NE Chapter of Sports Hall of Fame Has Inductees with Ties to Dunmore

Posted on October 6, 2021 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Anthony Cantafio, Barry Fitzgerald and Jack Lyons, all with Dunmore ties, head this year’s group of 10 being inducted this month into the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

The induction dinner will be held Sunday, October 24, at 5 p.m, at Fiorelli’s, Peckville.

Tickets for the event, including dinner, are $50 for adults and $25 for children 10 and under. For tickets, call Bob Walsh (570-346-2228) or Jerry Valonis (570-498-9461). Walsh is president of the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Program ads run $100 for a full page, $50 for a half page. For program ads, call Tom “Doc” Doherty at 570-313-8141.

Also being inducted are Rich Beviglia, Terry Greene, Paulette Costa Karwoski, Mike Mancuso, the late George Roskos and the late Bill Terlecky who will receive the service award.

Cantafio was an all-scholastic fullback at Dunmore, where he was honored with the Leo Hungerbuler Student Athlete Award. He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where he played for four years.

He began a 49-year football coaching career in 1968 as assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania freshman football team.

He was assistant coach at Mid Valley and Scranton Prep before becoming head football coach at Prep in 1993. As head coach for 14 seasons, he compiled a 77-64 record with 10 winning seasons. His teams were Big 11 champions, 2-year Eastern Conference Class AA champs, 3-year Eastern Conference semi-final runners-up, and Lackawanna Football Conference Division II champions.

In 1982, Cantafio coached wrestling. His team won the Lackawanna League title and he was named Coach of the Year.

Barry Fitzgerald is one of the few local high school coaches to win over 600 games. In a 36-year career beginning at Mid Valley, he won two league titles and one District II championship at Bishop Hannan. His current Holy Cross teams were District II runners-up several times.

His team’s won three league and two District II championships while an assistant at Mid Valley. He coached two league championships as head softball coach at Bishop Hannan.

The Scranton Times honored Fitzgerald by naming him All-Regional Softball Coach of the Year during his tenure at Bishop Hannan.

Jack Lyons is a graduate of Cathedral High School where he was a part of two PCIAA State basketball championships and two Lynett Tournament titles. While coaching at Bishop O’Hara, Scranton High and West Scranton, his teams made 17 state playoff appearances. His team’s won 23 preseason and Holiday championships, two Lackawanna League titles and were District II PIAA runner-up four times.

For the 2008-09 season, he was named Lackawanna League’s Coach of the Year. While at Lackawanna Junior College, coach Lyons was named Region XIX’s all-star coach and WARM radio Coach of the Year. He earned his 500th win coaching West Scranton Feb. 14, 2020.

Paulette Costa Karwoski started her bowling career in 1972 with Gal Galdacci as her coach. She finished her competitive bowling career about 25 years later. She gathered notoriety by rolling the highest average in the Scranton Women’s Bowling Association (SWBA). She had the highest bowling average in the state for five years straight from 1978 through 1982.

She had the highest women’s average (228) in the country from among four-million women bowlers. She was a member of the Sheraton Inn team which recorded the High Team Single game and High Team total scores. These scores are recorded in the Guinness World Book of Records.

She is a member of three Halls of Fame: the Chic Feldman, Women’s All-Star Association (WASA) and the Scranton Women’s Bowling Association.

Scranton Prep graduate Rich Beviglia was a two-time All-Lackawanna League catcher with a career batting average of .429. While playing for the Old Forge American Legion, his two-year batting average was over .400. At the same time, he was selected for both regional and state showcases for Collegiate and Major League scouts.

Beviglia was awarded a full scholarship to Duke where he was a four-year starter as a catcher. He was a two-year captain and three-season All ACC honorable mention, finishing his career with a .314 batting average.

Playing basketball at Scranton Prep, he was the second leading scorer in the Lackawanna League’s Southern Division, MVP of the Lynett Tournament, second team Lackawanna Southern Division all star in 1983 and first team all star in 1984.

