HOF Friends

Name: John and Lucy Pomatto

Year Inducted: 1987

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
(Spring Valley) Hall High School
LaSalle-Peru High School

Biography:  John and Lucy Pomatto were avid basketball fans from early in their relationship.  Beginning in 1939, they were season ticket holders at (Spring Valley) Hall High School and LaSalle-Peru High School.  Their interest was heightened when their children (Jane and Doug) attended LP in the 1960's and 1970's.  Doug was a member of the Cavalier state tournament team in 1970.  Doug went on to play 4 years at Bradley University.  The Pomattos continued to follow LP as their grandchildren became involved in the school's programs.  For over 50 years, John and Lucy supported their local teams, often attending as many as 8 games/week.  The John and Lucy Pomatto scholarship is given annually to a Cavalier graduate who has excelled in both athletics and academics.  The student must have a minimum of 2.75 GPA to be nominated.  John died in 1994 and was followed on August 7, 2006 by Lucy.  

Name: Norm Krupnick

Year Inducted: 1987

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
IHSA
NJCAA
NCAA
Chicago Park District

Biography:  Norm Krupnick is known to many as a basketball official starting as a church league referee on Chicago's west side in 1947 for a fee of $3/game.  The next year Norm worked his first high school game at (Chicago) Kelly High School.  Since then, he officiated elementary, high school, junior college, and college games.  He officiated the Chicago Bulls' intrasquad games, and worked for the Harlem Globetrotters.  Norm is better remembered for ths "Jungle League", at Loyola Park in Chicago.  The league played during the spring months as a forerunner of the spring a summer leagues that became popular in the 1980's and beyond.  Each team was given the name of an animal.  The league operated for 15 years at Loyola Park before moving to other park district facilities in the city.  Interestingly, Norm never officiated for the Jungle League but recruited other top officials in the city to work for $8/game. Norm organized the first college sanctioned summer league.  He officiated several DePaul University games and developed a close friendship with Coach Ray Meyer.   Norm is an inductee of the NJCAA Hall of Fame.  He died on September 5, 2019 at the age of 95.

Name: Ken Miller

Year Inducted: 1987

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
O'Fallon High School

Biography:  Ken Miller never tired of O'Fallon High School basketball.  He carefully watched the Panthers' action for many years.  Beginning in 1947, Ken became the team's timer.  Before that he was involved as the athletic photographer.  In 1966, Ken added the duties of timing for the football team as well.  He performed these duties for several decades and became a fixture at all home games.

Name: Frank Hulka

Year Inducted: 1987

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
(Addison) Addison Trail High School
(Villa Park) Willowbrook High School
(Elmhurst) York High School

Biography:  Before Frank Hulka became well known in the Elmhurst, Villa Park and Addison communities, he worked for his father's dairy in DeKalb and made $15,000/year driving a milk route.  In 1954 he gave that up to take a teaching job at (Elmhurst) York High School for a yearly salary of $3,400.  Over the years he served as York's freshman basketball coach, Willowbrook's sophomore coach and Addison Trail's varsity coach.  In his teens, Frank had been a member of the (Cicero) Morton High School 1942 state championship team.  Frank served AT as their golf coach beginning in 1959. Frank's son, Steve, was a PGA caddie for 40+ years.  Frank Hulka died in 1993.