For the past 60 years, The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame has honored and inducted over 780 incredible men and women who have made a lasting impact in Pennsylvania through extraordinary athletic achievement and contributions. Whether these activities have been achieved on or off the field, we honor them. Through our future virtual museum, we educate and celebrate their achievements for years to come.
The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s 2024 Induction Ceremony and Dinner is Saturday, November 2, 2024 at Delaware County’s The Drexelbrook Event Center..
Glen Bones Adams
Deceased
Year Inducted:2005
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University of Pennsylvania triple threat tailback, leading nationally ranked Quakers to 1952 Ivy League Championship; named Colliers Magazine All-American, AP All-American, All East, All Ivy, Pennsylvania College All State, UP National Player of the Week, set Penn touchdown passing record for single game (4) and total season passing yardage in one season (1,200 plus). Earned 11 Mt. Carmel High School varsity letters. Named All-State and Lower Anthracite Football Player of the Year (1947-1948).
Maria Fantanarosa
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Marie L. Fantanarosa was Mount Carmel Area High School, State All Time Leading Scorer with 3,823 points from 1981-1985. Most points in a season with 1,318 and most points in freshman season with 886. Career total ranks in top ten nationally. Two-time All Mid-American Conference Selection at Miami University in Ohio. Ninth all time in scoring with 1,086. Currently in her eighth season as head coach at Miami, captured her first MAC East Division title in 2002-03 and in 2003-04 won the overall MAC Championship. Named MAC Coach of the Year.
Scott Fitzkee
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Scott A. Fitzkee was drafted in 1979 by the Eagles and played with the Eagles in the '81 Super Bowl. Scott played four years in the NFL and was invited in '83 to join the Philadelphia Stars in the U. S. Football League. Played three years with Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars. A Penn State graduate, he held the record of 11 touchdowns and as a Lion played in numerous bowl games from 1976-79. He was the MVP in the Japan Bowl. Scott graduated from Red Lion H.S. in York County in 1975. He was a star running back for three years. Scott was inducted into the Susquehanna Valley Chapter.
John Flannery
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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John J. Flannery was consensus All-American at Syracuse playing center. He was an Outland and Lombardi Trophy semi-finalist. Drafted by Houston in 2nd round. Made All-Rookie Team at guard. Won Super Bowl with Rams in 2000. Played nine seasons with Houston, Dallas and St. Louis. He was a two-sport standout at Pottsville High, was PA Heavyweight wrestling champion. In football, playing center and defensive tackle made all-state, Defensive MVP in Big 33 game.
Greg Gross
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Gregory E. Gross 1970 B.S. All-American, 4th round draft pick by Houston. 1970-73 Minor League All-Star and Player of the Year. 1974 Sporting News "Rookie of the Year" with Houston, finished 3rd in hitting, 185 hits, most by an Astro (later broken). 1974-76 Houston, 1977-78 Chicago Cubs, 1979-80 Philadelphia Phillies, 1980 played a key role on the Phillies "World Champions" and on the 1983 "National League Champions." Ranked 4th in total pinch hits. 1991-93 coached Malver Prep, two championships, two 1st round draft picks. 1995-96 coached Rockies AA-New Haven, 1997-2000 Rockies minor league hitting coordinator, 2001 Phillies bench coach, 2002-04 Phillies hitting coach, 2001 West Shore Chapter of PSHF Inductee.
Paul "Bucky" Greeley
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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About This Inductee:
• Coughlin High School
• Football-All-Conference, All-Northeast, All-State
• Wrestling-two-time District II, NE Regional champ, All-Conference, All-State
• Baseball-All-Conference-.579 batting average
• Penn State University-football
• Co-captain of undefeated 1994 Big Ten/Rose Bowl Champs
• All-Big Ten second team 1994
• 1995 Rose Bowl Offensive Player of the Game
• NFL-3 seasons with Carolina Panthers
• Inducted into PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2005
At Coughlin High School, Bucky was a three-year starter in football, wrestling and baseball. He was named All-Scholastic, All-Conference, All-North East and All-State 1989. He received the Carmen Paulino Award as Wyoming Valley Conference’s Outstanding Lineman. He captained and was starting center in the UNICO All-Star game. His wrestling career record was 84 – 18. He was two-time District 2 champion, two-time Northeast Regional champion, two-time All-Conference, two-time All State, one of eight in the State. He was 5th in the PIAA State Tourney 1990. He won the Hooper Award from the Sunday Independent as outstanding wrestler 1990. As a three-year starter in baseball, he was two-time All-Conference. His batting average was .579.
Paul received a full scholarship to Penn State University, where he lettered in football four years, was co-captain of the undefeated 1994 Big Ten/Rose Bowl Championship team and was All-Big Ten, second team in 1994.
