Inductees

Raised in an orphanage. He joined the Marines to fight at Iwo Jima at age 16.

Earned a Basketball Scholarship at Gettysburg College where he was name All-State First Team basketball player in 1949, 1950 along with NBA Hall of Famer Paul Arizin and NBA star Larry Foust.

Named head Basketball Coach at Philadelphia Textile (now University). In 13 seasons, he compiled the 2nd best winning percentage (all-time Div. 11) with 242 wins, 54 losses leading his team to 6 NCAA tournaments. He coached legendary coach Herb Magee from 1959-163. His exceptional leadership at Philadelphia University for 43 years yielded a revered legacy.

He established a $500,00 scholarship there in memory of his son, Billy to help needy students.

The University paid tribute to Bucky by naming one of the basketball courts and an athletic field scoreboard in his honor.

He died at the age of 80 on Dec. 6, 2006.

Former Uniontown High School quarterback Sandy Stephens was a sports hero of mythic proportions; he was a legend on the playgrounds in Uniontown.

Stephens starred on some great Uniontown football teams in the late 1950s. He started the final game of his sophomore year at quarterback and was the starter as a junior and a senior.

In 1956, the Raiders were 8-2 with losses coming at the hands of Mt. Lebanon, 28-13, and Monessen, 7-0. The 1957 squad was unbeaten at 8-0, but 16 players were stricken with the flu and two games were cancelled against Redstone and Baldwin. The Redstone game was rescheduled but Gardner points knocked the Raiders out of a chance to play for the title.

Stephens was disappointed that the Raiders were kept out of the playoffs by Gardner points in his senior season.

“The Asiatic flu was the real reason that we missed out,” Stephens lamented. “We didn't get a chance to play Baldwin and they were a good team and we would have had enough points. We would have been first or second had we been able to play them but we missed Baldwin and Redstone Twp. We made up the Redstone game at the end of the season but we couldn't make up Baldwin so that made us third in the Gardner race. Everyone wanted to see Clairton and Uniontown, all of western Pennsylvania wanted to see those two. My college roommate Judge Dickson was on the Clairton team. We had played against them in camp and that's how I got to know him, but they ended up playing Wilkinsburg because there were four undefeated teams and New Kensington was the fourth one. Wilkinsburg was the first team.”

Stephens had a soft spot for his football coach at Uniontown, Bill Power.

“We had two great teams that I played on,” Stephens opined “My sophomore year we kind of learned what the game was about under a real good coach in Bill Power.”

Stephens completed his brilliant high school career at Uniontown when he graduated in 1958. He had won 9 letters in all, three each in track, basketball and football. He scored the winning touchdown in the first Big 33 game and garnered All-State honors.

He was pursued by over 50 Division I colleges for football. He also had 6 basketball offers and interest from the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies. Stephens chose to play football at Minnesota.

Stephens arrived at Minnesota with Judge Dickson, a fullback and linebacker, from neighboring Clairton. Stephens’ buddy from Uniontown, halfback Bill Munsey, joined him a year later.

“On our recruiting visit, Judge and I stood in front of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis for three hours on a Saturday afternoon,” Stephens said. “We didn't see one black face. I told Judge, ‘We're still coming to Minnesota, and we're still going to the Rose Bowl.’

“I went to Minnesota because I thought I would get a chance to play quarterback and I wanted to play in the Big Ten. I felt like we had the best high school football in western Pennsylvania. I played against the best. I played in the Big 33 game. Out there where the Pennsylvania All State and All Americans beat the rest of the All Americans from the rest of the country. I wanted to go where I thought it was the toughest and roughest league because of the fact that they felt like I couldn't play quarterback and I wanted to go where the toughest league was to disprove them.”

At Minnesota, Stephens was a catalyst for a national championship team in 1960. That was a special year; the Gophers went from last in the Big Ten in 1959 to first in 1960.

After losing to Washington 17-7 in the 1961 Rose Bowl, Minnesota went 7-2 and beat UCLA 21-3 in the 1962 Rose Bowl. Stephens had an outstanding game scoring two touchdowns, a career highlight.

Stephens reaped the benefits of his outstanding 1961 season, as he was named Associated Press and UPI first-team All-American, first-team Sporting News All-American, All-Big Ten conference, and Big Ten most valuable player. He was fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind Ernie Davis of Syracuse. Oddly enough, Davis was born in New Salem, outside of Uniontown, lived there until he was 12 years old.

“I knew Ernie extremely well,” Stephens recalled. “We played on the same midget ball club. Ernie and I played basketball at East End playground. He was also on the Benson midget league team. Ernie was the third baseman and I pitched. That's where I got my arm for football. I pitched in the midget league and the pony league. Ernie's father died when we were in seventh grade and he went to live with his mother in Elmira, N.Y. He would come home every summer. When Ernie and I made first-team All American football, we had never seen each other play. We knew we could both play basketball and baseball, but we never thought of each other as football players.”

