Ron Palenski can now add "hall of famer" to his regular titles of journalist, author, historian and administrator.
Mr Palenski, the chief executive and driving force behind the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame since it was established in the Dunedin Railway Station in 1999, was yesterday inducted into the hall at a special ceremony at his Dunedin home.
Surrounded by wife Kathy — also a major part of the hall’s operations over 23 years — and family, friends and hall trustees, he joined the ranks of the great New Zealand athletes, coaches and administrators as he was recognised for his immense service to the hall and journalism.
A video presentation from sporting luminaries featured former All Blacks captain Graham Mourie referring to his friend and biography collaborator as a "good man, as well as a good journalist", and Olympic rowing great Rob Waddell paying tribute to Mr Palenski’s "incredible lifetime’s work".
"It’s all a wee bit overwhelming, really," Mr Palenski said.
"I spent 20-odd years running the Hall of Fame, talking about famous sportspeople, and it just feels very odd to include myself among them.
"They are champions of everything, and I’m a champion of nothing."
Anyone with a skerrick of knowledge of New Zealand sports journalism, rugby literature or the hall itself might politely disagree with that phrase.
Mr Palenski started as a journalist with The Evening Star in Dunedin before becoming a titan of the written word with the New Zealand Press Association and The Dominion.
He is widely regarded as the authority on New Zealand rugby history — most of the 50-odd books he has written focus on the national sport — and he gained a doctorate at the University of Otago with a thesis examining the evolution of national identity, including the role played by rugby.
Mr Palenski, who has battled ill health recently, also served as the chairman of the Otago Rugby Football Union.
The Hall of Fame’s future appears to lie outside Dunedin as the site is no longer considered viable, but it would probably have gone years ago had it not been for Mr Palenski’s indefatigable work.
"Through my background as a journalist, I covered a lot of people who are in it, and it became increasingly obvious to me that they risked being forgotten, or the details of what they’d done risked being forgotten, if there wasn’t something like the Hall of Fame.
"When the opportunity came ... I was already thinking along those lines anyway," he said.
"Champions of sport need to be remembered, because it’s part of our national identity and part of our legacy."
Mr Palenski views all inductees as equally worthy but acknowledges one holds a special place for him.
"I’d have to say Peter Snell. I knew him very well, and spent a week with him in Dallas, and regarded him as a friend."
He did not, however, know broadcasting giant Winston McCarthy, the only other member of the media in the hall.
Mr Palenski grew up in Dunedin, where he attended King Edward Technical College.
He dabbled in rugby, cricket, cycling and other sports but was not destined to make the Hall of Fame in any of them.