He received the Richard “Dick” McGinnis Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award and was offensive player of the game against the University of Southern California in the 1995 Rose Bowl. He was awarded the Charles Kustanbauer Memorial Scholarship and the Russell T. Bundy Football Scholarship. He was voted one of Wyoming Valley’s “Athletes of the Century” in 2000 by the Citizens’ Voice and was twice the Killer Bees Athletic Club’s Athlete of the Year.
Bucky played three seasons in the N.F.L. for the Carolina Panthers (1996, 1997, 1998 seasons). He was starting center in 1998 before sustaining a career-ending injury.
Paul is the Charlotte market manager of a sports marketing company and resides in Charlotte, NC, with his wife Tanya.
John Kolb
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Jon Kolb, an offensive lineman, was an All-Big Eight performer in 1967-68 and an All-American 1968 at Oklahoma State University. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he became a standout left tackle garnering various All-Pro honors and being named to the All-Time Steeler team in 1982. He was inducted into the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. In 1981, Jon placed first in the Strongest Man contest.
Bruce Kozerski
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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About This Inductee:
• Coughlin High School-football-All League, All-State
• College of the Holy Cross-senior first team All-American
• First team Academic All-American, first team All-East Coast
• First team All-New England
• NFL 9th round draft pick-Cincinnati Bengals
• 12 year pro football career-three honorable mentions-Pro Bowl
• Played in Super Bowl XXIII 1989
• Head football coach at Holy Cross District High School
• Inducted into PA State Hall of Fame in 2005
He graduated from James M. Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA with a major in Physics and later acquired a Master's in teaching from Xavier University.
Bruce played twelve seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was an alternate in the 1988, 1989, and 1990 Pro Bowls. "Mr. Versatile", as he was called, retired after the 1995 season.
He is a teacher and the head football coach at Holy Cross High School in Covington, Kentucky where he teaches physics, pre-calculus, and calculus. On November 25, 2011, Kozerski, in his 8th year as head coach, led Holy Cross High School's (Covington, Kentucky) football team to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Division 2A, state football championship. It was the Indians' first appearance in the state championship game. Holy Cross defeated Glasgow High School 33-14 in the championship game.
Linda Kreiser
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Linda Kreiser was a graduate of Lower Dauphin High School, Coach Kreiser went on to play field hockey, basketball and lacrosse at Millersville University. She earned 12 varsity letters. She returned to LD to teach and became head field hockey coach in 1978. Four years later, Linda captured her first District 3 championship, 11 years later she won her first state title with an undefeated 1993 season. In 2003, Linda won a 6th District 3 title on top of two State Championships, and a 475-76-32 career record. Coach Kreiser was inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame on January 10, 2004.
Ron Solt
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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About This Inductee:
• Coughlin High School-football
• 1980 Wyoming Valley Conference champs
• All-Scholastic, All-State, All-American
• University of Maryland-4-year starter
• Played in Aloha, Tangerine, Japan, North-South Bowls
• 1983 Atlantic Conference Lineman of the Year, first team All-ACC
• 1983 Rookie of the Year with NFL’s Indianapolis Colts
• Named to AFC Pro Bowl, UPI All-Pro Team 1987
• Lineman of the Year with Philadelphia Eagles 1990
• Outstanding Lineman of the Year with Colts 1991
• Inducted into PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2005
Ron Solt graduated from Coughlin High School in 1980 with a 3.8 grade point average. Along with his honors as a student, Ron excelled in football, wrestling and track at Coughlin. Ron starred on Coughlin’s undefeated 1980 football team, which went on to become Wyoming Valley champions. Ron was All-Scholastic two years in 1979 and 1980. He was named to the PA All-State team in 1980, as well as being named to the High School All-American team as an offensive guard and a defensive tackle. He was also named to the Adidas All-American Team. Ron also excelled in wrestling at Coughlin High where in 1980 he was district champion, regional champion, and finished second in the state wrestling tournament that year. Ron also led Coughlin’s track team, earning a first place in the Shot Put in the district meet and a fourth place in the PA State meet.
Ron earned a football scholarship to the University of Maryland and graduated with a 3.5 scholastic average. He played four years at Maryland, participating in the Aloha Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Japan Bowl, and the North and South Bowl. He was voted the Atlantic Conference Lineman of the Year in 1983, and also named to the First Team All-ACC in 1982 and 1983.
Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 1983, Ron was “Rookie of the Year.” Ron was named to the AFC Pro Bowl and the UPI All-Pro Team in 1987. In 1988, Ron was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and in 1990 started his 100th straight game. Ron was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Lineman of the Year that same year. Ron went back to the Colts in 1991 through 1993, and was named Outstanding Lineman again in 1991.
