Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome, iconic coach Lorene Ramsey head into NJCAA hall

Two of the most iconic sports figures from Illinois Central College — and all of the Peoria area — will go into the National Junior College Athletic Association hall of fame together.

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome and hall of fame coach Lorene Ramsey will be inducted 5:30 p.m. Friday into the NJCAA Foundation Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This is the NJCAA's second HOF class and first to be inducted in person. The hall is "designed to tell the story of the NJCAA ... and honor those who have been pioneers throughout the history of the association," according to a release.

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Joining Thome, 51, and Ramsey, 85, in the NJCAA's Class of 2022 are basketball coach Betty Jo Graber, former NBA basketball player Spencer Haywood and United States Women's National Team soccer player Jessica McDonald.

Thome, a Peoria native, was drafted out of ICC in 1989 by the Cleveland Indians. He went on to a 22-year MLB career with 612 home runs, good for eighth all time —along with 2,328 hits, 1,699 RBIs and a .276 average. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, his first time on the ballot.

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Ramsey in 1969 started the women's basketball program at ICC, the softball team the following year and the volleyball team in 1974. She coached basketball and softball until her retirement in 2003. On the basketball court, Ramsey was 887-197 and led ICC to four NJCAA Division II national championships. In softball, she was 840-309 with two NJCAA national championships. She has been inducted into 14 halls of fame.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: NJCAA hall of fame 2022: MLB's Jim Thome, coach Lorene Ramsey inducted