He coached baseball at Scranton Prep in 2008 leading his team to the Lackawanna Division I and PIAA District 2 Class AA championships. He led Old Forge to two PIAA District 2 Class A titles.

Terry Greene was an All-Scholastic basketball player at Scranton Tech in 1974. He averaged 22 points and six rebounds per game. He was selected to the Scranton Tribune’s Olyphant Rotary Club’s Dream Games’s South team in 1974 and 1975.

He was an All-Scholastic basketball player at Scranton Central in 1975. He was presented the Aldwin Jones Memorial Award as the South’s team’s most outstanding player. In 1974-75, he was awarded the Theodore J. Wint Post 25 VFW Outstanding Team Player Award.

Green was a basketball official for 36 years. The highlight of his career was officiating the 2006 PIAA State AA championship game.

Michael Mancuso earned Small School second team All-State honors playing football for Carbondale Area. As a specialist, he scored 19 touchdowns. He is one of the few athletes at Carbondale whose number is retired.

As a track star, he was the District 2 AA 100 meter champion while finishing fourth in the 100 meter dash at the PIAA track and field championships. That earned him All-State honors. He was the District 2 champion in both the 100 and 200 meter run in 1992 and 1993.

He was awarded a football scholarship to William and Mary, but transferred to East Stroudsburg. At ESU, he was a four-year letterman and the school’s first 1,000-yard receiver. He was a Division II first team All American and two-time Don Hansen Football Gazette All-American. He was a two-time first team All-PSAC All-Conference Eastern Division All -Star.

The late George Roskos was a graduate of the University of Scranton and member of its first wrestling team. He was head wrestling coach at West Scranton from 1973 through 1986. He posted a career record of 147-50-2. His teams were Lackawanna League champions in 1976, 1977 and 1986. He was selected Coach of the Year twice.

He served as president of the Lackawanna Scholastic Wrestling League of which he was a co-founder. A total of 12 of his former athletes went on to coach varsity wrestling at various schools in the Lackawanna League.

The late Terlecky began his baseball front office career in 1978. He joined the staff of the Rochester Red Wings starting a 40-plus year career in baseball. He worked on the AA and AAA levels as well as Independent Leagues. He operated a Collegiate Summer Baseball League in New England. He received the International League Executive of the Year in 1991. He was the recipient of the Frank Cashen Award in 2003. The award is given to the top executive in the New York Mets organization.

A baseball pioneer, he was named the first general manager of the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Red Barons, ushering professional baseball’s return to the area in 1989. He continued for eight successful seasons with attendance topping a half million in four of those years.

He brought the AAA All-Star game to Moosic in 1995.

He oversaw the completion of Lackawanna County Stadium and was a fixture there during his tenure with the Red Barons.

(Editors’s Note: Dunmorean sports editor Steve Svetovich is the 10th member of this class as the recipient of this year’s Media Award. He has been writing for The Dunmorean for close to 32 years and previously was a reporter for The Scrantonian Tribune, The Sunday Sun, Mid Valley News, The Scranton Weekly, The Pennsylvania Athlete, The Potter Enterprise in Coudersport, The Hawley News Eagle, The Scranton Times and The Baseball Bulletin.

He received an award from United Press International (UPI) for his interview with Pete Gray, baseball’s only one armed position player ever. The story was named best sports story in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania market in 1986 and can be heard world wide on the web today through the Society for American Baseball Research. The live taped interview is in the library archives of the National Baseball Hall of Fame).

Sports Hall of Fame Induction Has Dunmore Flavor

Posted on November 5, 2019 by The Dunmorean

sports

By Steve Svetovich

The Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame had a Dunmore flavor during its 36th annual Induction Ceremony at the University of Scranton DeNaples Center last month.

The Induction Ceremonial Dinner, held October 27, included 10 new members plus an annual media award selection, Kent Westling.

