Mercer County HOF inducts 11

The stars will be shining brightly on Jan. 19 at the Radisson Hotel in West Middlesex

Once again, a sellout crowd of close to 500 will be in attendance as the Mercer County Athletic Hall of Fame holds its 61st banquet, which will honor 11 of the area’s most outstanding athletes of yesteryear.

This will be MCHF’s 61st banquet with a total of 441 having been inducted in past years.

It’s the largest sports function in Mercer County each year and it draws celebrities, past inductees and the general public from all corners of the nation.

Hall of Fame president Jim Tamber was extremely happy with this year’s class, selected by his induction committee and passed by the members of the board of directors.

“We have had many outstanding classes in the past,” he said, “and this is another of our finest.”

Scheduled for induction are Paul Ceremuga (Greenville), Patsy Combine (Sharpsville), Louis Falconi (Farrell), Roger Flynn (Grove City), Dave Goodwin (Sharon), Irwin McCullough (Hickory), Troy Mild (West Middlesex), Jim Patterson (Jamestown), Anthony Perriello (Sharpsville), Robert Stone (Greenville) and George Chalmers (Lakeview, posthumous).

These 11 gentleman have provided Mercer County sports fans with years of enjoyment on the diamonds, football fields. basketball courts and other places of sports endeavors. Now it’s their turn to stand up and be recognized for their achievements.

The big weekend begins Jan. 18 with a gathering of the inductees and their families as they meet with the board of directors to get to know one another better. It’s a sociable evening of gab sessions, picture taking and just plain reminiscing. The affair is held at the Radisson.

Heading up the speaker’s program at Saturday evening’s banquet will be Lloyd Carr, the popular Big Ten coach who most recently stepped down as head football coach at Michigan University. His presentation should be interesting.

Joining Carr at the podium will be former Cleveland Browns coach Sam Rutigliano, who also coached in the college ranks. Lanny Frattare, announcer of Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball games both on radio and television, may be the toastmaster. A limited number of tickets are still on sale and they can be obtained by contacting any member of the board of directors.

One-man show

It’s extremely doubtful that you’ll ever see a more formidable football player in the scholastic ranks than Jeanette High School’s tremendous quarterback and runner, Terrelle Pryor. He’s truly something to behold and he’s a prize catch for any Div. I school in the nation. He not only passes well but he’s equally as proficient in the running game.

He has become the only player in WPIAL history to run and pass for more than 4,000 yards. Rightly so, that’s why he has been branded as the nation’s No. 1 scholastic football player.

Coach Terry Verrelli and his Wilmington Greyhounds had the formidable task of taking on the talented Pryor and the Jeannette Jayhawks in the PIAA Western Regional final on Dec. 8 at Slippery Rock University’s N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

Verrelli, being the outstanding coach that he is, knew his Greyhounds were in for a tremendous test against Pryor and his Jayhawk team. Prior to the game Verrelli said, “There’s no way of stopping this guy, we’re just hoping to slow him down a little.”

After the game in which Wilmington bowed, 41-21, Verrelli was quoted as saying, “He [Pryor] is an unusual human being.”

Against the Greyhounds, the 6-6, 220-pound Pryor rushed for 158 yards and passed for 143, both figures pushing him over the 4,000 yard-mark.

It was the second consecutive year the Greyhounds and the Jayhawks have met in the Western Regional AA final and the second time the Greyhounds have tasted defeat, just one game away from the PIAA state championship clash.

If courage played a part in this titanic struggle, Wilmington carried its banner very high, however, the task was insurmountable. Great effort Greyhounds. There will be other days ahead.

A very Merry Christmas to all and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.