Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame

Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame logo
Founder	Kirk Buchner
Members	27 characters 16 Athletes 7 Contributors 4 Veterans

The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame began in 2013, ^{[1] [2] [3]} founded by Kirk Buchner. ^[4]

There are two criteria for nomination to be inducted into the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame: the character must be a fictitious athlete or athletic supporting role appearing after 1970. In 2015 a "veterans" category was opened, which accepts nominees from before 1970.

Voting in the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame is public. There are three rounds of voting each year: one preliminary vote to narrow the field, a second vote to refine the nominees, and a final vote to determine the inductees.

Inaugural induction

Rocky Balboa, from the Rocky film series, was chosen as the inaugural induction to start the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame. ^[5] Buchner stated that the very inspiration for creating the page was seeing outrage at Sylvester Stallone being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for Rocky. ^[1]

2014 inductions

In 2014, three fictional athletes and one contributor were selected. ^{[4] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

The athletes were:

• Crash Davis; Bull Durham (played by Kevin Costner)
• Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn; Major League (played by Charlie Sheen)
• Roy Hobbs; The Natural (played by Robert Redford)

The contributor was:

• Harry Doyle; Major League (played by Bob Uecker)

2015 inductions

In 2015, the Veteran category was introduced to include those fictional characters who appeared in movies before 1970. ^[10]

Five fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected. ^{[11] [12]}

The athletes were:

• Happy Gilmore; Happy Gilmore (played by Adam Sandler)
• Reggie Dunlop; Slap Shot (played by Paul Newman)
• Hanson Brothers; Slap Shot (played by David Hanson, Steve Carlson, and Jeff Carlson)

The contributors were:

• Carl Spackler; Caddyshack (played by Bill Murray)
• Mr. Miyagi; The Karate Kid (played by Pat Morita)

The veteran was:

• Andy "Champ" Purcell; The Champ 1931 film (played by Wallace Beery)

2016 inductions

Three fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Apollo Creed; Rocky (played by Carl Weathers)
• Benjamin "Benny" Franklin Rodriguez; The Sandlot (played by Mike Vitar)
• Charlie Conway; The Mighty Ducks (played by Joshua Jackson)

The contributors were:

• Chubbs Peterson; Happy Gilmore (played by Carl Weathers)
• Gordon Bombay; The Mighty Ducks (played by Emilio Estevez)

The veteran was:

• Dennis Ryan; Take Me Out to the Ball Game (played by Frank Sinatra)

2017 inductions

Three fictional athletes, one contributor, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Bobby Boucher; The Waterboy (played by Adam Sandler)
• Forrest Gump; Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks)
• Willie "Mays" Hayes; Major League (played by Wesley Snipes)

The contributor was:

• Mickey Goldmill; Rocky (played by Burgess Meredith)

The veteran was:

• Guffy McGovern; Angels in the Outfield (played by Paul Douglas)

2018 inductions

Three fictional athletes, one contributor, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Daniel LaRusso; The Karate Kid (played by Ralph Macchio)
• Dottie Hinson; A League of Their Own (played by Geena Davis)
• Paul "Wrecking" Crewe; The Longest Yard (played by Burt Reynolds)

The contributor was:

• Morris Buttermaker; The Bad News Bears (played by Walter Matthau)

The veteran was:

• Huxley College; Horse Feathers (played by Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and Zeppo Marx)

2019 inductions

Three fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Clubber Lang; Rocky (played by Mr. T)
• "Fast" Eddie Felson; The Hustler & The Color of Money (played by Paul Newman)
• Ivan Drago; Rocky (played by Dolph Lundgren)

The contributors were:

• "Coach" Ernie Pantusso; Cheers (played by Nicholas Colasanto)
• Adrian Balboa; Rocky (played by Talia Shire)

The veteran was:

• Goofy; various short and feature films

2020 inductions

Three fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Al Bundy; Married... with Children (played by Ed O'Neill)
• Homer Simpson; The Simpsons (voiced by Dan Castellaneta)
• Johnny Lawrence; The Karate Kid (played by William Zabka)

The contributors were:

• Jimmy Dugan; A League of their Own (played by Tom Hanks)
• The gopher; Caddyshack

The veteran was:

• Joe Hardy/Boyd; Damn Yankees

2021 inductions

Three fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Jake Taylor; Major League (played by Tom Berenger)
• Jimmy Chitwood; Hoosiers (played by Maris Valainis)
• Sam Malone; Cheers (played by Ted Danson)

The contributors were:

• Norman Dale; Hoosiers (played by Gene Hackman)
• Paulie Pennino; Rocky (played by Burt Young)

The veteran was:

• Harold Lamb; The Freshman (played by Harold Lloyd)

2022 inductions

Three fictional athletes, two contributors, and one veteran were selected.

The athletes were:

• Adonis Creed; Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan)
• Lee; Enter the Dragon (played by Bruce Lee)
• Ricky Bobby; Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (played by Will Ferrell)

The contributors were:

• Irving "Irv" Blitzer; Cool Runnings (played by John Candy)
• John Kreese; The Karate Kid (played by Martin Kove)

The veteran was:

• Frank Capua; Winning (played by Paul Newman)

References

External links

• Official website
• Elkhart Truth Announces 2015 Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame Inductees
• Inaugural Induction Press Release
• NewsWire: 2015 Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame Finalists Announced
• Podcast: Bill Littlefield interviews Kirk Buchner to discuss the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Permission Granted interviews Kirk Buchner to discuss the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Fred Wallace of Bayshore Broadcasting interviews Kirk Buchner to discuss the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel covers the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Bob Asmussen of the News-Gazette covers the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• TSN covers the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• The Howard Simon Show covers the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Broadway World covers the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• Permission Granted Youtube Video of interview with Kirk Buchner to discuss the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame
• SportsNet Interview of Kirk Buchner begins at 37:15
• News Talk 770 (CHQR) Dave Rowe talks about the 2016 finalists