RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Pro football 'hall' ceremonies provide nostalgic memories

As an aspiring middle-aged sportswriter, one of my top-shelf assignments each year was covering the enshrinement ceremonies of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
The ceremonies themselves were more than anyone could expect, but the pro game that followed at Fawcett Stadium was the ice cream on the cake. What a day!
I still have a few souvenirs from the classics, lunch pails which are engraved with the name of the inductees. For instance, one pail is inscribed with the names of Willie Brown, Mike McCormick, Charlie Taylor and Arnie Weinmeister (1984), while another bears the names of Bobby Bell, Sid Gillman, Sonny Jurgensen, Bobby Mitchell and that former Cleveland Brown great, Paul Warfield.
One of the best, however, that I can remember was the induction of that Beaver Falls and New York Jets standout quarterback, Joe Namath. It was super to see Namath enshrined as he will always be remembered for the big upset he led over Baltimore in the Super Bowl.
Five more go in
Those enshrinements were in days past, however, and just last weekend five more gentlemen were inducted at this year's ceremonies -- former Kansas City Chiefs' coach Hank Stram, running back Marcus Allen, James Lofton, Elvin Bethea and Joe DeLamielleure.
Stram, at 80 years of age, was pushed to the stage in a wheelchair. He was too weak to stand and his induction speech was prerecorded. He left the stage before the other inductees made their speeches. A video montage of his career highlights were shown on screens in Fawcett Stadium. It was tearful to say the least, and from what I understand, there was not a dry eye in the house.
Stram, as I remember him, was a fiery coach, a man who had won the hearts and souls of the players. They believed in him and he in them.
What's going on?
I can't ever remember a time when so many young athletes have been in trouble, some much more serious than others.
Kobe Bryant is being accused of assault; Carlton Dotson, a former Baylor basketball teammate of Patrick Dennehy's, claimed he shot and killed the Baylor player; Sharon's Marlin Jackson reportedly struck a man in the face with a bottle; and Ohio State's Maurice Clarett is having problems with his eligibility and some other issues like saying the items reported from a car he was driving and then stolen were exaggerated.
Jackson, who plays for Michigan, was most recently named as one of the top defense backs around. Everyone knows the athletic ability of Clarett. Bryant was one of the NBA's greatest and Dennehy was a top-notch basketball player in college.
What can you say?
Brighter side
There have been some other happenings on a much more brighter note.
For instance, Super Mario is returning for at least one more year of playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are going to need him.
And then there's that guy everyone is talking about, Lance Armstrong, who rode himself into history in Paris by winning his fifth straight Tour de France.
Lemieux said he is feeling much better now, and is ready to go. He had retired once previously but decided to return. At the conclusion of last season, he left everyone with the impression that he was going to retire.
On the air
WPIC-AM (790), owned by Cumulus Broadcasting, will broadcast all 10 of the Thiel College football games this fall. Some of the Tomcat basketball games and baseball contests (in the spring) also are expected to be broadcast by the station.