When he graduated from Minnesota, Stephens was drafted by the New York Titans of the fledgling AFL and by the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. The Titans didn't want to put any contract money in escrow. The Browns were a different story.

Stephens' version was that Jim Brown, the great running back, called and said: “Sandy, if you think you're going to be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, you're crazy.”

Brown told Stephens that Cleveland and the NFL were not ready for a black quarterback.

Stephens wasn't going to stop being a quarterback, so he signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. In Canada, he bounced around for a few years. He had a tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs, but wasn’t the same player after a serious car accident.

Stephens never got the chance to play quarterback in the NFL and that haunted him until the day he died.

Stephens was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and is a member of the University of Minnesota Hall of Fame.

Stephens succumbed to heart failure and died on June 6, 2000.

Mike was a Great football, basketball star for powerful teams at Hazleton High and Scranton University. All-State, Little All-American. Recruited 1949 by New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Pittsburg Steelers of NFL and San Francisco ‘49ers of AAFC. Played in All-American Football Conference and Eastern Professional Basketball League, left-handed. Known as “Triple-Threat Quarterback” in passing, running, pass receiving. Drafted Korean War. In Germany, he quarterbacked the Munich Broncos to a Western Conference Championship. Find scholastic coach. In Greater Hazleton Area, Scranton University, Luzerne County and Delaware County Halls of Fame.

National Field Hockey High School Coach of the year 2004. Crestwood High School’s team had perfect 26-0 record, second consecutive championship. Elvetta created Crestwood’s field hockey program 1973. Qualified for state playoffs 20 years (7 Final Four finishes, 12 league, 15 district II championships, four Class 2A State Championships 1988-1999-2003-2004). Overall record 478-92-93. Helped numerous players obtain college scholarships, several members of national teams, one a member of 1996 U.S. Olympic field hockey team.

Considered the greatest all around athlete ever to come out of Bucks Co., Dick Hart of Morrisville H.S., was the 1961 Lower Bucks Football Player of the year and an Honorable Mention H.S. All -American as a running back. He was named to All-Lower Bucks County teams in Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Track. Dick still owns the Bucks Co. Shot Put record of 64′ 3¾”. He is a member of the PA Track Hall of Fame. After graduation from HS, Dick turned down a full scholarship to Notre Dame to sign a Professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Braves; he played four years of Minor League baseball then joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967. He was the starting guard for the Eagles, making the All-rookie Team in 1967. In 1972, dick finished his career as the starting guard for the Buffalo Bills; he retired after his second knee surgery in 1972.

Jack Klotz was an outstanding Pro football lineman who started AFL career at age 27 because of service in US Marine Corps. After College graduation, made NFL Los Angeles Rams regular season roster, Drafted, enlisted in Marines. Returned to five year career in AFL with New York Titans and Jets, San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers. 6′ 5″, 256 pound dominant offensive tackle. 1963 “Coaches and Players” All-Pro. Great athlete at PMC Prep in football, basketball, baseball, track and Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener). Three sport letterman. Football captain. 1955-1956 Little All-American recognition. Excellent work 30+ years in Chester “City team”, other community programs.

Petercuskie, also known as “Coach” or “Cuskie”, is one of the premier football coaches in Bucks County. From 1960 to 1965 his Neshaminy Redskins compiled a remarkable record of 59-1-5, including a 51 game win streak. That’s a 91% win percentage over 6 seasons; if you take out the ties, it’s 98.33%! John was voted Coach of the Year 4 Times.

After Neshaminy Coach “Cuskie” served as defensive line coach at Dartmouth from 1966 to 1968, defensive coordinator at Boston College from 1969 to 1972, and Princeton University from 1973 to 1977.

In 1978 John joined the Cleveland Browns as Special Teams Coordinator where he remained until 1984. In 1980 the Browns won the AFC Division Championship. That same season, he coached the AFC Pro Bowl Team in Hawaii.

Coach came out of retirement in 1988 to coach the defensive line at Harvard 1988 and 1989; from 1990 to 1995, he coached the special teams and defensive line at Liberty University John coached football for 40 years. He was inducted into the PA Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.

His 42-year coaching career was recognized by the following: Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, East Stroudsburg Football Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Football Hall of Fame- Lackawanna County, Luzerne County and Bucks County, Neshaminy Hall of Fame, Scranton Hall of Fame, All American Foundation – Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2010, a bronze statue of his likeness was unveiled at Harry P. Franks Stadium in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

He died on April 20, 2018 at the age of 93.

Alex was a two-way starter at Clarion State College. Gained All-District, All-Conference, and All-American recognition at End in 1952 and 1953, He was an NAIA Hall of Fame selection in 1958 and Clarion’s All-Time team in 1961. Alex was drafted by the Baltimore colts in 1954; he started at Guard on the Great colt teams of the 50’s and 60’s for thirteen years. Alex was a Colt silver anniversary Honoree in 1978 and their 50-year team in 2002, A Western chapter Inductee in 2008.

