Other Hall of Fame

A four-year letterman in football, basketball, and track at Richwoods High School, Rick Telander went on to earn all-Big Ten Conference academic honors as a football player at Northwestern University before launching a successful writing career.

His first book, “Heaven Is A Playground,” published in 1976, became a sports classic, chronicling the New York City playground basketball scene. It was later adapted into a movie. Rick joined the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1974, and eight years later became a senior writer for the weekly magazine. He left in 1995 to become a columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times. Throughout his career, he continued to write books. Rick also was a longtime regular panelist for "The Sportswriters on TV," (Sports Channel America cable).

In 1970, Rick helped Northwestern come within one-half of an unbeaten conference record, only to have Ohio State rally for the victory and the trip to the Rose Bowl. He was drafted in 1971 in the eighth round by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.