HOOP HISTORIANS
Committed to promoting goodwill through basketball

 Hoop Historians History

 

The Hoop Historians are a group of individuals who have a wide range of basketball backgrounds.  The group includes former and present coaches, officials and  supporters of the game of basketball.    The group's alliance with attending the Final Four dates back to the early sixties in some instances, however, the group has collectively met annually at the Final Four site since the early 1990's, and formally became the known as the Hoop Historians in 2000.  Through their love of the game, they have been an unofficial goodwill ambassador for the sport of basketball, by sharing their past experiences, renewing old acquaintances and meeting new ones, and continuing to promote the game through education and goodwill.

Timeline

March, 1999 -- The group formally assembles with charter members: Brian Burmeister, Dorothy Kim, Surl Kim, John Mayberry, Dennis Mishko, Ted Reineking, Al Sack, Joe Spagnolo, Frank Wilson and Bruce Ziemer.

March, 2000 -- The name Hoop Historians is first used and decided on by the membership.  

March, 2000 -- Bill Carsley and Marianne Parrillo join the original ten charter members are the group starts to formally plan organizational activities.

March, 2001 -- The first "unofficial" annual meeting of the Hoop Historians takes place in the Outback Steakhouse in Bloomington, Minnesota.

March, 2001 -- The first Hoop Historians apparel, tan shirts, makes it appearance at the Final Four.

April, 2002 -- The Hoop Historians are mentioned in a sports article in the Atlanta Constitution Journal.

March, 2003 -- Steve Bennett, Hersh Cherson and Pat Irvine are informally added to group after meeting the three year requirement for membership.
 

November, 2004 -- The Hoop Historians enter cyberspace, as the website hoophistorians.com is launched.

March, 2005 -- Fred Allman is added to the group's membership.

March, 2005 -- The group's Constitution is ratified and adopted by the membership.

March, 2005 -- Ted Reineking receives the group's service award for attending 200 NCAA Tournament games.

July, 2005 -- Hoop Historian Dennis Mishko is named to the Top 25 All-Time Coaches in the Scranton area by the Times-Tribune.

March, 2006 -- Brian Burmeister is recognized by the group for attending his fortieth consecutive Final Four.

March, 2007 -- John Mayberry is presented the Hoop Historians Ambassador Award for his years of contributions to the game of basketball.

March, 2007 -- Sports Illustrated photographer Rich Clarkson is the guest speaker at the Annual Meeting.  

March, 2007 -- A formal application process for membership is adopted and a record six individuals are voted in as full members increasing the membership to 22.  Joining the group are Joe Flaherty, Ed Krawitz, Steve Krawitz, Kevin McCann, Lee Roberts  and Bob Stan.

April, 2008 -- Historians Fred Allman and Bill Carsley were recognized with a plaque from the organization for their induction into their respective Hall of Fames.

April, 2008 -- The Daily Herald Newspaper ran an article on the Hoop Historians on the day of the National Semi-Final games.

April, 2008 -- Dave DeGrace, Mike Johnson, Don MacKay and Vern Vegso are elected to the membership.

April, 2009 -- The Hoop Historians are the lead news story on the Thursday night news on WXYZ-TV in Detroit.  The interview can be seen on You Tube.

April, 2009 -- Coach Dennis Mishko is recognized with the Hoop Historians Distinguished Service Award for his recent induction into the Keystone College Hall of Fame.

April, 2009 -- The Annual Meeting is held in Windsor, Ontario Canada -- the Historians first international event.  Six new members join the Hoop Historians, giving the group a record number 30 members:  Steve Atkins, Cal Dilworth, Mike Gant, Steve Newhouse, and Peter & Noel Sotta.

June, 2009 – The group’s Constitution and By-Laws are reorganized and annual election of officers take place.  John Mayberry, Dennis Mishko, Ted Reineking, Al Sack and Bruce Ziemer are elected as Board of Directors of the group and Reineking is selected as Chairman of the Board.  Joe Spagnolo is appointed as Executive Director.

April, 2010 -- The Hoop Historians made the biggest assist in their stat sheet from Final Four Weekend, as the group donated four Wilson basketballs to the LeGore Unit of the Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis. Hoop Historians Public Affairs Committee Co-Chairpersons Fred Allman and Marianne Parrillo made the presentation to Juan Ongay, Unit Director and Zach Sigmund, Program Director, who accepted the donation on behalf of the Club.

April, 2010 – A record number 43 Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians gathered for the annual Welcome Dinner on Friday night.