Schuh, from Feasterville, was an all-state fullback at Neshaminy High School. In 1961, he joined the University of Memphis Tigers playing on the freshman team, per NCAA eligibility rules at that time, Schuh was moved to offensive tackle as a sophomore and thus began his legendary career as a Tiger and as a professional football player. He was an All-American tackle in 1963 and 1964.

From 1962-64, Memphis compiled an overall record of 22-5-1. In 1962, the Tigers gained their first victory ever against a Southeastern Conference team by knocking off Mississippi State in Starkville, 28-7. During the undefeated 1963 season, Schuh and his teammates fought third-ranked Ole Miss to a 0-0 tie at Crump Stadium and again defeated the 11th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Upon completion of his playing career at Memphis, Schuh ranked as the most decorated player in school history. He was named to 11 All-America teams, including first-team selections to the Football Coaches Association, Time Magazine, The Sporting News, Associated Press and Playboy Magazine squads. He was twice selected to play in the College All-Star Game, which pitted top collegians against the NFL's championship team from the previous season.

In 1965, Schuh was drafted by the Oakland Raiders, selected in the first round of the draft. In fact, he was the second player taken in the AFL Draft behind quarterback Joe Namath. Schuh would play six seasons for the Oakland Raiders, three seasons for the Los Angeles Rams and one season for the Green Bay Packers before retiring after the 1974 season. He was an All-AFL selection and a Western Division All-Star for the Raiders and was a starter in Super Bowl II for Oakland. He would later be named to the All-Time Raider Team.

The University of Memphis honored Schuh on October 15, 2011, by retiring his jersey in a ceremony at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. He was just the fifth player in school history to be so honored. He was inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Tennessee State Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

He died in Memphis, Tennessee on May 20, 2013.

First Team AP All-American 1983-84-85 as linebacker at Bloomsburg University. Captain for three years and leader of 1985 tam that played in the Division II Semi Finals. Career tackle leader at BU with 537 – Season 159 – Game 23 and namesake for Defensive Player of the Year at BU. 1997 Bloom U Hall of Fame and Named member of NCAA Div II Football Team of the Quarter Century – 1982 grad of Mount Carmel Area. Current Head Coach at Wilkes U (10 years).

1953-1956: Football, Basketball, Track Williamsport High School. 1948-1956: Baseball Williamsport area. 1956-1957: Football, Basketball Columbian Prep, Washington, DC. 1957-1961: Football, Basketball, Baseball US Naval Academy. Quarterback Navy’s 1960 team to a 9-1 record and trip to the Orange Bowl with running back Joe Bellino, Navy’s first Heisman Trophy Winner. Victories over Boston College, Villanova, Washington, SMU, Air Force, Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Virginia and Army. MVP first Navy-Air Force game. All-East Selection, Honorable Mention All-American. 1961: Quarterback coach Plebe Team with Roger Staubach at quarterback.

As an athlete, William J. “Bill” Malinchak enjoyed success on the scholastic, collegiate, and professional levels. That pattern of achievement and accomplishments continued for Malinchak as a successful businessman in New York City.

Malinchak is a 1962 graduate of Monessen High School. He was an outstanding scholar-athlete, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a member of the Greyhounds’ 1961 WPIAL championship football team which defeated Wilkinsburg 7-6 in the Class AA title game at Forbes Field to cap a perfect 11-0-0 season. As a senior, he was the leading scorer among receivers in the WPIAL and earned All-WPIAL, All-PIAA, and All-American honors. He was chosen to play in the Big 33 game at Hershey and the Wigwam Wiseman Game in Texas.

Bill later became an All-Big Ten Conference and All-American wide receiver at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in 1963, 1964, and 1965 before graduating in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management.
He was the number one draft pick of the Detroit Lions and from 1966 to 1976 he played in the National Football League with the Lions and the Washington Redskins. He was a standout receiver with the Lions and one of the top special teams’ players in the NFL with the Redskins. He led the league in blocked punts in his final campaign with the Redskins. In 1972, Malinchak suffered torn knee ligaments early in the season and was placed on the Redskins’ injured reserve list. Expected to be out for the remainder of the season, Malinchak started practicing with the Redskins so he’d be available for the regular season finale. To get activated he had to clear waivers but didn’t. The San Diego Chargers claimed him. At the age of 28 after four years as a wide receiver in Detroit and two in Washington, Malinchak chose to retire instead of going to San Diego. Bill ended up getting traded back to Washington where he played two seasons before hanging it up for good as a pro athlete.

Since 1976, Mr. Malinchak has been a member of the New York Commodity Exchange, specializing in gold and silver trading. He also was a member of the New York Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange and the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange.
Mr. Malinchak is married to the former Pamela Duswalt of New York. They are the parents of four daughters.

Bill once appeared on the original television show, The Dating Game, with brother Tom, who was a good basketball player at Penn State. In the late 1960s, Malinchak was one of four players from Monessen who progressed to the NFL. The other Monessen athletes include Doug Crusan, Eric Crabtree, and Sam Havrilak.