Inductees

Gary was born in Williamstown, PA. He attended the University of Maryland where he was consensus All-American for 1960 and 1961. He also won All-Conference honors in 1959-60-61. Gary played pro football for ten years with the Cleveland Browns. He was named All-Pro in 1965-66 and 1969. In the 1964 championships, Gary was named MVP. His five TD’s in championship games is an NFL record. In 1965, Gary led the NFL in punting with a 46.7 average. As a receiver, he caught 370 passes during his NFL career with a 16.5 yards average per catch. His lifetime punting average is 42.3. Gary’s post-season play includes the East-West, the Senior Bowl, and the College All-Star games in college, and four NFL championship games in 1964-65-68 and 69.

“Jumbo” Jim Elliott has trained more Olympic track team members than any other American coach. A total of nine medals, six gold and three silver, have been won by Villanova Olympians coached by “Jumbo”. In addition, Jim has turned out 43 team championships for Villanova in the IC4A, the NCAA, the AAU and the USTFF. All told, “Jumbo” has coached 388 individual champions. Because of his outstanding contributions to track and field, “Jumbo” Jim Elliott was named “Coach of the Century” by members of the IC4A. Among his many outstanding former track stars are such well-known athletes as Ron Delany, Charlie Jenkins, Don Bragg, Paul Drayton, Erv Hall, Larry James, and Marty Liquori.

Jack Ferrante had a difficult, if not impossible career path to the NFL. Not only was he not drafted, he never went to college. He first joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941 and came back to stay from 1947 to 1950. His comeback allowed him to play on the Eagles 1948 and1949 NFL Championship teams. For his career he had 169 receptions, for 2,884 yards and 31 touchdowns. He retired after the 1950 season, refusing to be traded.

Dan was an outstanding four-sport athlete at Mt. Carmel High School. He was captain in football, baseball, and track. In 1954-55-56, Dan was an All-State tackle. Twice he was selected for the All-American High School Football team. In track, Dan won the State discus and shot-put titles. By graduation time, Dan was offered 83 football scholarships. Don enrolled in the University of Southern California. As a sophomore, Dan had more playing time than any previous Trojan at the tackle slot. He was first-string tackle for three years, an All-Pacific Coast selection, and an All-American mention. He narrowly missed making the 1960 Olympic team in the discus. He signed with the San Diego Chargers in the AFL. Dan played with Oakland, and spent four years with the Jets. In 1964, he was named AFL All-Pro Offensive Guard, first team.

Jack boxed for 23 years. He fought 102 fights, won 85. He was knocked out once. Jack fought world’s undefeated heavyweight champion Gene Tunney twice. He defeated Tex McEwan, middleweight champion of Canada, and Eddie Revoire, world middleweight contender. He was one of the few boxers able to KO Joe Grimm, who fought a six-round draw with world’s heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.

Press was an American college and professional basketball coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling the Pittsburgh Press on the streets of his hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, an industrial city outside of Pittsburgh. Maravich, Sr. also served in the United States Naval Air Corps during World War II.

Maravich graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1941 and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

Former coach at Aliquippa and Baldwin High Schools with a coaching record of 96-30. Press matriculated to Davis& Elkins College in West Virginia. He later played pro basketball for Detroit, Youngstown, and Pitt Ironmen. Press coached at West Virginia Wesleyan, Davis Elkins, Clemson, North Carolina State, and from 1966 to 1972, at Louisiana State. He is the father of the late Pistol Pete Maravich, outstanding college pro basketball player.

He was the father of basketball player Pete Maravich.

Roman Catholic High School, Philadelphia, three-year letterman in football and basketball, and All-City one year in both sports. College football and basketball at Notre Dame, two years football, quarterback, second team, under Knute Rockne; three years basketball, and captain during a 19-1 junior year. Vince played pro basketball with the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1927-29 years. Also coached football at Catholic High during 1927-29. Became assistant, then head football coach at St. Mary’s in California, 1929-35. Became assistant football coach at Villanova from 1935-42, while scouting for the Cleveland Browns during the same period. In 1943, Vince took over as head football coach at Holy Cross. From 1944-46, he became personnel director for the San Francisco 49ers. From 1946-49, he went to Los Angeles Dons in the same role. From 1949-64, Vince served as the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles who won two titles – 1949 and 1964. Vince was the originator and executive director of BLESTO, a scouting organization representing several National Football League teams, from 1966 to 1976.

A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Murtaugh was working with his father at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. after he graduated from Chester High School when he took a pay cut to start his professional baseball career at age 19 in 1937.

Danny Murtaugh was a player, manager, coach and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known for his 29- year association with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he won two World Series as field manager (in 1961 and 1971). He also played 416 of his 767 career Major League Baseball games with the Pirates as their second baseball. Danny signed at 19 a minor league contract with the St, Louis Cardinals.In June,1941, In the midst of his second consecutive stellar season with the Houston Buffalos in the Texas League, the Phillies purchased his contract and he began his big league career on July 3 as a defensive replacement and the next day became the Phillies starting second basement.

