Athletes: A Peoria Plays America Exhibition
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The Peoria region has shaped athletes who changed their sports forever. Emerging from neighborhood courts, practice fields, school gyms, and recreation centers, Peoria has nurtured athletes whose influence stretched far beyond the city limits into the nation and the world. Each focused exhibition in this series highlights a notable member of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame who, set records, broke barriers, and redefined what was possible in their sport.
Featuring icons such as Shaun Livingston, Tim Broe, Lorene Ramsey, and Curley “Boo” Johnson, this showcase honors athletes and coaches whose extraordinary achievements echo far beyond central Illinois. Their journeys, while rooted in Peoria, carried onto national and global platforms to inspire pride, resilience, and ambition. Through their triumphs, the exhibition celebrates a legacy of athletic brilliance that continues to shape Peoria’s identity and ignite the dreams of future champions.
Ben Zobrist
Born and raised in Eureka, Illinois, Ben Zobrist, a 2000 graduate of Eureka High School, had big dreams of playing professional baseball. His passion led him to play at Olivet Nazarene University and then Dallas Baptist University, before being selected by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 2004 MLB Draft. He reached the major leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006 and developed into one of baseball’s premier utility players, appearing at every position except catcher. A three-time All-Star, Zobrist also played briefly for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, winning his first World Series with Kansas City in 2015.
Zobrist then signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and immediately became an important part of their historic championship team. In Game 7 of the World Series, he drove home the go-ahead run with a 10th-inning double, helping the Cubs win their first World Series since 1908. He was named World Series Most Valuable Player. Zobrist remained with the Cubs through 2019, finishing his 14-year career with 1,566 hits and two World Series championships. Since retiring, he has focused on his family, philanthropy, leadership, and supporting young athletes through Champion Forward, a nonprofit he founded.
Part of the Peoria Riverfront Museum's celebration of America 250
The Peoria Riverfront Museum is celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation in 2026. Join us all year long for exhibitions on American art, science, history and achievement, including The Promise of Liberty, an exhibition guest curated by documentarian Ken Burns. Featuring a 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence, a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and more, this exhibition will be the largest collection of some of the most important documents in American history on display during America 250.
Sponsored by Alexis and Elizabeth Khazzam, America 250 donors, Visionary Society, Friends of Sports