The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, honors sports greats associated with the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Company parked at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Chicago Park District took over the exhibits in 1983. From 1988 the exhibits were displayed in Mike Ditka's restaurant until the restaurant closed in 1991. The Hall of Fame moved to the Maryville Academy in Des Plaines in 1996 and operated under the guidance of Father John P. Smyth during that time. As of 2008, it was operating at Hawthorne.
Directors include Smyth, former Chicago Park District Superintendent Ed Kelly, DePaul University Athletic Director Jean Lenti-Ponsetto, and former Chicago Bears tight end Emery Moorehead.
The honorees include high-school athletes, such as Babe Baranowski who quarterbacked the 1937 Leo Catholic High School team in the Prep Bowl football game in Soldier Field, viewed by a record 120,000 spectators, high-school coaches, college athletes from as far away as the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the University of Notre Dame, as well as professional and Olympic athletes associated with Chicago. Their sports include everything from baseball, basketball, football, and hockey to bowling, fishing, golf, and horse racing. Two special awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Ray Meyer Coach of the Year Award may honor non-Chicagoans.
In the 2020s, the Hall of Fame began hosting its induction ceremonies at venues such as Wintrust Arena in Chicago's South Loop and the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. followed by three-time Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup champion Duncan Keith and former Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoč in 2024.
Honorees
Name Sport Position Chicago team Other major team Football Running back Northwestern, Bears Chiefs Basketball DePaul Principal Providence St. Mel Basketball Small forward DePaul Dallas Mavericks Detroit Pistons Football Offensive lineman Bears Boxing Baseball Outfield First Base Third Base White Sox PhilliesDon AmideiTrack and FieldCoachSt. George Loyola
DePaul
Northwestern Lacrosse Coach Northwestern Football Running back Mt. Carmel HS Notre Dame Cardinals Baseball Shortstop Sox Orioles, Red Sox Baseball Shortstop White Sox Football Running back Farragut HS Purdue U. Denver Broncos Horse racing Jockey Football Defensive end Bears Browns, Saints Football Offensive lineman Northwestern 49ers Baseball Shortstop First Base Cubs Football Quarterback Leo HS Basketball Coach Mt. Carmel (Coach) Memphis Grizzlies Football Coach Cardinals Baseball Second Base Cubs Padres Writer Daily News, Sun-Times Basketball Guard, Forward Marshall HSU. of Illinois Hawks Boxing Promoter Host, The Sportswriters on TV Football Linebacker St. Patrick HS Colts Football Running back U. of Chicago Football Linebacker Purdue UniversityBears Packers Football Owner Executive Cardinals Bears Football Owner Cardinals Olympics Speed skating Champaign Centennial HS Football QuarterbackKicker Bears Raiders, Oilers BaseballAnnouncer Shortstop Thornton HSU. of Illinois WGN Cleveland Indians Football Running back Coach Notre Dame Football Linebacker Cardinals Lions Broadcaster Cubs, Sox, WGN Basketball Coach DuSable HS Basketball DuSable HS Olympics Track, official U. of Illinois Basketball Coach DePaul (W) Loyola (M) Hustle (W) Basketball Guard Thornridge HS Indiana U Bucks, Celtics Football Linebacker Bears Football Offensive line Cardinals Lions Football Running back Bears Eagles Special Olympics Official Football Linebacker Center Vocational HSU. of Illinois Bears FootballBasketballTrack Offensive lineman Maine South HSPurdue U. Redskins Basketball Coach Northwestern Iowa State University of Detroit 5 Most Famous Basketball American Gears U. of Detroit Baseball Pitcher Cubs Red Sox Football Quarterback Running back Packers Baseball Broadcaster Cubs, Sox Cardinals Horse racing President Hawthorne Race Course Basketball Guard Von Steuben HSDePaul Chicago Packers Writer Chicago Daily News Football Running backDefensive back U. of IllinoisBears Football Fullback Bears Redskins Baseball First Base Cubs Sox Volleyball Coach UIC Penn State Baseball First Base Manager Orphans/Cubs Yankees Football Running backBroadcaster Cardinals Packers Baseball Pitcher St. Rita HS Blue Jays, Astros Basketball Baseball Center, Forward First Base Chicago Majors American Giants Knicks, Globetrotters BasketballVarious GuardOwner Bloom HSU. of Illinois Diamondbacks, Suns Baseball Owner Sox Chuck Comiskey Baseball Owner Sox Baseball Owner Sox Writer Tribune Olympics Track Luther South HS Football Lineman Linebacker De La Salle HSNotre DameBears Basketball Forward Hersey HSDePaulBulls Bullets Football Offensive lineman Bears Politician Basketball Forward Carver HS, DePaul Bucks, Spurs Football Business Manager Bears Football Lineman Notre Dame Chicago Rockets Chicago Hornets Politics Mayor City of Chicago De La Salle HS Football Offensive lineman Northwestern Bears Tennis Baseball Outfield Cubs Expos Horse Racing Jockey Football Running back Defensive back Quarterback Austin HSNorthwestern Cardinals Bears Lions Big Ten Basketball Commissioner Guard U. of North Carolina Football Defensive end Bears Football Tight endCoach Bears Cowboys Baseball Outfield Sox Indians Basketball Coach U. of Florida, OKC Thunder Football Quarterback Bears Saints, Packers Football Baseball Quarterback, Kicker CoachInfield Northwestern Cardinals Bears Cubs Horse Racing Executive Arlington Park Churchill Downs Football Safety Notre Dame Bears Cardinals Baseball Second Base Third Base Manager Sox Athletics Basketball Guard Loyola Basketball Forward Parker HS Marquette, Nuggets Broadcaster Sox Olympics Weightlifting BaseballWriter BasketballReferee Chicago's American Sporting News Hockey Goalie Black Hawks Canadiens Baseball St. Rita HS Phillies, Yankees Golf Northwestern Baseball Second Base Cubs Braves Baseball Pitcher St. Rita HS Sox Indians Horse Racing Chicago's American, Daily News, Sun-Times WIBC History Bowling Football Defensive back Barrington HS Bears Yale Basketball Guard South Shore HS Northwestern Pistons Basketball Coach Thornridge HS Bradley U. AD Golf Baseball Owner Athletics Horse Racing Jockey Football Offensive line Notre Dame Cardinals Writer Chicago's American Olympics Modern pentathlete Founder Chicago Marathon Football Defensive back Loyola Academy Purdue U. Dolphins Hockey Broadcaster Blackhawks Baseball Second Base Sox Athletics Football Quarterback Yale Baseball Umpire American League Football Quarterback, Kicker Coach Notre Dame Mt. Carmel HS U. of Detroit Football Running back Bears Stanford Basketball Coach St. Rita HS Fenwick HS Chicago's Greatest Sports Memories edited by Roland Lazenby