The 2005 University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame banquet honored six individuals. Fred Mahaffey (football and track 1952-54) was inducted posthumously, Charles Dean and Harry Beaver III were inducted together as the founders of the DU lacrosse program, Gerry Powers (hockey 1966-69), Roberta Pergher (skiing 1995-98, men and women’s ski coach 1998-2000), and Daniel L. Ritchie (chancellor 1989-2005). Present were several past inductees, including Diane T. Wendt, Cliff Koroll, Art Mason, Joy Burns and Ron Grahame.Other notable persons in attendance were hockey coach George Gwozdecky, basketball coach Pam Tanner, volleyball coach Beth Kuwata, Chancellor Bob Coombe, and Peg Bradley-Doppes, director of Athletics and Recreation. Fred Mahaffey played football for DU 1952-54 and is the school’s all time leader in rushing yards (1,605), touchdowns (27), and points (163). Upon graduating, Mahaffey entered the U.S. Army in 1955 and achieve a rank of four-star general just one year prior to his death. Jane Mahaffey was present on her late husband’s behalf and said that the induction to the Hall of Fame was an honor “that he deserved and one that he would have loved.” Charles Dean and Harry Beaver III were both influential leaders in the founding of lacrosse as a DU club sport, “only to hope it would evolve into what it is today; a nationally renowned Division I program.” Dean, a Beta Theta Pi, was the team’s first player-coach in 1965. Dean was emotional at the podium saying, “The honor that you have bestowed on us today, for me is a very personal experience. It’s a little overwhelming, and very humbling and I want to say thank you and thank you.” Beaver spoke next remembering game days when he would spend most of his time “getting oranges and making sure there were officials for the game. He too was proud to see how far the program had come and was overwhelmed by being honored for its founding. He also commented on the future of the program stating, “DU is poised to become a well known powerhouse in U.S. lacrosse.” Dean and Beaver were the first two members of the Hall of Fame to be inducted for lacrosse. Gerry Powers made his mark at DU as one of the greatest goaltenders in the school’s history, as well as in the history of the NCAA. Powers was part of the back-to-back NCAA titles in ’68 and 69′ and noted, “how fitting to receive this honor on the same day we raise the back-to-back 2005 NCAA Championship banner for the third time in our team’s history. We are all proud of our champion Pioneers.” He continued to say that he is “particularly proud to be part of the Murray Armstrong era, which has become affectionately known as the fabulous sixties.” Roberta Pergher was the most recent athlete to be inducted in this year’s class. As a member of the DU ski team she won NCAA slalom titles in ’96 and ’97, finished third in ’98, and finished third in the giant slalom in ’96. After racing for three years she became the team’s coach. Pergher started her speech by saying that, “This university and its people have turned my life around.” A surprise inductee this year was Chancellor Emeritus Daniel L. Ritchie. “In its long history, the Pioneer athletics program has had no better friend or fan,” was how Mitch Hyder introduced Ritchie. Known around DU for his deep and generous pockets, Ritchie is truly one of the greatest contributors to the University as a whole, as well as to the Athletic Department, Hyder said. Ritchie responded with his typical elegance and zeal, “I am grateful and terribly honored because I believed, and do believe, that athletics at the University of Denver, while it is very appreciated, is not nearly as appreciated as it ought to be.” He said it is important to do athletics right. He emphasized the positive influence that athletics can have on an individual or an entire community if it’s done right.Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes made the closing remarks and summed up the event with two wonderful words, “Go Pioneers!”