Press Release

WARSAW — The third annual “We Are Tigers” dinner and auction filled the Heritage Room in Winona Lake for the second time in three years.

This year, 10 individuals and the 1976 Lady Tiger Basketball state championship team were honored as the first-ever induction class of the Warsaw Athletics Hall of Fame.

The inaugural inductees included:

• Donald Stamats – 1921 – 440 yards dash state champion (53.8)
• Robert Chambers – 1937 – mile state champion (4:38.2)
• Dave Burke – 1951 – high jump state champion (6’1 3/4″)
• Max Truex – 1954 – mile state champion (4:20)
• Larry Ruch – 1959 – pole vault state champion (13’0)
• Dick Fancil – 1961 – pole vault state champion (12’9″)
• Ted Pinnick – 1974 – state champion wrestler 145 lbs.
• Henry Ford – 1979 – state champion wrestler 140 lbs.
• Scott Hutcherson – 1981 – state champion wrestler 98 lbs.
• Troy Furnivall – 1982 – state champion in 400. (47.83)

Their pictures and biographies can be seen online. Later this spring, an interactive display will be unveiled in the T-RAC on a 65-inch touch-screen television on which Tiger fans can scroll through the inductees’ pictures and accomplishments.

The auction and team donations raised over $44,000 in support of the athletic teams who participated and the athletic department to help offset the cost of the senior banners.

As part of that, $5,111 in donations were raised to help financially support team bonding events over the next year. Over $30,000 was raised in the three different auctions that took place, and $12,045 were raised from ticket sales.

The Warsaw Athletic Department would like to thank sponsors, everyone who attended, those who had the high bid for auction items, volunteers, and Hall of Fame inductees for a very memorable night in which the past was honored and prepared for the future of Tiger Athletics.