April, 2010 – Dorothy & Surl Kim were recognized and presented with a plaque as being the “First Family” of the Hoop Historians at the Annual Welcome Dinner.  Executive Director Joe Spagnolo received a recognition award from the Hoop Historians for his induction into the Hall of Fame.

April, 2010 – Five charter Honorary Members were inducted into the group: Al Benninger, Jim Harrick, Bill Jauss, Les Lombardi and Jerry Wainwright.  Jim Jorgensen was elected as a new member.

April, 2011 -- Cal Dilworth is recognized by the Hoop Historians for his many years of dedication and support of the game of basketball with the group's service award.

April, 2011 -- The group formally applies for not-for-profit corporate status.  Ted Reineking and Al Sack are elected to two year terms and John Mayberry, Dennis Mishko and Bruce Ziemer are elected to one year terms to serve on the Board of Directors.  Reineking is reselected Chairman of the Board.

April, 2011 -- Five new members were elected to the group:  Doug Foley, Dave Mateer, Bren Petar, Darren Sack and Tom Tallarito.  Including its Honorary Members, the membership total rises to a record 41 people.

April, 2012 -- Bruce Ziemer is recognized for his years of service with the Hoop Historians at the Annual Welcome Dinner.  The Dinner was held in the World War II Museum in downtown New Orleans.  41 people attend the Welcome Dinner.

April, 2012 -- John Mayberry and Dennis Mishko are re-elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term.  

April, 2012 -- Three new members were elected to the group:  John McCann, Rick Schabowski and John Tierney.  

July, 2012 -- Charter Member Surl Kim passes away on July 18 at the age of 91.  Kim attended every Final Four from 1991-2011.

October, 2012 -- Bill Jauss, one of the original Honorary Hoop Historians, passes away on October 10.  Jauss was a sportswriter for over 50 years.

September, 2012 -- Hoop Historians Dave DeGrace, Rick Schabowski and Joe Spagnolo attend a Milwaukee Brewers game at Miller Park with Friends of the Hoop Historians and are recognized on the Jumbotron scoreboard in centerfield.

April, 2013 -- Ted Reineking and Al Sack are re-elected to two year terms and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term to serve on the Board of Directors.

April, 2013 --  The largest induction group to the Hoop Historians since the original charter member group in 1999 is selected.  Mike Gibbons, Dave Kintas, Joe Klebon, Joe Makowski, Martin Makowski, Larry Seitlin, Darrell Solberg and Bob Spilman were elected as full members and former college basketball coach and professional player Dick Triptow is chosen as an Honorary Member.  The group now has 42 Full Members and five Honorary Members.

April, 2013 -- Frank Wilson is recognized with an award for his years of service to the Hoop Historians at the Annual Meeting.

April, 2013 -- The Annual Hoop Historians Welcome Dinner was incorporated with the NABC Guardians of the Game Award Show.

April, 2014 -- Thirty-seven Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians attended the Welcome Dinner at the Press Box Grill in downtown Dallas.

April, 2014 -- John Mayberry and Dennis Mishko are re-elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term.

April, 2014 -- Three full members were inducted raising the membership to a record 45 full and 50 total members.  Joining the group in the Class of 2014 were Judi Caldwell, Gary De Perry and Jim Martin.

April 2014 -- A number of many non-basketball activities during the week in North Texas included tours at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dealey Plaza, the George W. Bush presidential Library, and the Ballpark at Arlington, where Hoop Historian Pat Irvine was able to take in the Rangers Hall of Fame exhibits that featured her brother, Billy Martin, who managed the club.  Pat even got to sit in the desk Billy used when he ran the club.

April, 2014 -- A Hoop Historians first occurred when three generations of the same family attended the championship game.   Charter member Frank Wilson, his wife Cath, daughter Meredith, her husband Matt and baby Lincoln (nine months) all were present for the title contest.

February, 2015 -- Honorary Hoop Historian Dick Triptow passes away at age 92.  Triptow was a former professional player, basketball coach and author.

March, 2015 -- A pair of Hoop Historians appeared in feature articles during Final Four week.  Brian Burmeister was interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel to talk about great teams from the past and Dennis Mishko was interviewed and videoed by the Scranton Times-Tribune for a piece of his experiences from his past 43 Final Fours.

April, 2015 -- A record number 48 Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians were present for the Annual Welcome Dinner.  The event was held at The Old Spaghetti Factory and broke the past record of attendees from 2010.

April 2015 -- The Hoop Historians provided a coaches clinic and donated four Wilson basketballs with the Hoop Historians logo to the Le Gore Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis.

