Currently in its third year, the ESPN Fan Hall of Fame conducts a nationwide search and integrated campaign across ESPN’s platforms to discover and recognize three remarkable and inspiring sports fans each year.
Chubb, Mollerberg and Ragsdale will be honored with their names engraved above three stadium chairs on the lawn of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., campus at an induction ceremony in 2015.Combined, the three winners received over two thirds of the total votes cast on the Fan Hall of Fame website, where public voting took place from Dec. 1-10. Additionally, each of the 10 finalists was featured in individual 15-second vignettes across ESPN’s platforms.
Some additional information on each of the inductees:
- John Chubb, famously known as “Buck-I-Guy” and the “caped-crusader of Buckeye Nation” in the Ohio State community, grew up just three miles from Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. A die-hard supporter of the team since the 1970s, Chubb is one of the most familiar personalities in the crowd at OSU games, wearing his custom red and white Ohio State outfit with a six-foot cape, painted red mustache and under-eye stickers. In addition to being renowned locally for his commitment to give back to his community, Chubb is also considered a hero for saving two passengers from a car accident in 2006, alongside his son Tremaine Chubb. “Now, I am not only considered a super-fan, but also a super-hero,” he says.
- Mary Mollerberg first started following the Boston Red Sox before TVs were invented, listening to each game on the radio. A 103-year old lifelong supporter of the team, Mollerberg considers herself blessed for witnessing three World Series championships for the Red Sox. During her travels around the world and taking care of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Mollerberg only got to attend her first actual game three years ago on her 100th birthday – the same year of Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary. She was also recognized by the team for her fandom during the game.
- Daniel Ragsdale is regarded among all cadets and virtually all Army Athletics fans as the “Crazy Colonel,” a fixture at Army football and basketball games for the past 15 years. A retired Army Colonel, Ragsdale was honored by the Corps of Cadets last year with his image on 4,400 T-shirts, which helped raise approximately $4,400 for soldier charities. His dedicated support was also celebrated by the Army Athletic department, which featured a photo of him on 40,000 tickets printed last year for the Army-Eastern Michigan game.
Last year’s inductees included Sacramento Kings’ fan Barbara Rust, famously known as “The Sign Lady,” Arkansas Razorbacks’ fan Canaan Sandy and University of Georgia’s “Georgia Joker” Pierce Wallace.
The program’s first inductees were Vancouver Canucks fans and legendary Green Men “Sully” and “Force,” Baltimore Ravens icon “Captain Dee-Fense” and the University of Alabama softball team’s Emily Pitek.
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