May 31, 2026 By Rob Burchianti 9 min read

To Jay Reckard, being chosen for induction into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame is more than just a personal, individual honor.

The humble Reckard used his selection as part of the Class of 2026 to recognize the many other talented athletes that came out of his alma mater at Fairchance-Georges.

“I’m very honored to be included in the 2026 Hall of Fame class,” Reckard said when discussing his impending induction on Hall of Fame co-founder George Von Benko’s Sports Line Talk Show on WMBS Radio recently. “I was surprised to learn I was nominated and then even more surprised to learn that I had made the ballot and was (to be) inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.”

Reckard is only the second person affiliated with Fairchance-Georges to be chosen for induction and the first as an athlete from his old high school, which eventually consolidated with German and the old Albert Gallatin high schools to form Tri-Valley, which changed its name to Albert Gallatin a few years later.

Runners basketball coach Dan Andria, who also coached at the consolidated AG as well as at Geibel Catholic, is the only other member of the Hall of Fame associated with F-G.

“I was very proud to be a Fairchance-Georges Runner,” said Reckard, who starred in football and basketball and also lettered in baseball in high school before moving on to a highly successful football career at Indiana University of Pa. “There were a lot of really great athletes that played at that high school before me. Some great friends like Billy Boni and Pat McDonough, Greg Budner, Jeff Kopas, Chris Pegg, Brian McGhee … all guys that were better football players, basketball players than me.

“So I’m really kind of pleased just to represent all those gentlemen as we move forward with the 2026 class.”

Reckard was a four-year letterman in football and a three-year letterman in basketball at Fairchance-Georges and was a captain and an All-County player in both sports. He also lettered in baseball for three years and was his school’s B’nai B’rith scholarship winner before moving on to IUP and then to an impressive 30-year career in the military where he achieved the rank of United States Army Colonel.

“Fairchance-Georges was a very small school. You play at a small school, you participate in every sport,” Reckard said. “I was very fortunate that my dad, JF Reckard, coached a lot of the teams I played on. He was my baseball coach, and my football coach when I was a senior. He gave me really the most important things that a father can give a son and it was the opportunity, opportunity for education and the opportunity to play sports.

“I was lucky as a freshman to get the chance to join the varsity football team and participate at that level. Then other guys, like coach Dan Andria gave me a chance to start on the basketball team. We had a good deal of success while I was at Fairchance-Georges, especially in basketball, making the playoffs the three years, my sophomore, junior and senior year, and we fielded some pretty good football teams in those days as well.”

Reckard was the Runners’ quarterback.

“We were on the cusp of that 1980s when teams started to finally throw the football,” Reckard explained. “We ran the ball first as an option but in the 80s you really saw pro-style offenses come about. As a quarterback I got the chance to throw the football a little bit in my freshman, sophomore, junior and even senior year.”

Reckard threw for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns during his time at F-G while rushing for 12 TDs as well.

“In 1984 I was fortunate, I ended up I think 12th in the WPIAL in passing and as I look back through that list, there were a lot of really, really great quarterbacks that went on to play in college,” Reckard said. “A real interesting era of football in Fayette County when the ball finally started to get passed a little bit.”

The Runners top receiver while Reckard as throwing the ball at F-G was a tight end, not a wide receiver.

“I had a great friend, Greg Budner, who caught the majority of those touchdown passes,” Reckard said. “Greg was a great tight end. He went on to play football at Waynesburg College and received accolades there as an athlete.

“Good friends count. Another great friend, Joey Kissinger, Joey passed just a while ago (Jan. 12 at the age of 57), but in 1984 we threw a 78-yard touchdown pass that ranked second in the WPIAL that year.”

In basketball, Reckard led the Runners in scoring his senior season of 1985-86.

“I played center on that team,” Reckard pointed out. “We had been playing the previous two years at the double-A level. As a senior we moved back to the single-A level and I had the opportunity to play with other great players for Dan Andria. I think I averaged 17 points a game that year. Finished the year just shy of 300 points.”

Reckard played baseball in the spring and felt it was normal to be a three-sport athlete in high school.

“I loved the fact that as the seasons changed I moved onto a different sport,” Reckard said. “I watched lots of great athletes before me, to include my uncle Duane Reckard who played 20 years-plus in the Fayette Baseball County League. I watched those guys do it, and when I was a young man I wanted to be a three-sport athlete. I wanted to play football, baseball, basketball the way that they did.”

While Reckard excelled more in football and basketball he was happiest in spring on the diamond.

“I loved being a football player, always did, but baseball was just flat out fun,” Reckard said.

It was football where he made his mark in college, though.

“I was very lucky. Frank Cignetti, the Hall of Fame coach, ended up being at IUP and I was fortunate enough to be in his very first recruiting class along with Paul Kovell from Laurel Highlands,” Reckard recalled. “Paul ended up being my roommate as a freshman. We both got the opportunity to train and be a part of the beginning of a real winning tradition.”

Reckard was recruited to play defense, which he also starred at in high school in addition to playing quarterback, but another position eventually presented itself to him at IUP and he seized the opportunity.

“I really went to IUP to play linebacker. As a freshman we were going through training camp and I saw that I was slowly moving from linebacker to probably a defensive end at the time,” Reckard said.

“Your parents tell you early on, ‘What’s your favorite position to play?’ And your answer is always, ‘Whatever position you need me at coach.’ We just so happened to have some injuries on the offensive line, specifically at center. I got asked the question if I would be interested in trying. I saw it as a way to get myself on the field early, so I said yes, I will take on that challenge and I will try to become an offensive lineman.”

Reckard became a key part of IUP’s offensive line.

“I went on from there and played center, guard and tackle over the course of the next few years,” Reckard said. “I was probably big as a quarterback in high school so it wasn’t that big of a leap. It was also a great age of weight training and training tables, so I was able to, in a healthy way, gain the size needed and the strength to play on the offensive line.”

The Indians posted a 39-9 record and won the 1986 and 1987 PSAC championships while Reckard played there.

“It started off a long stretch of winning seasons for IUP,” Reckard pointed out. “We were fortunate enough to play in the Division II NCAA playoffs in ’87, ’88 and ’89. We made it to the semifinals in ’89. We beat Grand Valley State in the first round, 34-24, went on and beat Portland State on the west coast, 17-0, before falling to the eventual champion Mississippi College in the semifinals.”

Reckard was a team captain and an Academic All-American at IUP.

“It’s the foundation of your future and what you do, when you study in college,” Reckard said. “Football was obviously a very big part of my life but I knew that I had to be successful academically. My dad was kind of most proud of the B’nai B’rith award as well as being an Academic All-American.”

Reckard recalled the beginnings of his military career at IUP.

“While at IUP one of the requirements was to complete a class that gave you credit for physical education,” Reckard explained. “ROTC was offered as an alternative and it fit my schedule a little bit better than the traditional classes.

“So I signed up for ROTC at IUP, found out that it fit my personality pretty well, it was Army ROTC, and I was offered then a two-year scholarship from the Army. So in addition to being on a football scholarship, I had the added benefit of an ROTC scholarship. Then upon graduation from IUP I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Six months after graduation I was participating in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait.”

Reckard remains involved in the military.

“I still work in the defense industry,” Reckard said. “Every day I try to go out and do the same thing. I try to make the lives of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines better, trying to make sure that they are properly equipped to fight whatever war the nation comes up with us next.”

To purchase tickets for the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame luncheon/social or to register for the annual golf outing, both of which will take place on June 19 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club, contact Katie Propes by phone (724-460-9231) or email (katie.propes@bldr.com).