Press release: (PaSportshof-montco Chapter)

The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame is proud to honor a deep, deserving and impactful class of individuals whose accomplishments will be celebrated among friends, teammates, family, fans and admirers Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the 53rd annual PA Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration at the Valley Forge Casino Resort, 1160 First Avenue, in King of Prussia.

We congratulate those being honored this year; Joe Paterno… P.J. Carlesimo … Chuck Fusina…Kristy Kowal…Matt Bahr… Neal Olkewicz… Foge Fazio… Bill Koman…Eric Crabtree…Chip Lutz and Gray Simons. Former Governor Ed Rendell will be honored with a special award. Collectively they have won multiple Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, Olympic Medals, NBA Championships, NCAA Championships, MVP Awards, International Titles, National Player and Coach of the Year awards and have spent hundreds of man-years giving back to their sports and communities. Thank you to all.

While all of these luminaries have been toasted and honored in various ways over the years, this October 24^th the inductees will be joining an elite and exclusive PA Sports Hall of Fame club which includes previously enshrined immortals such as; Arnold Palmer, Roberto Clemente, Chuck Bednarik, Jim Thorpe, Franco Harris, Joe Frazier, Stan Musial, Dick Allen, Betsy King, Jimmy Foxx, Steve Van Buren, Red Grange, Cathy Rush, Richie Asburn, Roger Penske, Willie Mosconi, Connie Mack, Josh Gibson, Tom Brookshier, Tom Gola, Roy Campanella, Robin Roberts, Greasy Neale, Harry Kalas, Pop Warner, Curt Simmons, Tommy McDonald and Christy Mathewson. Please come join the celebration, you are all invited.

------- Joesph V. Paterno, Penn State Football (Deceased). The winningest coach in NCAA Division 1 Football history, 409 Games. College Football Hall of Fame, Two time National Champion, Five undefeated seasons, an NCAA record 24 Bowl wins. Coached 48 Academic All-Americans, 250 NFL Draft Picks, 9 College and 3 NFL Hall of Famers. Joe was also named Sport’s Illustrated 1986 Sportsman of the Year.

------- P. J. Carlesimo, Basketball Coach. Coached the Seton Hall Pirates to the 1989 NCAA National Championship Game and was named NCAA Coach of the Year. Twice selected as Big East Coach of the Year. Olympic Gold Medal winner with 1992 Dream Team as Assistant Coach. Head Coach of the NBA Trail Blazers, Warriors, SuperSonics, Thunder and Interim Head Coach of the Nets. Won three NBA Championships as Lead Assistant Coach to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.

------- Kristy Kowal, Swimming. In 2000 Kristy was named the NCAA Woman of the year for all sports. Kristy won the Silver medal in the 200m breaststroke at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She is a two-time World Champion who broke 8 American records and 1 World Record. Kristy was the first American woman to win the 100 Breaststroke and break the 1:00 barrier. She won 8 NCAA titles and 10 USA titles while at the University of Georgia.

------- Chuck Fusina, Football/PSU. As Penn State Quarterback Chuck went 27 – 4 over his career, and was named the Maxwell Award winner and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1978. Chuck was named the Sporting News USFL Player of the Year in 1984 after leading the Philadelphia Stars to the USFL Championship and being named the MVP of the Championship game. Chuck also led the Stars to the USFL title in 1985 and played pro-football with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. In his senior year at Penn State Chuck was named 1^st team All- American by the AP, UPI, Walter Camp and Kodak teams.

------- Matt Bahr, Football/Soccer/ Neshaminy. Matt joins his father in the PA Sports Hall of Fame. Matt won two Super Bowl rings, first with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980, and then kicking the game-winning field goal in the NY Giants 20-19 win over the Bills in 1991. He played 16 years in the NFL for the Steelers, 49ers, Browns, NY Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots finishing with his career as the NFL’s 25^th leading scorer. He set an NFL playoff game record of 5 field goals in the 1990 NFC Championship game, a 15-14 Giants win over the 49ers. Matt played on Bowl winning teams for Joe Paterno while at Penn State, winning NCAA All-American honors in 1978. While at Penn State Matt was a consensus All-American Soccer player. He went on to play professional soccer in the North American Soccer League.

------- Neal Olkewicz, Football/Phoenixville. Neal has played in three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins and won two rings ,one in 1982 over the Dolphins and another over the Broncos in 1987. Neal was a starting Linebacker for the Skins for 150 games from 1979 to 1989 - averaging over 100 tackles per year. He was voted one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all-time. While with the University of Maryland Terrapins Neal made several All-American teams, and in his senior year was captain and MVP. He graduated Maryland as their all-time leader in tackles.

