The Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame announced its latest induction class on January 3, 2015 and among the honorees is former IHSA administrator H.V. Porter (right).

Henry Van Arsdale (H.V.) Porter is a Tazewell County native and former Delavan High School teacher, who served as an IHSA Assistant Executive Director from 1929 to 1940. He then joined the NFHS staff where he helped innovate several important changes to the game of basketball.

Porter was an avid writer and is best known for coining the term “March Madness” in a 1939 essay he penned. IHSA Assistant Executive Director Scott Johnson is a Porter historian and reflected on the induction:

“Anyone who has ever bounced a molded basketball, shot at a fan-shaped backboard, or uttered the words ‘March Madness’ has felt the influence of H. V. Porter. He was proud to have grown up in Tazewell County and often referred to Peoria as his hometown. His election to the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame completes the circle.”


For more on the GPSHOF class, click here the Peoria Journal Star story