The recent inductee has a new business venture with a legend.
When December arrived with the first lash of winter, Tom Pukstys couldn't help but smile.
He was toasty warm, even though he was in a space seemingly as big as all outdoors - 88,000 square feet of emerald turf and running, hitting and throwing space laid out before him. Sure, he was under a roof - way under, given it peaked at 65 feet above the ground - but rather than confined he was freed.
Bo Jackson's Elite Sports Dome has a way of doing that for athletes tethered by the snow belt.
"This dome will handle winds of up to 100 mph," Pukstys said. "If it snows, it will heat up to melt the snow off."
All the while, athletes inside can keep the rust off.
Jackson, the former baseball and football star, has teamed with fellow former White Sox player John Cangelosi and others to build the dome in Lockport. Pukstys is an investor and his TP Sports, like the Cangelosi Baseball Academy, is a tenant within the dome, along with the Illinois Sparks travel baseball program.
"Obviously, in the Midwest, you can't play baseball year-round," said Cangelosi, who grew up playing ball in Florida. "But my whole thing is to change the Midwest mentality. ... If you want to compete, it's a year-round sport."
#1. Where the heck is Lockport?
#2. What else will Cangelosi be doing?
Cangelosi's hitting school is separated from the soccer facility and the Sparks' infield/batting cage area by a peninsula of smaller rooms. The video mechanics room, equipped with computers, allows athletes to view their swing or pitching form with their coaches, which is one of the many luxuries unique to Cangelosi baseball and its members.
According to Thompson, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry mentioned that some local major leaguers would use the facility during the offseason, reinforcing its credibility.
Depends on the major leaguer, don't you think?