He got into a total of 257 games before joining the US Army in 1943,rejecting the opportunity to play baseball and served in combat with the 97th Infantry in Germany. Despite having good seasons in the minor.he did not catch a break for the majors until traded to the Pirates in 1948.He took over as the Pirates’ second baseman and hit .294, 149 hits and 71 RBIs. After slumping in 1949 he rebounded by hitting .294 in 1950. Overall, Murtaugh was a .254 career lifetime batter with 661 hits, eight
home runs and 219 RBIs in 767 games.
After retiring as a player following the 1951 season, Murtaugh was a minor League manager for the Pirates and joined the coaching staff of the Pirates In 1956 and succeeded Bobby Bragan as manager on August 4, 1958.In 1960, his third full season as manager he led the Pirates to a World Series victory over the New York Yankees. Which he did again in 1971 defeating the favored Baltimore Orioles.

Lawson began his career in New York, competing for the YMCA and the New York Athletic Club. In 1909, Mr. Robertson became track coach for the New York A. C. He then served as track coach at Brooklyn College and New York University. He was appointed head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1916 and held that position until he retired in 1947. Besides coaching at the U. of P., he also coached the U.S. Olympic track teams in 1924, 28, and 32. As a trackman himself, Lawson competed in the Olympics three times – 1904, 1906, and 1908. As a coach, he turned out such outstanding track stars as Barney Berlinger, Bill Carr, Ten Meredith, Gene Venzke, Bill McKniff, and Carl Coan. Few men have endured so long in the Philadelphia sports spotlight as Coach Robertson. His unique place in sports history won him a place in the Helms Hall of Fame.

Mr. Rogowicz chose the role of teacher/coach to a career with the New York Yankees. He has devoted 42 years to the development of young high school athletes. He coached at Plymouth, Newport Township, and Pottsville, piloting teams to many titles, including the coveted PIAA State Championship. In 1967, Mr. Rogowicz was named as the first Charter Member of the Susquehanna University Sports Hall of Fame, in recognition of his being the greatest all-around athlete in the university’s history.

Bobby started his 16-year major league with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1949 and ended it with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964. Along the way he had a record of 119 wins, 99 losses and an ERA of 3.38. He was a three-time All-Star, won 8 Gold Gloves and was the American League MVP in 1952. He joined the 20 wins club that year with a record of 24-7, leading American League pitchers in wins and a 2.47 ERA. He took pride in his fielding and won four Gold Gloves in both the American and National Leagues. In 1962 he started the first game in history for the Houston Colt .45s (now Astros) and got their first win, throwing a complete game.

Nick was born in Bellaire, Ohio and was an outstanding lineman at BellaireHigh School and the University of Cincinnati before joining the Navy in 1943. After World War II he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had drafted him in 1943. With the Steelers, he wore #12 and lined up in the back field in the Steelers single- wing attack. When he retired, Nick remained in Pittsburgh and coached at Pittsburgh Central Catholic and worked construction. He returned to the NFL as a coach with the Steelers in 1954, the Packers in 1958 and the Eagles in 1959. He was named the Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach in 1961-1963, compiling a record of 15-24-3. He became an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns in 1964 and was named Head Coach in 1971, compiling a record 0f 30-24-2 over four seasons. Upon leaving the sidelines, he took a position as Assistant Supervisor of Officials of Officials on PA Hall of Famer Art McNally’s staff at the NFL office in New York.

Pete Suder was a member of the Philadelphia A’s for twelve seasons. He was a superb second baseman, and shared the major league double play record of 217 in one season for many years. Before coming up to the majors, Suder, in 1940, won the Most Valuable Player award while playing for Newark.

Although only 25, Don Tollefson’s journalistic experience belies his youthful age. He entered Stanford Univ. when 17 and almost immediately became a part-time correspondent for both the Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle. As a sophomore in college, Don became sports editor of The Stanford Daily, and during the next year and a half he moved ahead rapidly from entertainment editor – to news editor – and finally editor-in-chief as a 19-year-old junior. While still an undergraduate, Don left Stanford to become a full-time correspondent for the Associated Press in 1974. His first assignment was to cover the Patty Hearst kidnapping. For 6 months he lived outside the Hearst mansion in Hillsborough, California – sending dispatches around the world for the AP. In the fall of ’74, Don became the youngest network football announcer ever when he joined ABC Sports as announcer for college football. He came to ACTION NEWS in 1975 and served as a general assignment reporter and suburban bureau chief – before becoming sports director in 1976. Don Tollefson’s record speaks for itself – he is a man on the move.

Mickey Vernon was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania and attended Villanova University before his major league debut on July 8, 1939. During World War II he served in the United States Navy missing the 1944 and 1945 seasons. In 1953, Vernon’s .337 average denied Cleveland’s Al Rosen (.336) the Triple Crown. The following year, 1954, Vernon had a career high 20 home runs, 97 RBIs and a career high 14 triples. He led the American League in doubles with 33 and second in total bases with 294. Vernon played for 14 full major league seasons (400 bats and more) in his 20-year career. He wound up batting over .335 twice, over .300 five times, and over .290 nine times. He was a two- time AL batting champion. In 1946, his .353 batting mark eclipsed Ted Williams by 11 points. He appeared in 2,409 MLB games without playing in the post-season, third most in history behind Ernie Banks and Luke Appling. As a Pirate coach, he finally earned a World Series ring when the Bucs triumphed in seven games over the New York Yankees.

Former world middleweight boxing champion. Won the title from Vince Dundee whom he defeated in 1934. Yarosz boxed for 13 years before retiring in 1942 with 106 wins, 21 defeats, and 2 draws. Among Teddy’s top opponents were Babe Risko, Billy Conn, Archie Moore, Ken Overton, Solly Krieger, and Ezzard Charles.