2008 Woodie Awards
Lukoshus to be inducted, hall-of-famer
By: Jeremy Homan
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: Sports
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Lukoshus, PUC Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advancement, is being honored for his contribution in athletics and sports media during the 1960's and 1970's.
"I'm just extremely honored, blessed and humbled, all at the same time," said Lukoshus.
Lukoshus has served as the steering committee chairman of the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame since its start, but is not chairing this year due to his nomination.
The Hammond Sports Hall of Fame is based on ability, dedication, contribution, citizenship and service. An individual has to be nominated and meet the specific criteria in order to be considered for induction. The steering committee has the final say, but once an individual is nominated they remain in a pool indefinitely and can be inducted in future years.
Graduating from Morton in 1970, Lukoshus lettered two years in football and four in track.
"I can remember every football game I played," he said.
As a quarterback and captain, Lukoshus played for one of Maurey Zlotnik's state top 20-ranked football squads. His mile relay unit during his track career set a school record that is considered to be one of the longest-standing in the schools history. In addition, Lukoshus covered high school, college and professional sports for The Times and broadcasted high school and PUC sports programming for WJOB.
According to Lukoshus, one of the main differences concerning athletics in today's society is that individuals have become focused on specializing in one specific sport.
"When I grew up we went from season to season, but today it's difficult to find a multi-sport individual," he said.
Lukoshus remembers raising money for an athlete from a different school who suffered from kidney disease. Calling it "Operation Fellow Athlete," Morton teammates raised $15,000, tripling their original goal, by placing containers at local businesses, standing outside grocery stores and holding a carwash.
"We washed so many cars that day we ran out of car wash. At the end we were doing little more than washing cars off with a hose," he said.
Lukoshus admits that it's the relationship with teammates that he misses most.
"What you cherish is the bonding that takes place, especially after we go through football two-a-days in 90 degree heat," he said.
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