Seattle Induction Ceremony 2009
We presented our Annual Pacific Northwest Induction Ceremony in Bellevue, Washington on May 2 and inducted former NBA great, Lenny Wilkens and five other retired professional athletes at Outback Steakhouse.
Leonard Randolph “Lenny” Wilkens was born October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was African American and his mother Irish. Wilkens was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. Lenny is a retired professional basketball player and former coach in the NBA, as well as the league’s career leader in coaching win-loss totals. He was inducted twice into the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player and then later as a coach in 1998.
Among the community honorees honored at the AAESHOF event was Joe Pace who received the Don’t Give Up Award. Thirty years ago, Pace slept in one of Seattle’s finest hotels, as a visiting pro basketball player for the Washington Bullets, sharing in an NBA championship won in Seattle at the expense of the Sonics. From NBA to homeless shelter.
Since his playing career, Joe has been homeless in Seattle but recently received the keys to a low-income house in North Seattle. “It’s a place where I won’t disturb anybody,” Pace said. Joe was destitute and eating meals at a downtown facility, which also provided job leads. Instead of being a millionaire, he was homeless. “Sometimes I didn’t want to wake up, I was so sad, “he said. “Sometimes I’d wake up crying and say. “what did I do to be like this?”
Pace 54, has been an ongoing media story after falling from grace as a member of the Washington Bullets’ 1978 NBA championship team.
The complete list:
Inductees:
- Zaid Abdul Aziz (Basketball)
- Lenny Wilkens (Basketball)
- Michael Davis (Football)
- James Donaldson (Baskteball)
- Harold Mills (Hydroplane Racing)
- Otis Sistrunk (Football)
Community Awards:
- Paula Houston (Outstanding Athlete Award)
- Lorenzo Romar (Outstanding Coaching Award)
- Joe Pace (Don’t Give Up Award)
The Mistress of Ceremonies was Angela Russell, KIRO Televison (CBS)
Outback Steakhouse, Ethiopian Airlines, and Amtrak sponsored the the event.
The Hall’s sports publication, African-American Sports Magazine, now in full color, has become the most sought after publication of its kind in America. A recemt issue featuree a story on Silas Simmons from the Negro Leagues, who passed away recently at 111. And you will want to read the inspiring story about athletes from the past. The magazine is only available by subscription and can be ordered on this Web site at http://www.afrosportshall.com. The subscription is $20.00 per year.