Ron again resides in the Wyoming Valley and has six children, Kierra, Lauren, Tayler, Jarred, Matthew and Ryan.
Gary Bower
Living
Year Inducted:2005
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Gary E. Bower has 24 perfect games and eight 800's, three game series. A member of the 1979 United States FIQ team that competed in the World Tournament in the Philippines. Two ABC National titles, seven State titles, 40 local titles and many other titles. Harrisburg Patriot News honored him as one of the Mid-States top 50 Athletes of the Century. Inducted into the Capital Area Chapter, Lebanon, Harrisburg and Pennsylvania Bowling Halls of Fame. Inducted into the ABC National Hall of Fame, March 15,2001 in Reno, Nevada.
William George
Deceased
Year Inducted:2005
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About This Inductee:
• Two-time PIAA Wrestling champion
• Three-time Southern Conference wrestling champion
• Football All-American at Wake Forrest
• Second round draft choice of the Chicago Bears, he became "Mr. Bear" for 14 years
• The original NFL middle linebacker
• Selected NFL All-Pro eight times
• Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974
He played professionally as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.
George was born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. He is among numerous legendary football players born in football-rich Western Pennsylvania. He attended college at Wake Forest University, and was the Bears' second-round draft pick in 1951. He began his pro football career the following year as a middle guard in the then-standard five-man defensive front. He was selected to play in eight consecutive Pro Bowls, from 1954 to 1961.
George is credited as the first true middle linebacker in football history and, inadvertently, the creator of the 4–3 defense. Noting during a 1954 game with the Philadelphia Eagles that his tendency to hit the center right after the snap led to the quarterback passing right over his head, he began to drop back from the line, not only enabling him to intercept and otherwise disrupt several passes from that game forward but also creating the familiar 4–3 setup (four linemen and three linebackers).
In addition to his 18 career interceptions, George also recovered 19 fumbles, and in 1954 scored 25 points on 13 PATs and four field goals. In 1963, he led the Bears defense when they won the NFL Championship.
George was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974. The Bears retired his uniform number 61. In a 1989 article, in which he named his choices for the best athletes ever to wear each uniform number from 0 to 99, Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly not only chose George for number 61, but called him "the meanest Bear ever," no small thing considering the franchise's long history and reputation for toughness. In 1999, he was ranked number 49 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
George was killed in an automobile accident in Rockford, Illinois on September 30, 1982.
Stanley "Bucky" Harris
Deceased
Year Inducted:2005
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About This Inductee:
• Also known as the "The Boy Wonder”
• Hit .300 as rookie second baseman for Washington 1920
• As player/manager, won 2 flags in a row and World Series 1924
• Won 2,159 games in 29 years as manager-Tigers, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees
• Led Yankees to World Championship 1947
• 1975 inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
• Inducted into PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2005
Stanley "Bucky" Harris spent seven decades in majors as player, manager and executive.
When Harris was 19, the Detroit Tigers, signed him to his first contract and farmed him to the Class B Muskegon Reds of the Central League, where he struggled as a batsman and was released. Harris then caught on with the Scranton Miners, Norfolk Tars and Reading Pretzels through 1917, before reaching the highest level of minor league baseball with the 1918–1919 Buffalo Bisons of the International League. Harris improved his batting skills during the latter season with the Bisons, making 126 hits and raising his average to .282.
He then was recommended to the Washington Senators by baseball promoter Joe Engel, who led the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium. In August 1919, at the age of 22, he came up to Washington was a regular second baseman in 1920. He was batting .300 and making a mark for himself as a tough competitor, standing up to even ferocious superstar Ty Cobb, who threatened Harris when he tagged Cobb in their first encounter.
Harris spent most of his playing career as a second baseman with the Senators (1919–1928). In 1924, he was named player-manager; at the age of 27 he was the youngest manager in the Majors. He proceeded to lead the Senators to their only World Series title in Washington in his rookie season, and was nicknamed "The Boy Wonder." He won a second consecutive American League pennant in 1925, but the Senators lost the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh in the late innings of Game 7 after leading 3–1 in the Series. He batted .333 and hit two home runs in the series, including an important round tripper in Game 7 which opened the scoring and gave Washington a 1–0 lead in the 4th inning. These feats are even more impressive considering that the light-hitting Harris only hit 9 home runs in his entire career.
Harris’ initial departure from the Senators in 1928 (he would twice return to manage them again from 1935–42 and 1950–54) came in a trade to the Tigers as player-manager. Although he retired as a player after the 1931 season, his playing career effectively ended with his trade to Detroit. Harris only made 11 cameo appearances in the Tiger lineup: seven in 1929 and four in 1931. In all, he appeared in 1,263 games over parts of 13 seasons, and collected 1,297 hits, with 224 doubles, 64 triples, nine home runs, 472 bases on balls, and 167 stolen bases. Harris batted .274 lifetime with 508 career runs batted in.