Half of the 10 new inductees have Dunmore ties. And those five include long time Bishop O’Hara and Holy Cross basketball coach Al Callejas, former Bishop O’Hara softball and basketball standout Sara Harris Walsh, former Dunmore High School baseball and basketball star Kevin Walsh, Dunmore High School Superintendant John Marichak who was a three-sport athlete at Scranton Tech and four-year football starter at Villanova University and former Scranton Prep All-Scholastic football player Thomas O’Donnell who lettered at the Division I college level. O’Donnell had a contingent of Dunmore family members, including his brother Al, present at his induction.

The other five inductees were Scranton Women’s Bowling Association standout Pamela Kiesel, distinguished long time basketball official James “Red” McAndrew, 42-year PIAA wrestling official Peter Smith, two-time Montrose All-State football lineman Chris Snee who was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants and two-time PIAA All-State cross country champion Carly Graytock Shea from Forest City High School.

Bob Walsh, former University of Scranton assistant basketball coach, is Northeastern Chapter President.

Former Mid Valley baseball standout Jerry Valonis is Vice President of the Northeastern Chapter. Judy Igoe Carr, who provided the remarks, is secretary. Tom “Doc” Dougherty is treasurer.

The executive committee of the Northeastern Chapter includes Walsh, Valonis, Igoe Carr, Rich Revta, Jerry Kowalski, Jerry Dempsey, Dougherty and Alice Foley who provided the benediction.

Jim Coles, of WNEP-TV, served as toastmaster for the annual event.

The U.S. Marine Corps provided presentation of colors.

Callejas, in 25 years of high school basketball coaching and still going strong, has won 488 games, eight Lackawanna League titles and nine District II championships. His teams currently have earned 12 consecutive berths to the PIAA State tournament. Callejas spoke of having the unique opportunity to coach his sons at Holy Cross.

Graytock Shea won both the District 12 Cross Country title and was the 3200m champ at Forest City. She was a two-time PIAA All-State cross country champion. She was a three-time all-Patriot League cross country performer and two-time Regional Mid Atlantic All-Star at Bucknell University.

Kiesel was the first woman in the Scranton Women’s Bowling Association to roll a perfect 300 game. In 1981, she was one of only four women in the United States with two 800-series to her credit. She is a member of the Scranton WBA and Chic Feldman Hall of Fame.

Marichak was a baseball, basketball and football standout at Scranton Tech. He was a two-time All-Scholastic linebacker and MVP in the Lackawanna League basketball All-Stsr game. He was Yankee Conference All-Academic during a four-year football career at Villanova. He was head football coach at Honesdale and Scranton High School. He compiled a 57-46 record in nine years at Scranton where his teams were two-time Lackawanna Football Conference Division I champs. The self-made Marichak spoke of the importance and influence of his family during his speech.

McAndrew was a two-sport athlete at Scranton Tech. As a highly respected basketball official, he worked Division I, II and III. He has been a PIAA high school basketball official for over 35 years and received the John Nucatola award at the College Basketball Officials Association banquet. Popular and well spoken, he received plenty of cheers at the Induction and drew laughs from the crowd during his speech. He spoke of attending a camp for officials and learning the trade before going back later in his career to mentor and teach himself.

O’Donnell was an All-Scholastic football player at both offensive guard and defensive tackle at Scranton Prep. He is the first ever Scranton Prep player to,letter at the Division I college level. He was a two-year letter winner for the Army football team. He won the Commander and Chiefs Trophy at West Point and was selected to play in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Smith was team captain for the football, wrestling and baseball teams at Abington Heights High School. As head wrestling coach at Abington, his teams were 56-15 from 1968 through 1973. His teams were Suburban League champions in 1970, 1972, 1973 and co-champs in 1971. As a 42-year PIAA wrestling official, he worked in 12 State championships. He received the prestigious Abington Area Award for 50 years of service to wrestling.

