NeveHarms Over the last four decades Dale White has touched the lives of thousands of local boys and girls who wanted to shoot the basketball, run track, try volleyball and play softball.
From Lee School to Trewyn and Roosevelt Jr. Highs, to Manual and a variety of middle schools, White has spent much of his life showing the youngsters of our town how to play the sport of their choice.
And he was one of the most important people in the formation and continued success of the Peoria Girls Sports League(PGSL), an organization that gives Peoria girls an opportunity to pursue softball and basketball competition.
Currently on the PGSL board of directors, he established and coached three Amateur Softball Association teams for three age groups.
He coached in-house PGSL softball teams and coached a summer All-Star team of 15-16 year olds that won a state tournament in 1996 and finished fourth in 1997. He also assisted with various levels of basketball for PGSL.
After several years in retirement he is still donating a ton of time, money and equipment to many sports programs in the area.
He is still the official scorekeeper for Bradley's women's basketball team and is heavily involved at Manual as an assistant softball coach along with being scorekeeper and statistics keeper.
Coach, scorekeeper, public address announcer, statistician, organizer - you name it and Dale White has done it, and is still doing much of it, to help the boys and girls of Peoria develop the enjoyment of sports.
Junior and Jackie Watkins Junior and Jackie coordinated basketball and golf events for the Elks organization on an international level when Junior served as the Grand Athletic Global Director for 20 years. The Watkins’ founded and ran the Hersey Hawkins Summer League for 35 years. Junior was the league commissioner while Jackie oversaw scoring, scheduling and other matters. Each served on the Peoria Park District Athletic Advisory Board. Junior has been a member of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame board for over 20 years and Jackie has lent her singing voice to the GPSHOF banquet for years. The couple was involved with PHY (People Helping Youth), a non-profit designed to help Little League Baseball at State Park. Junior has been a volunteer official for Caterpillar Leagues and a volunteer host for the IHSA state basketball tournament. | ![]() |