January 2010

 Olympic and NCAA Champion swimmer Kristy Kowal, former Major League Manager of the Year Danny Ozark, and three-time Olympic tennis medalist Jane “Peaches” Bartkowicz have been elected into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.  The election of Kowal, Ozark, and Bartkowicz brings the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame roster to 119.  Kowal and Ozark were elected from the NPASHF national ballot.  Bartkowicz was selected by the Hall’s Veterans Committee.

Kristy Kowal, a standout swimmer for the University of Georgia from 1997-2000, led the Lady Bulldogs to NCAA Team Championships in 1999 and 2000.  She was the first woman in SEC history to win conference titles in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke four years in a row.  A three-time Academic All-American, Kowal won eight individual NCAA Championships, and in both 1999 and 2000 was named NCAA “Swimmer of the Year.”  In the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Kowal won the silver medal in the 200 meter breaststroke.  She set one world record and eight American records, and was the first female in U.S. history to win a world championship in the 100 meter breaststroke. Kristy was named the 2000 NCAA Woman of the Year, a prestigious title based upon both academic and athletic achievement, as well as community service.

Danny Ozark (Orzechowski) began his managerial career in 1956, following a playing career in the Brooklyn Dodgers system. Ozark honed his trade under the tutelage of Walter Alston, while serving for eight years as a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  In 1973, Ozark was hired to manage the last-place Philadelphia Phillies. Showing steady improvement for three years, Ozark’s Phillies broke through in 1976 with a club-record 101 wins, to capture the first of three consecutive National League East Division Championships (1976, ’77 and ’78.)  In 1976, Ozark was selected as Major League Manager of the Year by the Sporting News, and also earned the Associated Press National League Manager of the Year award.  Ozark’s career managerial record with the Phillies stands at a solid 594-510. Danny Ozark passed away on May 7, 2009, at the age of 85.

Peaches Bartkowicz, the 1960’s tennis phenom from Hamtramck, Michigan, began her rise to world tennis prominence by winning 17 age group titles as a junior, including the Wimbledon Girls’ Singles title in 1964.  Over the next seven years, Peaches dazzled the tennis world, earning three medals in the 1968 Olympics (one silver and two bronze),  and a Fed Cup Championship in 1969, with a 7-0 record in Fed Cup singles play. In 1970, Bartkowicz combined with Billy Jean King to win the final (and deciding) doubles match against Virginia Wade and Winnie Shaw, clinching the Wightman Cup for the United States.  As a professional, Bartkowicz won 14 tournaments, and achieved a world ranking of 8th in 1969.  She has been inducted into the United States Tennis Association / Midwest Hall of Fame, and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

The Inductees will be honored at the 38th Annual Induction Banquet on Thursday, June 24th, at the American-Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan, with 1992 NPASHF Inductee Tom Paciorek serving as Master of Ceremonies. Tickets for the banquet, which begins at 6 p.m., are $85, and include an open bar and traditional Polish family-style dinner.  Tickets can be ordered by calling (313) 407-3300.  Information on the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is available at www.polishsportshof.com.