Glenn Carano
Football
With over three decades in the gaming industry, Glenn joined Eldorado Resort Casino Reno as Director of Sales in 1985. He became Director of Marketing at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno when it opened in July 1995 and was promoted to General Manager on August 1, 2014. Currently, Glenn has operational responsibility for the central region properties comprising Grand Victoria Casino Elgin in Illinois, Lumière Place Casino & Hotels in St. Louis, Missouri and Tropicana Evansville in Indiana. Prior to this appointment, Glenn was Senior Vice President of Operations for properties in the east region, including PA, OH and WV from April 2017 – August 2018.
Throughout his years in the Reno casino business, Carano has been an active leader within the Gaming and Tourism Industry. In 1995 he served a four-year term as Board Member of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and Chairman of the Marketing Committee. Mr. Carano was a Board Member with the Airport Authority in Reno for eight years and served six years as Commissioner with the Nevada Athletic Commission. He has served as a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and a member of the Partners In Education with Sparks High School and Wooster High School.
Glenn Carano attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on a football scholarship and was later drafted by the Dallas Cowboys where he served as the back-up quarterback to both Roger Staubach and Danny White from 1977 to 1983. During this time the Cowboys were in seven playoff seasons, five championship games, two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XII as the Cowboys beat the Denver Broncos (the Orange Crush). He then joined the Pittsburgh Maulers and retired from the United States Football League (USFL) in 1985 when he joined his family business at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno.
Glenn is the proud member of numerous Hall of Fames. His first honor came in 1973 when he was inducted into the Earl Wooster High School Football Hall of Fame in Reno. His induction into the University of Nevada Las Vegas Football Hall of Fame celebrated his accomplishments as a three-year starting quarterback and honored him as both an individual, having set several of the school’s passing records, and as a team member of the one and only undefeated team in the history of UNLV. In 2015 Carano was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame for not only his time as a professional athlete, but for his accomplishments in community service and dedication to business across Nevada.
One other Hall of Fame that Carano is fittingly proud to be part of is the UNLVino Hall of Fame that raises funds for student scholarships at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality – an appropriate tribute for the son of the founder of the world-renowned Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery, Don Carano. Glenn, along with Al Lazzarone, Chris Aramini, Rick Reviglio and many others, is a founding member the Reno Chapter of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Alexis DeJoria
Drag Racing, Race Car Driver
Alexis DeJoria spent more than a decade behind the wheel of a high-horsepower race car as a competitor in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), and is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential female athletes in motorsports. Her legacy includes breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, and racking up a stunning list of achievements both on and off the race track.
A native of Southern California, DeJoria’s racing career began in 2005, but her love for ‘all things fast’ started when she was in high school. She was bitten by the racing bug at 16 when a friend brought her to Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. From the first time she laid eyes on the fire-breathing monsters known as Funny Cars, DeJoria knew she would someday pilot one. She started learning the ropes and worked her way through the NHRA’s non-professional Sportsman classes, learning every aspect of drag racing and earning the respect of her peers for taking a slow and methodical approach to becoming a professional racer.
She started her career by competing in NHRA’s Super Gas category before moving into a rear engine Super Comp dragster. A year later, DeJoria moved into a Top Alcohol Funny Car and in 2009, she built her own team, Stealth Motorsports. She co-owned and operated the team for three years, and is one of the few females ever to do so. With Stealth, she claimed the 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car crown, and became the second female to win a national Top Alcohol Funny Car event.
In 2010 she earned her professional nitro Funny Car license and spent a year making test passes behind the wheel of a 10,000-horsepower ‘big show’ race car. DeJoria made the leap from Top Alcohol Funny Car to Funny Car at the 2011 Texas NHRA Fall Nationals.
Behind the wheel of the Tequila Patrón nitro Funny Car, DeJoria regularly exceeded speeds of 330-miles-per-hour and would cover a 1,000-foot dragstrip in less than four seconds, clocking a career-best run of 3.863 seconds at 333.16 mph.
From 2012 to 2017, DeJoria raced to victory five times, including the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, aka the Super Bowl of Drag Racing. She captured the No. 1 qualifier position four times, became the first woman to break the four-second barrier, was the first female to compete in 100 Funny Car events, and finished in the Top 10 three times.
DeJoria is also highly regarded for her humanitarian efforts off the race track. In October 2013, DeJoria launched the ‘Free Mammograms for the Fans’ program, where she partnered with Nevada Health Centers and Baylor Health to provide free mammogram screenings via a mobile mammography unit to any female ticketholder in attendance at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas and the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in suburban Dallas. Over the course of five years, more than 500 free mammograms were performed at an NHRA race thanks to DeJoria and her team.
Ralph “Babe” Serpico
Football
Ralph “Babe” Serpico was born on February 14, 1925 in a home located at 917 N. 23rd Ave. in Melrose Park, Illinois to Domenico and Rachel (Romano) Serpico who migrated to the United States from Scisciano, Italy (Region in Naples). He was the youngest of four boys and later a younger sister. His family provided the backbone for who Serpico would later become.
He attended Melrose Park Grammar School and later Proviso High School where he was named to the All Star Team. Ralph “Babe” Serpico was a solid defensive player. When Babe was in high school, he may never have gotten the chance to play football if not for his 3 older brothers; Sam, Mark and Andrew. Babe’s father wouldn’t sign his permission slip, so his brothers took the liberty of forging his father’s name allowing him to play. Imagine the surprise when his father saw his son as the star of the team! Babe was named by the Chicago Tribune to the All-Star 1940s Football team (for high school athletes) with players like George Connor, Ziggy Czarobski and Johnny Lattner.
He went on to University of Illinois on a football scholarship where he lettered all four years. He was offered 38 scholarships, everyone wanted him! Except Notre Dame- he was too small. Notre Dame’s loss was U of I’s gain as Babe was a lineman for the football team from 1943-1946. Babe was named First-Team All-Big Ten in 1944 with Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 1945. He earned All-American honors in 1944 by Sporting News- 1st, Associated Press- 3rd, Football Writers- 2nd, Boston Record- 1st, Chicago Sun- 1st. Babe was the team captain of the 1945 Illinois football team and defensive captain of the 1946 Big Ten Championship Squad. He helped lead Illini to the 1946 Big Ten Championship.
Babe helped Illini to victory at the 1947 Rose Bowl over UCLA and a final ranking of 5th in the nation. The 1947 Rose Bowl was a top ten event of all sporting events in one hundred years in Big Ten history. Babe was offered a chance to play in the North-South All-Star game but had to turn it down because it conflicted with the Rose Bowl. Babe also played in the East-West All-Star game. He was even able to play a few games with the Chicago Rockets in the All-American Football Conference before injuries ended his career.
One of the biggest awards, especially for the Italians, is the Rizzuto Award. This is an award given to the most outstanding athlete in the Country of Italian descent. Ralph “Babe” was presented with this award for the 1944-1945 season in Kansas City, Missouri. As impressive as this award was for Babe, no achievement could compare with being a dedicated husband and father. He married Josephine (Luzzi) on April 17, 1946 and had four boys, Joe, Ron, Ralph Jr. and Terry. His sons were the true highlight of his life.
Once injuries took Babe away from his love of football, he focused his energy on a political career. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was quoted saying “Loyalty is the greatest thing that gives me pleasure.” As dedicated as Babe was to his football team, that is how devoted he became to the people of Melrose Park.
Ralph “Babe” Serpico was a prestigious football player, a dedicated family man and an all-around leader. It is with immense pride that he is inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
