Pre-eminence
Local athletes honored at banquet The Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame’s second banquet held last Saturday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, was a rousing success with over 760 people attending, an increase of about 160 from last year.
It’s good to see so many people come out to take part in such a worthwhile event. Fayette County has always had more than it’s share of outstanding athletes, and it’s great to see them honored for their hard work. They’ve also displayed exemplary character along the way and that certainly should be an inspiration to our young people today.
Hall of Fame co-founders George Von Benko and Jes Hutson, along with Board Chairman Chris Cluss, deserve a lot of credit. The founders had been told it would take at least two years to even get the new hall on its feet. To have come so far, so fast is a real testament to their hard work and many others who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the banquet an outstanding event.
This year’s inductees also impressed not just with their records of achievement, but with excellent speeches and fond remembrances.
In the 1900-49 era, the inductees were:
n Former Uniontown High School and Pitt basketball standout Charley Hyatt.
n Former South Union High School and Cornell football and baseball star Robert “Rip” Haley.
In the 1950-59 era, the inductees were:
n Former Uniontown High School and Ohio State University football stalwart Francis “Moose” Machinsky.
n Former South Union four-sport star Rich Novak who played quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins.
In the 1960-69 era, the inductees were:
n Former Geibel Catholic High School and Major League Baseball player Bob Bailor.
n Former Uniontown High School track star Joe Thomas.
In the 1970-90 era, the inductee was:
n Former Laurel Highlands and NBA player Daniel “Gus” Gerard.
Two were inducted in the coaches category:
n Former Masontown High School football Coach Gene Franks.
n Rutgers University Women’s Basketball Coach Vivian Stringer.
n The slot in the Special Recognition category is filled by former longtime Brownsville Telegraph sports editor Bob Petriello.
Two teams were selected in the 2010 class:
n Uniontown High School’s 1965 undefeated WPIAL Championship football squad.
n St. John’s High School’s 1965 PCIAA Class C State basketball champs.
It was fitting that 14 Fayette County Scholar/Athletes from seven high schools, two students from Penn State Fayette and numerous other high school athletes were also honored during the event.
The Scholar/Athletes used to be honored at a separate event, but changes in the last few years resulted in a merger of their annual banquet with the Hall of Fame inductions. Simply put, it’s been a perfect match, and we appreciate the Hall of Fame’s efforts to honor these fine individuals.
While all the inductees certainly have done many wonderful things, the most accomplished of them had to be Stringer, who is the third winningest coach in women’s college basketball with an incredible record of 813-269. She’s also the only coach in NCAA history to lead three different women’s teams to the Final Four. Last year, she was inducted in the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame.
As Stringer has done on numerous occasions, she was quick to credit her growing up in Fayette County as one of the reasons for her success.
“This is a celebration of yourselves, not about me or any of us,” she said of the other inductees. “It’s about the people of Fayette County. Beyond where we live does not mean where we stay. It means we too can have a dream.”
To hear so many former standouts – many who have gone on to live elsewhere – speak so fondly of Fayette County is an important reminder that we really do have a lot of positives in this area and a lot to be thankful for here.
It’s sometimes tempting to forget that in the everyday minutiae, events like the induction ceremony help all of us remember. As Stringer said, the celebration is really of “the people of Fayette County.”
The best thing is that there are literally hundreds of other outstanding athletes who will be inducted into Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame in the coming years.
It guarantees that the induction banquet will be an outstanding event for many years to come.