JAMES DEGRAFF, Elkhart High School (1953) As a freshman at Elkhart, won the Sectional 440-yard dash and mile relay. As a sophomore, Jim was Sectional champion in the 880 and sixth at Regional. He was a halfback on the Blue Blazer football team as a junior, was sixth in the state for the 880 and […]

JACK TILLMAN, Elkhart, 1953, 6 varsity letters – 2 football, 2 basketball, 2 baseball 1953 Tim Bringle Award for top male athlete in Elkhart, Basketball Played on 1951 State Finals team College Career: U.S. Naval Academy (1953-57) Freshman football quarterback, Plebe basketball team Achievements: Bronze medal winner in USOC Pan American Games (’61) in sailing

ROBERT W. HOMAN, Elkhart High School (1953) Bob, who is deceased, was a multi-sport athlete who enjoyed his hometown school’s sports. His playing days were cut short due to injuries, but he continued to be an avid supporter of high school athletics. Freshman year – Played football and “B” team basketball. Sophomore year – Played […]

LELAND WELDY, Wakarusa High School, 1953 Competed in basketball, baseball and track and field. Leland was the Elkhart County basketball scoring champion in 1952 and 1953 and was named the All-County and All-Sectional teams in both years. He was the first county player to top 500(548) points in a season.Weldy also was nominated for the […]

BOB STICKEL, Jefferson High School, 1953 Bob lettered four years in basketball at Jefferson and was the first Tiger to exceed 1,000 points, finishing his career with 1,029. He was the leading scorer in both his junior and senior season and received the senior basketball award after his final campaign. He was named to the […]