------- Eric Crabtree Football/University of Pittsburgh/NFL. Eric was a two-way player for the University of Pittsburgh, earning Time, UPI and AP All-American honors. Eric went on to play 83 games in the NFL, catching 164 passes for 2,663 yards for the Broncos, Bengals and Patriots.

------- Gray Simons Wrestling/Lock Haven/Olympics. Gray finished his Lock Haven wresting career with 91 wins and only 1 loss and a 4 time NAIA Champion. His only loss as a Freshman to the defending NCAA national champion. Gray wrestled for both the 1960 and 1964 US Olympic teams and he was named the number 1 light weight wrestler of all-time by Amateur Wresting News. Gray had a 36 year coaching career where he won 2 NAIA National Titles. He is in 7 Halls of Fame including the US National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

------- Bill Koman Football/UNC/NFL. Bill started his NFL career as one of three rookies to make the Baltimore Colts, teammates Johnny Unitas and Lenny Moore being the other two. During Bill’s 12 year NFL career he also played with the Eagles and Cardinals, twice being named All-Pro. After graduating from the University of North Carolina Bill was chosen to play in the Blue-Grey College All-Star game.

------- Chip Lutz, Golf. Golfweek Magazine named Chip National Senior Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011. He is only the third person in history to win back to back British Senior Amateur Open Championships, 2011 & 2012. A University of Florida graduate, Chip has also won the Canadian Senior Amateur, the Berks, Philadelphia and PA Amateur titles as well as twice winning the Silver Medal for low Amateur rounds in the British Senior Open.

------- Serafino “Foge” Fazio, Football Coach (Deceased) Foge played center and linebacker at Pitt from 1956-1960 and was drafted by the AFL's Boston Patriots.  He began coaching at Coraopolis and Ambridge high schools then joined the college ranks coaching at Boston University, Harvard, Cincinnati and the University of Pittsburgh.  As defensive coordinator at Pitt, his defenses were ranked #1 in the nation in both rushing defense and totaldefense in 1980 and 1981.  Foge served as Pitt's Head Coach from 1982-1985 and led the Panthers to the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls.  Following a stint as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Fogejoined the Atlanta Falcons as special teams coach.  His 15 year NFL career included linebackerscoach or defensive coordinator positions for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, WashingtonRedskins, and Cleveland Browns.

In addition to the above elected inductees, we are proud to announce the Honorable Edward G Rendell will be the recipient of the first ever Pennsylvania Sports HOF Award for Pioneering Leadership in Pennsylvania Sports. This award will be given annually to the person most committed to supporting and advancing the Pennsylvania sports community as a whole. The formal name of the award will be revealed at the October 24^th Banquet.

As the most visible, vocal, supportive and passionate leader in Pennsylvania the only logical choice for this award is Ed Rendell. From his days at the University of Penn and the Palestra, to his iconic dive at the reopening of the Hunting Park pool as “America’s Mayor” that gave city children and their parents hope, through stadium openings, closings, eras of winning and losing the passion and support has always been there… whether it is sharing his thoughts from a fervent fan point of view on Comcast SportsNet, the Daily News, CBS Radio / 94 WIP, or in his actions that have supported untold members of the athletic community over decades the Governor is the definition of this Award.

…….In addition to the Saturday 10/24 Banquet, the PA Sports Hall of Fame Weekend Celebration will feature; a Friday evening 10/23 All-Star Concert / Party featuring well-known artists to be announced at a later date. There will also be a 1pm Saturday Penn State v Maryland viewing party in the Valley Forge Casino’s Deuce’s Wild Bar. Come and join Athletes, Celebrities, Alumni and fans in this weekend celebration.

Tickets to the Pennsylvania’s Sports Hall of Fame October 24th^th awards dinner are available at $75 each ($750 for a 10-person table) online at www.MontcoSportsHoF.org, or from Chapter president David Ritting at 476 Brookwood Rd., Wayne, PA 19087; phone 610 256-0300. Issue checks or money orders to PSHoF, Montco Chapter.

The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1962 to perpetuate the memory of athletes who have brought lasting fame and recognition to the State of Pennsylvania through their athletic achievements. The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers who consider their work a labor of love. In addition, the PA Sports Hall of Fame is dedicated to supporting and giving back to youth sports organizations in support of future generations of athletes.