By Jonathan Cramer

Governor Laura Kelly has designated John Barker from Abilene for a position on the Board of Trustees for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Barker, previously a judge within the Eighth Judicial District and a state legislator spanning from 2013 to 2022, noted that Abilene also holds a historical connection with the Hall of Fame. The Board of Trustees is composed of seven individuals who each serve four-year terms. Among the prominent figures who have been inducted are Roy Williams, the basketball coach from the University of Kansas; Wilt Chamberlain, a basketball player who attended the University of Kansas from 1956 to 1958; Clint Boyer, a NASCAR driver from Emporia; and Gale Eugene Sayers, also known as the “Kansas Comet,” a two-time consensus football All-American at Kansas in 1963 and 1964, who achieved unanimous All-Pro status five times while playing for the Chicago Bears.