newspaper business, working for the Huntington Herald-Press, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, and Bloomington Herald-Times. Already a member of the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame, John is receiving this award to recognize his work with his football and basketball websites, which chronicle every team and every game in the state of Indiana. Every football and boys’ basketball game played in the last 25 years has its score on the site, and every girls’ basketball contested since 2000 has the same.
These 10 honorees will be recognized at the group’s annual banquet on April 8th, which begins at 2 p.m. at Valle Vista Country Club in Greenwood. Tickets are available with meal included for $30. To order tickets, send a check for $30 to Fred Inniger, ISSA Treasurer, 3011 Noble Hawk Drive, Kendallville, IN 46755.
The Indiana Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association was founded in 1946. It created its Hall of Fame 50 years later in 1996. The Hall of Fame currently stands at 111 members.
