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Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame: CC's Palazzari earned stripes
Comments 0 | Recommend 0When Doug Palazzari strapped on his pads, slipped on his jersey and grabbed his hockey stick, he never was the biggest player on the ice. In fact, he often was the smallest.
“I didn’t play like a small guy should,” he said. “I liked to get into the tough areas.”
That toughness helped Palazzari amass the third-most points in Colorado College history, and he joined Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel as the headliner of the 10th class of the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame, enshrined Tuesday at World Arena.
Other inductees during a 2-hour ceremony were Jim Hartman, who coached Mitchell’s football team to three state championships; Andi Melde Hooks, who took the Air Academy girls’ soccer team to the 1993 state title; Jim Miller, who won seven state track titles at Palmer; and The Broadmoor Skating Club, which has produced 200-plus national champions.
The Colorado Springs Sky Sox manager in the early 1990s, Manuel didn’t attend because of commitments following Philadelphia’s defeat last week in the World Series. Hooks also wasn’t among the 525 people in attendance because she’s pregnant with twins. A moment of silence was held for the late Cullen Bryant, a 2000 inductee who died last month.
Palazzari, 57, totaled 228 points in four seasons with CC from 1970-74, not bashful about getting his nose dirty despite his 5-foot-5 frame. As a freshman, he weighed 140 pounds, and he was 180 when he signed with the St. Louis Blues after graduation.
“The game is easier if you’re bigger,” Palazzari said. “You’re dealt the package you are, and you develop your skills around that. You’ve got to have a big heart.”
Being small makes a player work harder, but it’s not a roadblock, Palazzari said, pointing to undersized former Tigers Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, who combined for 366 points. “You have to have quickness,” Palazzari said. “You have to have speed. You better get as strong as you can so you can leverage your body against bigger players.”