Snee was Regional Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 as a member of Montrose High School football. He was a second-team All American football lineman at Boston College. He was chosen by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft and went on to win two Super Bowls with the team before retiring in 2014. He is currently a scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Walsh was MVP for both the baseball and basketball teams at Dunmore High School. He was a 1,000-point scorer and collected over 500 rebounds at Dunmore. He was a two-time Lynett Memorial Tournament selection and also its MVP. In baseball, he was a two-time League and District champion at Dunmore. He was a two-time Freedom League and Middle Atlantic Conference champion at Wilkes College. He was named six times to the All Tournament team averaging 10 points and eight rebounds over his college career at Wilkes. He is currently an NCAA basketball official and PIAA baseball and basketball official. He worked the Sweet-16 tournament on the Division II level for basketball.

Harris Walsh was a four-time Lackawanna League Southern Division All-Star and three-time Chic Feldman Tournament selection at Bishop O’Hara High School in Dunmore. She was three-time MVP of the Scranton Jaycees/LJC Holiday Tournament. She was a 1,000 point scorer and All Region selection in basketball three times. She was a two-time All Regional softball player. She was selected to the Patriot League’s All Rookie team for basketball at Lafayette College.

Westling was the well respected Play-by-Play broadcaster for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons from 1989 through 2007. He worked as the football and basketball radio announcer for Wilkes University and a Play-by-Play announcer for University of Scranton basketball. He was TV Sports Director and Anchor for WYOU from 1981 through 1987. He was Play-by-Play announcer for the St, Louis Blues hockey team of the NHL.Westling has interviewed the likes of late heavy weight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, former boxing champs Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes and the late Joe Frazier, actor Paul Newman and race car driver Richard Petty.

Henzes, Curry, Peck, Klein Prindle Inducted into State Hall of Fame

Posted on November 7, 2018 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore Bucks legendary football coach Jack Henzes, late Berwick football coach George Curry, Abington Heights graduate Abby Peck and Scranton Prep graduate Kathleen Klein Prindle were among 12 inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Woodlands, Wilkes Barre.

Bob Walsh, president of the Northeastern Chapter, performed the Welcome during the ceremonies for the Class of 2018.

Jim Coles served as toastmaster for the 56th induction ceremony and banquet.

The presentation of colors was performed by the Northeastern Detachment Marine Corps League Department of PA.

Sue Lucas sang the national anthem. Joe Bordell introduced Hall of Fame president Ed Ludwig.

Retired Dunmore teacher and former Lady Bucks basketball coach Alice Foley of the Northeast Chapter provided the invocation and benediction.

The event was hosted by the Northeastern Chapter in collaboration with the Carbon County, Lehigh Valley-Pocono, John Popple-Luzerne, Allen Rogowicz, Ed Romance, Bernie Romanoski, Jerry Wolman-Northern Anthracite, and Bernie Romanoski Chapters.

The 12 inductees were Jack Henzes, George Curry, Abby Peck, Kathleen Klein Prindle, Joe Battista, Robert “Tick” Cloherty, Bruce Dal Canton, Abe Everhart, Tom Harbert, Karen Klassner, Manuel Pihakis and Robert Shoudt.

Henzes, who has the second most high school football wins in state history to Curry, was absent due to illness related to a heart ailment. His induction was accepted by his son Randy.

His career started as an assistant football coach at Blakely High School under his dad, the late “Papa Bear” John Henzes, Sr. In 1966 he became head coach at Wyoming Area and in 1971 was named, and currently is, head football coach at Dunmore where he has a record of 435 wins, 160 losses and eight ties. He has the most wins for an active coach in the state.

He led Dunmore to the Eastern Conference title in 1985, Class A state title in 1989, Class A state Eastern title in 2012, Class AA in 2007, 2014 state Eastern title, District 2 “A” 2012 title, and District 2 “AA” titles in 1995, 1999, 2007-09 and 2014-2017.

He was inducted into the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame, joining his late dad, in 2009. He is a member of the Chic Feldman Foundation Hall of Fame of Northeast PA.

George Curry was the winningest high school coach in Pennsylvania. He died back in 2016 from complications with ALS.

The late Curry, whose 455 high school football wins are the most in state history, accumulated six state championships and three national champions. Curry’s son Cosmo accepted the induction.

