Rich Kilgour, Dan Stroup & John Tucker have been inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame as the Class of 2010. The ceremony took place in Toronto at the Westin Harbour Castle on Thursday night.
Earlier this year, the League announced the members of its Hall of Fame Class of 2010: Rich Kilgour, Dan Stroup and John Tucker. The Class of 2010 will mark the fifth class of the league’s Hall of Fame, which inducted its Founding Members in 2006. The three new members received the highest number of votes among the six nominees for this year’s Hall of Fame Class. The Hall of Fame ballots were cast by the league’s member clubs, current members of the league’s Hall of Fame and senior members of the league’s covering media.
The NLL Hall of Fame was established in 2006. A list of current members follows:
Class of 2006 (Founding Members)
Les Bartley
Russ Cline
Chris Fritz
Gary Gait
Paul Gait
Class of 2007
Mike French
Darris Kilgour
Tom Marechek
Class of 2008
Sal LoCascio
Johnny Mouradian
Tony Resch
Class of 2009
Dallas Eliuk
Jim Veltman
Class of 2010
Rich Kilgour
Dan Stroup
John Tucker
Members of Media Recognized by Hall of Fame:
Tom Borrelli (2007)
Neil Stevens (2008)
For more information on the inductees and members, please see the summary below.
2010 NLL Hall of Fame Class: Rich Kilgour, Dan Stroup & John Tucker
Rich Kilgour had an 18-year playing career (1992-2009), all with the Buffalo Bandits. At the time of his retirement, he had played in 18 of the league’s 23 seasons of history. His team’s made the playoffs 13 times and won four championships (1992, ’93, ’96 & 2008). The 1993 champion Bandits were the only team to go undefeated through the regular season and playoffs (10-0) in league history. Kilgour played in 200 career regular season games as a forward and faceoff man for the the Bandits, scoring 317 career points (94 goals, 223 assists). Kilgour was a leader, as he served as Bandits captain for twelve seasons from 1998 to 2009.
Rich Kilgour joins his brother Darris Kilgour, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. “As much as you can play by yourself, you’re only going to be as good as your teammates on most nights. We had some great leaders here in the beginning in Derek Keenan, Kevin Alexander and Bob Hamley. I learned a lot from those guys and hopefully I passed it along to the guys I played with later”, said Rich Kilgour, after being informed that he had been voted into the NLL Hall of Fame.
Both Rich Kilgour and Dan Stroup were voted into the Hall of Fame in their first season of eligibility.
Dan Stroup played 13 seasons in the league (Baltimore, Toronto, Vancouver, Colorado, Edmonton and Portland). Stroup is currently 12th on the league’s all-time goal scoring list with 294. In 182 career regular season games, Stroup scored 294 goals and 235 assists for 529 points. A durable and dependable player, he was in the lineup for all but four games (182 out of a possible 186) during his thirteen seasons. He played some of his best lacrosse in the playoffs, scoring 30 goals and 13 assists (43 points) in 14 career playoff games over eight seasons of playoff appearances. He played on four championship-winning teams, winning three titles in Toronto (1999, 2000 & 2002) and one in Colorado (2006). He was the MVP of the 2000 Championship Game, scoring five goals for Toronto as they defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14-13 in one of the most memorable games in league history.
Stroup continues to serve the game as an Assistant Coach for the Washington Stealth.
“This is amazing. I was shocked and surprised”, said Stroup, upon being notified that he would be entering the Hall of Fame. “I never could never have imagined this. I am just getting over retiring and not playing, and this is incredible.”
“I’d like to remembered from my playing career as a good team guy. In a sport like ours, that’s what’s it all about. You can’t win with just all-stars. Teams are made of 23 guys”, commented Stroup, who said the championships and the friends he’s made playing the game are what he cherishes most from his NLL playing career.
The wait for John Tucker was a bit longer, but the current Wings head coach is thrilled and deeply honored to be part of the Class of 2010.
Tucker, an original player in the league, played from 1987-1994. Tucker played his first six seasons with the Philadelphia Wings and his last two seasons with the Baltimore Thunder. He played 47 games with the Wings from 1987-1992 and was first team all-pro each of the first three seasons the honor was given (1990, 1991, 1992). He led the league in scoring in the inaugural 1987 season with 26 points. In his 47 games with the Wings, Tucker scored 78 goals, and 96 assists for 174 points. A member of two league championship teams (Wings 1989, 1990) Tucker scored 24 points on eight goals and 16 assists in the playoffs. He was the 1989 Championship Game MVP scoring a goal and adding four assists in an 11-10 win over New York. Tucker became a head coach in 1997, leading Baltimore to the championship series in 1998. After a four year stint as a head coach in Baltimore & Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, Tucker has returned to the league in 2010 as an assistant coach with the Wings. He was named the new head coach of the Wings following the 2010 season.
“All the guys like myself who played at the beginning years of the league, our goal was to help create something that would take hold and establish an opportunity for the next generation of players. I am extremely proud to be part of that”, said Tucker. “I can’t begin to explain how thrilled and humbled I am by my selection to the NLL Hall of Fame”.
