Howard County Sports Hall of Fame announces 2022 class
Aug. 17—Joe Thatcher, Brett Colby, Brett Etherington, Chet Gabriel, Tim McFarland and Craig Severns compose the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2022.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 29 at Creative Financial Centre. The induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. and will be preceded by a social hour, beginning at 5:30 p.m., featuring light refreshments. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling Ron Barsh at 765-453-4739.
Thatcher headlines the hall of fame's 19th class after carving out a nice Major League Baseball career. The left-handed relief pitcher appeared in 405 games over the 2007-15 seasons.
Thatcher excelled in basketball and baseball at Kokomo High School before heading to Indiana State University where he played four seasons of baseball. From there, he went undrafted. He toiled in an independent league in 2004 and '05 before the Milwaukee Brewers took notice and signed him in 2005.
Thatcher had progressed to the Brewers' Triple-A team in 2007 when he was traded to the San Diego Padres as part of a multi-player deal. With the trade, Thatcher was promoted to the big leagues. He made his MLB debut with the Padres on July 26, 2007, in Houston against the Astros.
Thatcher played for the Padres in 2007-13. He later had short stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2013-14), Los Angeles Angels (2014) and Houston (2015).
—Colby was Kokomo's football coach in 2007-17 during which time he revived the program — and took it to new heights.
The Wildkats had endured six straight losing seasons before Colby's arrival. He compiled a 90-31 record and won seven North Central Conference titles, including four straight to begin his Kat career. Postseason success took longer to accomplish, but Colby eventually built the Kats into three-time sectional winners (2015-17). The 2015 team won the program's first regional title and the '17 team broke through to make the State Finals. Columbus East beat Kokomo 42-28 in the Class 5A title game.
Colby's .744 winning percentage is the best in program history.
Overall, Colby compiled a 205-98 career record over a 28-year career. The Western High School graduate coached at South Newton and Frankfort prior to Kokomo.
—Etherington starred in basketball at Western which led to a spot on the 1987 Indiana All-Star team. He remains the only Indiana All-Star in Western basketball history.
Etherington averaged 14.3 points per game for the Panthers as a three-year starter. He matriculated to Butler University where he played in 103 games for the Bulldogs, scoring 627 points and collecting 339 rebounds.
—Gabriel and McFarland are former KHS basketball standouts who will be inducted posthumously.
Gabriel was the second Wildkat to be named an Indiana All-Star when he earned the nod as a senior in 1940. He began his college career at Seton Hall. After returning home from World War II, he finished his career at Lawrence Tech. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
McFarland started every game of his high school career, playing in 97 games — the most ever by a Wildkat. From 1972 to 1976, McFarland-led teams went 66-31, winning four sectionals. He finished his KHS career with 1,270 points, No. 4 on the school's all-time scoring list.
—Severns has continued a family tradition of supporting local athletics. The president of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Kokomo, Severns is an active contributor financially to schools and teams. He also commits his time as an ardent fan for different teams.
