Inductees Howard Maple was one of the most amazing athletes ever to come out of Peoria. A football, basketball and baseball standout at Central High School, he went on to become a brilliant quarterback at Oregon State in the late 1920s and later played in both the National Football League and in major league baseball with the Washington Senators.
Playing at 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds, Maple was such a high school football star he was named captain of the All-State team.
At Oregon State he proved a West Coast sensation. In his junior season in 1926 he was selected to the second team on four West Coast teams and was an honorable mention all-American on teams picked by famed coaches Knute Rockne and Pop Warner.
The next season he was picked on six all-American second teams and was named to six West Coast first teams. He was a fine runner, an outstanding passer, an excellent kicker and a sure tackler on defense where he played safety.
In 1930 he appeared in eight games with the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL as a wingback. Two years later he was in the big leagues with Washington, playing in 44 games as a catcher. He hit .244. He was also in the Chicago White Sox farm system and played in the Three-I League with Springfield and Bloomington, with Keokuk in the Western League and with Harrisburg, N.Y. in the New York-Penn league. He managed both Harrisburg and Keokuk.
He later coached at both Oregon State and Willamette College, being head basketball and track coach and assistant football coach at Willamette.
A very successful businessman and civic leader in Oregon after his playing and coaching days were over, he died in Portland in 1970.
| Jerry & Elaine Reibling For four decades Jerry and Elaine have volunteered their time and effort to benefit the runners competing in events within the Tri-County. Just prior to Jerry’s induction into the Steamboat Classic Hall of Fame in 2015, the race’s co-founder, Steve Shostrom said, “Jerry and Elaine are treasures in the running community. They have made substantial, lasting contributions to the Steamboat Classic and the Illinois Valley Striders over the years. They have worked tirelessly at countless local races through heat, rain, ice, snow and wind to get quick, accurate results for runners of all ages and abilities." Jerry was involved with the Steamboat Classic for 35 years and Elaine has been a part of the Race for the Cure for about 30 years. Married over 50 years, the Rieblings helped pioneer the transformation from hand timing to computerized timing for the major running events in the Tri-County area. In addition to the Steamboat Classic and Race for the Cure, they have served at the following events over their decades of service: the IHSA State Cross Country Meet; Illinois Valley Striders events; countless high school invitationals including the Richard Spring Memorial Invitational (Peoria Notre Dame) and the Peoria High Invitational at Detweiler Park; and Bradley University and the University of Illinois cross country meets and invitationals. Jerry has also raised funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by participating in the Memphis to Peoria Run and running the satellite event from Canton to Peoria. The dedication and passion of Jerry and Elaine for these events has enabled thousands of others to experience achievement and enjoyment while competing in running events. |  |