Commendations requested for former Pinedale coach

I'm a the former sports director at KMER Radio in Kemmerer; my name is Michael A. "Mick" Birge. Back then, we called games for most of the western Wyoming high schools, including Pinedale. One of my fondest memories in broadcasting took place in Pinedale in 1982.

Several months ago, some friends of mine in Wyoming asked for my help in getting Warren "Cappie" Capellen, former coach at Pinedale, into the University of Wyoming (UW) Athletics Hall of Fame.

A formal nomination packet was sent by the committee several weeks ago to UW Sports Information Director Kevin McKinney at UW on behalf of the Hall of Fame selection committee.

We are asking area residents to write a letter supporting Cappie's nomination and encourage his induction into the Hall of Fame. Letters are to be sent to: Rita Haws, 1908 Del Rio Drive, Kemmerer, Wyo., 83101. Rita is head of the nomination committee.

If you'd like more information about this nomination effort, please contact Rita at 877-3708, or me at 702-938-3025, a direct line at my office in Las Vegas. You can also contact Cappie at his home in Kemmerer at 877-3422.

We are making a huge push to get Cappie in this year (2003) as his health in recent years has been deteriorating. He has also suffered some personal misgivings recently. We'd like for him to be able to walk out onto the War Memorial Stadium field one more time to hear the cheers of a Wyoming crowd!

We will gather all the letters we collect and send them to the UW Hall of Fame Selection Committee by Thanksgiving. It is my understanding the voting for the 2003 Hall of Fame class will take place sometime after Thanksgiving with the formal announcement of the inductees in January or February at halftime of a UW basketball game. The formal induction ceremony will take place during Hall of Fame weekend next fall.