April, 2015 -- Nine new members made up the largest induction group to the Hoop Historians, since the original charter membership of ten which took place in 1999.  The nine new members were:  Guy Baldwin, David Fray, Don Fromknecht, John Genova, Bob Hutchings, John P. McCann, Rocky Moore, Ted Murphy and Jimmy Rogers.  The group membership now totals 49 full-time members and four honorary members, representing 13 states and two nations.

April 2015 -- Ted Reineking and Al Sack are re-elected to two year terms and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term to serve on the Board of Directors.

April, 2015 -- The group collected donations during the weekend totaling $400 and presented it to the The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

April 2016 -- Forty-four Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians attended the annual Welcome Dinner at Russo's New York Pizzeria, the second largest Welcome Dinner gathering in group history.

April, 2016 -- Four new members and two honorary members are elected by the membership.  Dennis Mishko, Jr., Jillian Mishko, Samantha Mishko and Gordon Welch were elected as full members.  Neil King and Mike Rossman were selected as Honorary Members.

April, 2016 -- John Mayberry and Dennis Mishko are re-elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term.

April, 2016 -- Hoop Historian Bren Petar and wife Kitty were interviewed by the Houston Chronicle on the streets of Houston

April, 2016 -- The group collected donations during the weekend totaling $300 and presented it to the The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

March, 2017 -- Hoop Historian Joe Klebon was interviewed by the ACC Digital Network during the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn.

March, 2017 -- A record number 56 Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians attended the Annual Welcome Dinner.  The event was combined with the Annual Meeting and was held in the World Series Suite of the Friday's Front Row at Chase Field in Phoenix.  Major League Baseball Executive Roland Hemond was the guest speaker.

March, 2017 -- John Mayberry was recognized for his years of service as photographer and editor of the annual yearbook.

March, 2017 -- Seven new members and one honorary member was elected by the membership.  Dennis DeGraff, Matt DeGraff, Carrie Gibbons, Billy T. Haynes, Mike Kerry, Joseph Lyons and Ron Newton were elected as full members, and Rose Tate was elected as an honorary member.

March, 2017 -- Ted Reineking and Al Sack are re-elected to two year terms and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term to serve on the Board of Directors.

April, 2017 -- A number of Hoop Historians attend Major League Baseball Opening Day at Chase Field, as the Arizona Diamondbacks come from behind and defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-5.

April, 2018 -- Forty-one Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians attended the annual Welcome Dinner at the Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse, marking the fourth straight year that 40 or more people attended the function.  The restaurant was conveniently located inside the Hoop Historians headquarters hotel and the location also hosted the group's Welcome Dinner in 2004 and 2008.

April, 2018 -- John Mayberry was recognized for attending his 50th Final Four.  Coach Mayberry's first and fiftieth Final Fours were the only two time that Loyola-Chicago advanced to the final round.

April, 2018 -- Two full members and three honorary members were elected by the membership.  Paul Swanson and Ray Zebro were selected as full members and Roland Hemond, Steve Lavin and Richie Schueler were named as honorary members.

April, 2018 -- John Mayberry and Dennis Mishko are re-elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors and Bruce Ziemer is elected to a one year term.

April, 2018 -- Ted Reineking won the inaugural Hoop Historians Trivia Contest, defeating Brian Burmeister and Billy T. Haynes in the final round.

October, 2018 -- The first international Hoop Historian, Jimmy Rogers, passes away at age 78.  Rogers was the founder and director of the Brixton Topcats basketball team, one of London's most revered youth groups.

November, 2018 -- Former Globetrotter and Team USA player, Cal Dilworth passed away at age 85.  Dilworth was instrumental in brining basketball into the World Senior Games and participated in that event for more than 30 years.

January, 2019 -- Long-time Hoop Historian Joe Flaherty passed away.  Flaherty was worked the scorer's table at Marquette and DePaul Universities for nearly 30 years.

April, 2019 -- Thirty-seven Hoop Historians and Friends of the Hoop Historians attended the Welcome Dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Minneapolis.

April, 2019 -- Ted Reineking and Al Sack are re-elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors and Tom Tallarito is elected to a one year term.

April, 2019 -- Larry Baker was added to the group as a full member.

April, 2019 -- Brian Burmeister was recognized for attending his 50th Final Four.

April, 2019 -- Kevin McCann outpointed Guy Baldwin and Brian Burmeister to win the 2nd Annual Hoop Historian Trivia Contest.

March, 2020 -- The NCAA Final Four was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Hoop Historians conducted an election by mail to determine officers and new membership.

April, 2020 -- Hall of Fame Hoop Historian John Tierney passes away.  Tierney had attended 45 Final Fours and was a member of the Hoop Historians since 2012.

