The Greater Pueblo Sports Association (GPSA) is a group of people interested in promoting those prominent athletes, sports teams and recreational activities in Pueblo County to be a part of the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame.
The Pueblo Greater Sports Association (GPSA) would like to thank Louie Carleo, the owner of LDC properties, for sponsoring the Newsletter again in 2026. He first sponsored the newsletter in 2025. His partnership with the GPSA is greatly appreciated.
Carleo is an inductee of the GPSA class of 2003.
This is the third year of the newsletter for our association. Members will receive 10 newsletters that will be distributed during 2026.
He has also provided a lasting partnership with our association, providing a home for 266 GPSA inductee pictures that are currently on display in the hallway on the first floor of the Thatcher Building (503 N. Main Street).
Louie, THANK YOU for your continued support of the GPSA.
Past GPSA Newsletter Sponsors
2025: Louie Carleo (LDC Properties
2024: Craig Law (State Farm Insurance)
The Pueblo Greater Sports Association (GPSA) recently learned of the passing of LeRoy J. Snook, a 2022 inductee.
On December 17, 2025, LeRoy Snook missed meeting his golf group at the Elmwood Golf Course when he passed away unexpectedly at home, getting ready for his tee time.
Born on February 11, 1941, in Pueblo, Colo., to Roy and Georgia Snook, he attended Hinsdale Elementary, Freed Junior High, and Centennial before its closing. He finished high school at East High School and graduated in 1960. Throughout his school years, LeRoy excelled in a variety of sports and earned numerous awards in swimming, track, football, and basketball. He was a three-sport star at East and set track records that lasted many years. He was also the first East athlete to qualify for state in track. LeRoy found sports to be challenging and saw them as important for a person to become a team player, competitor, and strong individual, both on the field, court, and in life.
LeRoy served as a high school basketball and football official for almost 27 years, officiated all classification championship games around the state, and officiated college basketball for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference during playoff games. As a member of the Colorado Football Officials Association, he officiated football games from 1971 to 1998 and was recognized for his excellent work officiating championship games from eight-man to 6A. He officiated 6A state championships twice and numerous Pueblo Bell and Cannon games.
Snook was inducted into the Colorado Officials Hall of Fame for basketball in 1990 and for football in 2002. He coached the girls' basketball team at Pitts Middle School for two years. In 2023, LeRoy was inducted into the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame. For many years, he served as a source for interpreting the rules and regulations for both basketball and football. He received awards for playing on city slow-pitch and basketball teams, and he played for numerous teams in city basketball leagues and tournaments.
After high school, he held various jobs, and in 1964, he graduated to become a clinical therapist and psychiatric technician at the Colorado State Hospital. He later transferred to the
recreational center and served as a recreational therapist, where he taught lifeguarding, swimming, bowling, and boat safety. In 1990, he took a promotion and transferred to the
Colorado Department of Corrections in Canon City, retiring in 1996 as a Lieutenant of Recreational Therapy. After retiring, he returned to work part-time as a recreational therapist at
the Colorado Mental Health Institute, Pueblo. For more than 50 years, he displayed a commitment to athletic/recreational excellence throughout the state and in the Pueblo
community.
He served in the U.S. Army National Guard as an artillery specialist for six years and was honorably discharged in 1966. He was a 43-year member of the Pueblo Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 90. In his later years, LeRoy enjoyed numerous golf trips and vacations in Mexico with friends and family.
Over the years, LeRoy won respect through his low-key, flexible communication style. He shared a sense of humor and people skills to serve hundreds of inmates and patients at one
time in the sports arena, which is often emotional and tension-filled. He could make a very difficult job look easy. His former colleagues and athletes will remember his respect for the
game and for the players.
The above obituary and photo are courtesy of Montgomery Steward Funeral Home, Pueblo, CO
The Pueblo Greater Sports Association (GPSA) has announced the passing of one of its own — David "Mike" Spence, a 2007 inductee who was currently living in Pueblo West, CO.
Spence graduated from Pueblo Centennial High School, where he was a member of state champion cross-country teams. He attended Southern Colorado State College and ran cross-country for the school for three years. An accomplished distance runner, he ran multiple Pikes Peak Marathons and Denver Marathons. Mike was a longtime journalist and began his career in Pueblo, Colo., as a sportswriter for The Pueblo Chieftain in 1975. In 1984, he moved to the Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph to work as a beat writer covering the Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos, and the U.S. Olympic Committee. While at the Gazette, he covered five Olympic Games, two Pan American Games, seven U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and numerous Super Bowls.
He also served as copy editor and acting deputy sports editor for the Gazette. From 2000 to 2005, he worked as a writer and editor for the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. He returned to Pueblo in 2005, working in various reporter/editorial roles at the Chieftain and also as the editor of the Pueblo West View. Mike earned several honors for his writing and reporting, including a national award from the Associated Press Sports Editors organization in 1984 and several state/regional awards.
He was voted Colorado Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 1998, the only writer with Pueblo roots to win the award. He was inducted into the Greater Pueblo Sports Association in 2007 and served as its president from 2012 to 2013. He authored the book, “Broncos: Three Decades of Football,” published in 1987. Mike’s greatest loves were history, reading, sports, and most importantly, his family.
The above obituary and photo are courtesy of Montgomery Steward Funeral Home, Pueblo, CO