Curry coached 38 years at Berwick, four years at Lake Lehman and three years at Wyoming Valley West. He coached 12 regular season undefeated teams and had a 47-game winning streak from 1981 to 1985. He was named Coach of the Year 28 times and helped get millions of dollars in scholarships for his players.

Abington Heights graduate Peck represented the United States at the World Championships as a member of the 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1987 National Teams and the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Teams. She was elected Captain of the 1988 Olympic Rowing Team. She is a 12 time National Champion, World Championship and Goodwill Games silver medalist and six times winner at the Head of Charles in Boston. She coached at Smith and Wellesley Colleges and at Masters and pre-Elite levels, where her teams won numerous medals.

As a coach, she worked with the “One-In-Nine” rowing program for cancer patients/survivors, helped create the ‘WeCanRow” program to teach cancer patients/survivors to row and regain physical capability and developed an exercise protocol for a Dana Farber cancer study. The free exercise program she created locally for cancer survivors is in its 11th year.

Kathleen Klein Prindle was a four-year swimming letterman at Scranton Prep. She assisted in preparing eight athletes in the 2008 Beijing Games resulting in two Olympic medals (Photo Credit: Abington Journal)

Scranton Prep graduate Klein Prindle has been involved in aquatics since 1978, first as a swimmer and later as a coach. Her elite athletes include National Champions and qualifiers from over 18 countries. She founded Performance Aquatics where Olympic hopefuls from all over the world are trained alongside local swimmers, achieving success locally at Junior Olympic/Sectional/State, to nationally at NCAA/USA Nationals, and internationally at World Champs/Olympic Games levels. She created nine Learn-to-Swim programs, 2 USA Swimming competitive teams, two US Masters teams, a Girls/Boys Varsity team and instituted middle school swimming locally.

Battista, known as the “Godfather of Penn State Hockey,” began his career at Penn Hills high school where he was a three-time hockey team captain. He helped secure the largest gift in Penn State history from Terry and Kim Pegula, Carbondale, in 2010 to field varsity men’s and women’s hockey teams and construct the Pegula Ice Arena. He was named Associate Athletic Director to oversee the project. In 2013, he became Vice-President of the Buffalo Sabres.

Cloherty was a four-time first-team PSAC offense and defense player at Clarion State College and was football captain in 1961. He was WPIAL football official for 35 years and basketball official for 25 years.

The late Dal Canton pitched the Cal Vulcans to the District 30 title and first NAIA National tournament. His 1.30 ERA remains a school and PSAC record. He pitched in the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves. He had a career big league record of 51-49 with a 3.67 ERA and later served as pitching coach for the Braves. He once set a team record retiring 23 consecutive batters for the Royals.

Everhart was coach of the Uniontown High school Red Raiders basketball team for 29 years. His career record was 549-149, including four WPIAL titles and two PIAA titles.

Former NFL star Billy “White Shoes” Johnson who escorted PA Sports Hall of Fame inductee Robert Stoudtposes with Steve Svetovich at recent Hall of Fame induction dinner. Johnson is one of 75 players named to NFL’s all-time 75th anniversary team.

Harbert was the youngest head wrestling coach at Saint Vincent College and went on to Latrobe compiling a 202-87-5 record. He earned seven WPIAL titles. He started the varsity men and women’s cross country and men and women’s lacrosse programs at Saint Vincent.

Klassner took over the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights field hockey team in 1973 and currently holds a 660-171-6 record, including 17 undefeated seasons and six state titles.

Pihakis was Western PA’s Interscholastic Athletic League wrestling champion in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952. At Canonsburg High School, he had a 99-1 wrestling record. He had a 58-8 wrestling record at Indiana University where he was All-American.

Shoudt was escorted by former NFL great Billy “White Shoes” Johnson who was named one of the 75 greatest players in pro football history. Shoudt coached track and field at numerous state high schools. His teams won 10 Penn Relays titles. He coached Billy White Shoes on one of his high school track and field teams. He is a six-time Big East Coach of the Year.