In addition to Harris‘ three separate terms as field leader of the Senators, he also managed the Tigers twice (1929–33 and 1955–56), Boston Red Sox (1934), Philadelphia Phillies (briefly known as the Blue Jays, 1943) and New York Yankees (1947–48).
Harris signed as manager of the Red Sox for 1934. As a new manager, and despite an injury-riddled season by newly purchased ace left-handed pitcher Lefty Grove, broke the losing-season streak, finishing at .500 (76–76). But Harris's stay in the Boston dugout lasted only one season. He and Eddie Collins, the Red Sox' general manager, had feuded since their playing days and Yawkey may have hired Harris without consulting Collins. Harris' second term in Washington lasted for eight seasons (1935–1942), his longest tenure as a skipper. However, he never approached the highs of 1924 or 1925. Only one of his teams, the 1936 Senators, had a winning record (82–71) and first-division finish. Harris kept the club out of the American League basement, but three consecutive seventh-place finishes from 1940–1942 led to his departure and his only season in the National League as skipper of the 1943 Phillies.
Perhaps the worst team (42–109, .278) in baseball in 1942, the Phillies had just been sold to lumberman William D. Cox. Under Harris, the 1943 edition improved to play .424 baseball (39–53), just four fewer than they had in all of 1942. However, Harris chafed at Cox' constant interference. When Harris protested, Cox abruptly fired him on July 27.
Harris then played a role in Cox' banishment from professional baseball for betting on games. On the day after his firing, Harris dropped a bombshell at his hotel room–he had evidence that Cox was betting on baseball. Harris's friends, outraged at his firing, informed Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis that Cox was violating baseball's anti-gambling mandate. Landis then summoned Harris to his office to testify in person about Cox' behavior. The owner was suspended indefinitely three months later and banned from baseball outright soon afterward. The Phillies were sold to R. R. M. Carpenter in November 1943.
Harris then spent three seasons out of the big leagues, then served as general manager (1944–1946) and field manager (1944–1945) of the Buffalo Bisons, his old team in the International League.
In August 1946, the Yankees' co-owner and GM, Larry MacPhail, appointed Harris to a front-office position. Harris was named the Bombers' 1947 manager, and he led them to his third American League pennant — the Yankees' 15th league title. Behind Most Valuable Player Joe DiMaggio and newly acquired starting pitcher Allie Reynolds, the 1947 Yanks won 97 games and prevailed over the Tigers by a 12-game margin. Then they won Harris's second World Series championship, defeating the Jackie Robinson-led Brooklyn Dodgers in a thrilling, seven-game Fall Classic.
Although MacPhail sold his stake in the Yankees and left baseball immediately after the 1947 Series, Harris returned for a second season as manager. His 1948 Yankees won 94 games to finish a close third in a hectic pennant race, two games behind the Cleveland Indians and Red Sox, who ended the regular season in a tie for first place. But the result dissatisfied the Yankees' post MacPhail ownership team, Dan Topping and Del Webb, and their new general manager, George Weiss, and they replaced Harris with Casey Stengel.
Harris returned to the minor leagues in 1949, as manager of the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, before launching his third stint as skipper of the Senators, coming off a 104-loss 1949 season. His first campaign, 1950, saw a 17-game improvement for Washington, then he led the Senators to a winning (78–76) mark in 1952, but the team could not escape the second division in Harris's five-year, final term as Washington's manager.
In 1955, and in the first season of his second term in Detroit, Harris again produced a turnaround. The 1955 Tigers won 79 games (eleven more than 1954's edition) and had their first above-.500 season since 1950, then Detroit won 82 games in 1956. Harris closed out his 29-year MLB managing career with a win-loss record of 2,158–2,219 (.493). As of September 2019, Harris ranked seventh in MLB manager career wins.
In 1957, at 60, Harris rejoined the Red Sox in a front office capacity. He was assistant general manager to Joe Cronin for two seasons, and then, when Cronin was named president of the American League, succeeded him as GM in January 1959, 24 years after Cronin had displaced Harris as Boston's field manager. On his watch, the Red Sox finally broke the baseball color line by promoting Pumpsie Green from Triple-A on July 21, 1959, more than a dozen years after Robinson's debut with the Dodgers. They were the last of the 16 pre-expansion teams to integrate.
Harris ended his long MLB career as a scout for the White Sox (1961–1962) and special assistant for the new expansion Washington Senators franchise that played in D.C. from 1961 to 1971 before moving on to Arlington, Texas. All told, he spent over 55 years in baseball. He died November 8, 1977 on his 81st birthday.
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