Basketball, Class of 1938

Presenter: Richard Starzyk (Son of Richard “Honey” Starzyk)

To receive the award for Richard “Honey” Starzyk: Stephen Starzyk (Son)

The 1938 Yearbook said the following about Richard: Captain “Honey” Starzyk has to be rated as the most aggressive and dependable player on the basketball squad. He is, no doubt, one of the greatest Tiger athletes to terminate a scintillating career in sports at Holy Trinity High School. Richard played varsity basketball for 4 years, was captain of the basketball and baseball teams in his junior and senior years and was listed by the Chicago Tribune as one of the Outstanding Catholic High School seniors.

After graduating from HTHS, he played basketball for the Division Street YMCA Clippers which won the YMCA International Championship two years in a row. He then played on the DePaul University basketball team, was a two-year major letter winner, and along with George Mikan, was a member of the DePaul NIT Championship team. In a 1945 newspaper article, Coach Ray Meyer rated Starzyk as one of the top guards in the country. Richard’s DePaul basketball career was interrupted by World War II. While in the Army – Air Force, he was awarded several medals including the Victory Air Medal, Oak Leaf Cluster and the Distinguished Flying Cross and played basketball for the Salt Lake Air Base Wings where his team was number one in the service league. He was rated as the top Air Base Defensive

Cager. He returned to DePaul; and after college, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball League.

Richard died in 1990 of lung cancer. His wife, Laura, resides in Addison, Illinois. Richard and Laura had two sons and four daughters. Their son, Richard, lives in Houston, Texas; their son Stephen in Batavia, Illinois; their daughter, Teri (Shuman), in Warrenville, Illinois; their daughter, Julie (Wagner), in Elmhurst, Illinois; and their daughter, Ellen (Bachner), in Lombard, Illinois; one of their daughters died in an accident at age 18 months. There are seven grandsons and two granddaughters. Richard and Laura married in 1953 and would have been married forty eight-years this year. Richard was an avid golfer.

Presenter: Ted Poprawski

Belinda excelled in volleyball. She was a member of the volleyball team for four years and a major letter winner in her , junior and senior years. She was an individual standout and true team player. She was named All-Conference First Team in the Chicago Prep Conference (CPC) in her junior and senior years and CPC Player of the Year in her senior year. She helped lead her team to the first ever school record of a 16 win season which included CPC championship and the first ever IHSA regional championship in 1992. She set numerous individual school volleyball marks. She was named MVP and HTHS Athlete of the Year as a senior, which was HTHS’s first ever Female Athlete of the year. She was also named as HTHS’s 1992 Willye White Women’s Athlete of Special Recognition, an award given to female athletes in the Chicago area in recognition of their contributions, and received special notice at the annual Women’s Day in Sports. She also was in Track & Field her sophmore and senior years and a major letter winner in both years.

After graduating from HTHS, she played volleyball for North Central College as a freshman and sophmore and graduated with a BA in Sociology and Minor in Arts. She works for Little Friend in Naperville specializing in working with mentally ill adults and currently lives in Warrenville, Illinois.