One story certainly will be told today as Mike Locker of Duluth enters the Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame.
Locker pulled off a string of upsets in the 2000 U.S. Open in Memphis, Tenn., to earn a semifinal meeting with No. 2-ranked Sudsy Monchik of Staten Island, N.Y., on ESPN. There was only one problem: An earlier grueling match had put Locker in the hospital with severe dehydration and, although he returned to beat No. 3 John Ellis in the quarterfinals, he wasn't at full strength.
Monchik prevailed in the semifinal 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 11-3 and then won the title.
"That tournament was memorable just for the players I was able to beat and for getting a chance to be on TV," said Locker, a full-time professional for eight years (1995-2002). "If I could do it all again and be back on the pro tour, I would. It was a great, if not lucrative, lifestyle."
The former Duluth East High School hockey and tennis player will be inducted with Bill Bredenbeck of Marine on St. Croix, Minn., at the Hampton Inn in Shoreview, Minn., in the 22nd ceremony by the Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame.
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Locker, 38, may rate as the best racquetball player in Minnesota history -- but Hall of Fame committee member Dennis Ring of Elko, Minn., says it's hard to come up with definitive all-time rankings.
"During the time Mike was at the top of his game, maybe a stretch of five or six years, there wasn't anyone better [in Minnesota]," Ring said. "He was a great, great player."
Locker is a former No. 1-ranked amateur player in the United States who later held the No. 8 world ranking as a professional on the International Racquetball Tour. He estimates he won more than 300 events in singles and doubles, including more than 30 state championships. He once had a streak of 11 straight Minnesota open singles titles.
Getting an early start in the sport helped Locker's development. He began playing as a pre-teen when his father, John, owned a racquetball-health club in Duluth and entered professional tournaments by age 16. As a pro, at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, he estimates he averaged 30 tournaments a year and was sponsored by ProKennex and E-Force equipment companies, and was good enough to have his own shoe brand -- Locker 70 by Next Up Shoe Shop. In 2003, he coached the Dominican Republic team in the Pan American Games.
Racquetball Magazine once described Locker as having "a really unorthodox game with unconventional curled wrist backhand splats. He cuts the ball a lot, hits strange angles and is deceptively quick."
"I was able to make friendships throughout the world while playing a remarkably fast, exciting game," said Locker, married and the father of two, who works in Duluth in the mortgage consultant business.
Even though he has retired from professional competition, Locker was talked into playing in the Minnesota open doubles tournament in November and finished second with teammate Jim Frautschi.
