Written by Ben Shlesinger
Montgomery County may not exactly be Cooperstown, NY or Canton, Ohio but we actually do have a few halls of fame in our county. This article will look at the county’s Sports Hall of Fame, Business Hall of Fame, and Human Rights Hall of Fame.
The best known of the three is likely to be the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame (MCSHF). It has inducted local luminaries like Walter Johnson, Katie Ledecky, Dominique Dawes, Steve Francis, Tim Kurkjian, Scott Van Pelt, and more.
MCSHF normally holds its induction ceremony at the Silver Spring Civic Building every fall. There will be no 2024 class and the 2025 ceremony has been moved up to May 4. The MCSHF now has a physical home at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center in Downtown Silver Spring. If you go check it out you can also see the new statue of Dominque Dawes.
Housed at the Universities of Shady Grove (USG) is the Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame (MCBHOF). Each year at its induction ceremony MCBHOF raises money for USG scholarships and has brought in more than $1.4 million since its inception.
There are many highly accomplished titans of the county who have been inducted to the MCBHOF (read about their accomplishments here), but some of the well-known member are J Willard Marriott Jr, of Marriott Hotels; Tim Chi, co-founder of WeddingWire and CEO of The Knot; Ype Von Hengst, co-founder and executive chef of Silver Diner; Bonnie Fogel, founder of Imagination Stage; and Dr. Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics and creator of Sirius satellite radio.
Additionally, there is the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame. There does not appear to be a physical hall of fame you can visit (correct me if I’m wrong) but it is run by the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights. Although the inductees outside of Eunice Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, may not be widely known, do yourself a favor and read about their notable accomplishments of the inductees here. This is a very impressive bunch.
What other halls of fame are out there in Montgomery County? Are there any that should be created?
