Miami Lakes Sports Hall of Fame inducts four new members

Sports By Linda Trischitta, Editor Thursday, January 19, 2023

    The Miami Lakes Sports Hall of Fame inducted four men who accomplished athletic success or coached or mentored youth sports and had ties to town in its Class of 2022.

     The new members are the late Charlie DeLucca, II, a youth golf ambassador and advocate for children’s education; retired NBA point guard Steve Blake; Gary Krey, former baseball coach at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School and Terry Curry, a coach in the Optimist Club program.

     The Dec. 10 ceremony was held on the grounds of Miami Lakes Optimist Park and in the clubhouse, where blue framed portraits of previous inductees line a wall. They include portraits of Chris Corchiani; George Deming; Gustavo “Gus” Gandarillas; Roland Gomez; William Graham; Jim Hamilton; Jim Mandich; Jack McCall; Tony Nathan; Alex Ochoa; Miriam Ochoa; David Oliver; Joel Rodriguez; Howard Schnellenberger; Don Shula; Sara Sidner; Mike Uspensky and Javier Zapata.

     Blake played four youth sports at Optimist Park. He helped lead the University of Maryland to its first NCAA Championship in 2022, before playing in the NBA for eight teams, including Portland, the Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Detroit before retiring in 2016, the hall said.

     Krey was HML’s first baseball coach. His teams won four state championships; he was National Coach of the Year in 1980 and the 1985 team were national champions, according to the hall.

     DeLucca II was the first golf pro at what became the Miami Lakes Golf Club and started First Tee Miami, a youth golf school that helped with academics, too, at Melreese Country Club. He was also a supporter of the Special Olympics, where some of his students competed.

     Curry has volunteered with the Optimist Club since 1975, serving as treasurer for three decades and one year as president. He is also a youth baseball coach and revived the club’s Youth Oratorical Contest for students to earn college scholarships, the hall said.

     The evening was sponsored by the town, Miami Lakes AutoMall; The Graham Companies; 305 Sports Basketball Academy and Ocean Bank.

     Photos by Gani Espinoza, courtesy of the Miami Lakes Sports Hall of Fame.