April, 2020 -- Five new Hoop Historians were elected by the membership:  Bill Gappy, Nancy MacKay, Daniel Marinkovich, Danette Shirley and Steve Traktman.

April, 2020 -- Dennis Mishko and Tom Tallarito were elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors.  John Mayberry was elected to a one year term.

August, 2020 -- Charter Member Bruce Ziemer passes away.  Bruce was a member of the Hoop Historians Board of Directors for ten years and served as the group's chairperson if its Public Affairs Committee.

December, 2020 -- Hoop Historian Daniel Marinkovich passes away at age 94.  Dan played for the University of Montana from 1946 to 1950 and coached basketball for twenty years.

January, 2021 -- The first ever online Hoop Historians Roundtable Discussion took place on Zoom.  In lieu of meeting in person, the group was able to interact through a series of remote meetings through the Final Four weekend.

April, 2021 -- Ted Reineking and Al Sack were elected to two year terms on the Hoop Historians Board of Directors.  John Mayberry was elected to a one year term.  The election took place online during the first ever Zoom Annual Business Meeting of the group.

April, 2021 -- Larry Holley was added to the Hoop Historians as a full member and Doug Erickson was selected as an Honorary Member.

April, 2021 -- Steve Traktman was the winner of the inaugural Hoop Historians Hoop Hysteria Contest.  Traktman correctly identified three Final Four teams and selected Baylor to win the championship.

July, 2021 -- Hoop Historian John McCann passes away at age 96,  McCann joined the Hoop Historians in 2012.

August 2021 -- Long-time Hoop Historian Bill Carlsey passes away.  Carsley was a member of the group dating back to 2000.

December, 2021 -- Honorary Hoop Historian Roland Hemond passes away at age 92.  Hemond was the guest speaker at the 2017 Hoop Historiasns Welcome Dinner in Phoenix, Arizona.

April, 2022 -- Four new Honorary Members of the Hoop Historians were elected.  Donny Daniels, Ebony Donahue, Dave Holmquist and Jenna Wright were selected by the membership.

April, 2022 -- Dennis Mishko and Tom Tallarito were elected to two-year terms on the Board of Directors.  Don MacKay was elected to a one-year term.

April, 2022 -- The Hoop Historians combined their Annual Business Meeting and the Final Four Reception into a single venue at the Embassy Suites New Orleans.  The reception played host to 32 members and friends of the group.

April, 2022 -- Hoop Historian Joe Lyons was the winner of the second annual Hoop Historians Hoop Hysteria Contest.  Lyons was the only person amongst 41 entries that chose Kansas to win the National Championship. 

May, 2022 -- Hoop Historian Larry Holley passed away at age 76.  Holley coached for 51 years and was the all-time winningest coach, at any level, in Missouri state history.

January, 2023 -- Hoop Historian Bob Hutchings passed away at age 71.  Hutchings was a member of the Hoop Historians since 2015.  He was a great goodwill ambassador for the sport and continued to teach the game across the globe.

March, 2023 -- Hoop Historian Vern Vegso won the third annual Hoop Historians Hoop Hysteria Contest.  None of this year's entries correctly identified any of the Final Four teams.

April, 2023 -- The Hoop Historians held their Annual Business Meeting at the Hampton Inn Houston Downtown, the group's headquarters during Final Four Week.  17 members attended the meeting.  A series of nightly evening receptions were held at the headquarters hotel in lieu of a formal Welcome Dinner.

April, 2023 -- Ted Reineking and Sack were re-elected to two-year terms of the Board of Directors, and Don MacKay was selected to a one-year term.  MacKay was chosen as the new Chairman of the Board of the organization.

April 2023 -- Michael Bailey was elected as a Member and Dennis Bracco was elected as an Honorary Member to the Hoop Historians.

April 2023 -- Charter Member of the Hoop Historians John Mayberry passes away at age 90.  Mayberry attended 51 Final Fours and served the Board of Directors of the Hoop Historians from 2009 to 2020. 

April, 2024 -- Twenty-one people attended the Hoop Historians Final Four Get Together Dinner at Harry's Place.  The Annual Meeting had 24 members attend.  Both events were held in the Tempe Mission Palms hotel.

April, 2024 -- Kitty Petar was elected as a full member.  She became the 99th person to be inducted into the Hoop Historians.

April, 2024 -- Dennis Mishko and Tom Tallarito were re-elected to two-year terms of the Board of Directors, and Don MacKay was selected to a one-year term.

April, 2024 -- Joe Klebon won the fourth annual Hoop Historians Hoop Hysteria Contest.  He correctly selected UConn to win the title and Purdue to make the Final Four.