Olympic medalist, Super Bowl champion, coaches, and athletic standouts set to join the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame
Class of 2026 to be introduced to the media and guests at Dave & Adam’s Card World on Wednesday, June 3, 2026
BUFFALO, NY – The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame has announced its 12-member class of 2026. The 2026 class will officially be inducted this fall at the annual GBSHOF dinner on Thursday, September 24, presented by Dave and Adam’s.
This event will mark the 36th class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1991 and brings total membership to 427.
The 2026 Hall of Fame Class includes:
- John Bennett (Veteran) – NRowing coach of 4x national champions, 6x Royal Canadian Henley and 1956 Olympic four-oared crew.
- Corey Graham – Turner Carroll High School standout and 12-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion.
- Al Huetter (Veteran) (Veteran) – Legendary NFL and AFL official – recognized as a top sports official in football, basketball, and track in WNY.
- Jim Huetter – Nationally recognized cyclist, respected NCAA and NBA official and NFL officiating team member.
- Sid Jamieson – Long-time men’s lacrosse coach at Bucknell and Two-time Man of the Year in college lacrosse.
- Jake Kaminski – Two-time Olympic silver medalist, and World Cup gold medalist in archery.
- Duke McGuire – Former MLB first round draft pick and long-time ambassador of baseball for the Buffalo Bisons.
- Helen Nikiel – Professional softball pitcher, and championship softball coach at Buffalo State.
- Jean Porter (Veteran) – Nine-time Roller Derby all-star and member of the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.
- Bob Rosen – Winningest high school hockey coach in New York State history and two-time NYS Coach of Year.
- Lester Rowe – Buffalo News Basketball Co-Player of Year and 4-year starter for West Virginia.
- Justin Strzelczyk (Veteran) – 9-year NFL veteran and member of the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
Please note that the “veteran” designation indicates that the inductee is being honored posthumously.
In addition to the inductee class, the Hall of Fame is proud to announce that the 1981 ECC Lady Kats softball team will be honored as the 2026 Team of Distinction at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in the fall.
The GBSHOF will also announce the 2026 Dick Gallagher Award recipient and the annual monetary awards from the Amateur Sports Development Fund (ASDF) will be announced on June 3. The ASDF has now distributed more than $200,000 to amateur athletes, teams and organizations seeking financial assistance to foster the pursuit of a higher level of athletic achievement.
For additional information on the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, please go to www.gbshof.com. For more information on the announcement event, please contact Tom Burns at 716-535-0693, or by e-mail at tburns@niagara.edu.