Willie Allen, John Bunting, Warren Crutchfield, Bill Dixon, Betty Holston Smith, Holy Cross Girls Basketball Team Selected as 2026 of Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremonies to be held Sunday, April 26, at Silver Spring Civic Building
Five legendary figures from Montgomery County’s sports history and the team with the County’s all-time longest winning streak in any sport will be honored at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, when the Montgomery Sports Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2026 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. Joining 35 previous inductees will be three-time All-Met basketball star Willie Allen of Richard Montgomery High School, 11-year NFL veteran John Bunting, all-time great official Bill Dixon, 93-time marathon runner Betty Holston Smith and, posthumously, track and field standout and girls basketball coach Warren Crutchfield. The first team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame will be the Academy of the Holy Cross girls basketball team that won 115 straight games from 1977-82.
The Hall of Fame already includes names that are known for accomplishments that are known worldwide, nationally and as local legends. The hall includes swimmer Katie Ledecky, gymnast Dominique Dawes, baseball hall of fame pitcher Walter Johnson, former NFL star Shawn Springs, tennis standout Jeri Ingram, soccer’s Bruce Murray, voice of Maryland sports Johnny Holliday and ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt. The chair of the board of directors of the Sports Hall of Fame is Bob Milloy, who was inducted as a member after 47 years of coaching in which he became the winningest football coach in Maryland high school history.
The April 26 induction ceremony is open to the public and free to attend. The Silver Spring Civic Building is located at 1 Veterans Pl. in Silver Spring. Public parking is available in a garage across the street from the building and it is located just blocks from the Silver Spring Metro Station on the Red Line. Doors for the event will open at 3 p.m.
Learn more about the Sports Hall of Fame and the 2026 inductees.
Members of Sports Hall of Fame
2025 – The Class of 2025 included Olympic gold medal-winning triple jumper Thea LaFond, U.S. national soccer team player Oguchi Onyewu, lacrosse all-time great player and executive Paul Rabil, Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey player Haley Skarupa, football coach Al Thomas (posthumously) and NFL tight end/running back Bob Windsor. In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented (posthumously) to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded Special Olympics on the grounds of her then-home in Rockville.
2024 – No induction ceremony.
2023 – The Class of 2023 included high school football coach Jim Fegan, high school football coach John Harvill, basketball standout Tracy Jackson, soccer player Joanna Lohman, tennis star Harold Solomon and broadcaster Scott Van Pelt. See the video of the induction ceremonies here.
2022 – The Class of 2022 included high school lacrosse coach Rob Bordley, Maryland and NBA basketball star Steve Francis, distance runner Sally Glynn Hauser, baseball player Clarence “Pint” Isreal, shortstop/outfielder Sonny Jackson and reporter/broadcaster Tim Kurkjian. See the video of the induction ceremonies here.
2021 – The Class of 2021 included Penn State and NFL Pro Bowl running back Richie Anderson, golfer and former PGA Commissioner Deane Beman, NFL legendary linebacker Mike Curtis, basketball standout and coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson, University of Maryland and professional basketball star Greivis Vasquez. See the video of the induction ceremonies here.
2020 – The Class of 2020 included broadcaster and voice of Maryland athletics Johnny Holliday, baseball player Curtis Pride, field hockey coach Amy Wood, NFL and Major League Baseball star Tom Brown, tennis star Jeri Ingram and high school and University of Maryland football coach Roy Lester. See the video of the induction ceremonies here.
2019 – The Class of 2019 included Olympic medal-winning gymnast Dominique Dawes, swimming world record holder and Olympic champion Katie Ledecky, Maryland high school football’s winningest coach Bob Milloy, college and professional soccer star Bruce Murray, Ohio State all-America and NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Shawn Springs and baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Walter “Big Train” Johnson. Learn more about them here.