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..
Laila Brock
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Laila Brock is a graduate of Washington (PA) High School and Penn State University, starring on the oval in track at both schools
She won a combined six sprint/relay PIAA gold medals in her junior and senior seasons at Wash High. In her 1996 senior season she won the -100, -200 and -400 meter dashes and ran the anchor leg on her gold medal winning 4 x -100 relay team at the PIAA championship meet. The combination of winning gold in four races had never been accomplished by any female sprinter in the 23 years that the PIAA has contested championships in these events.
As a junior in 1995 she won the WPIAL -100 and -200 meter dashes and also anchored the 4 X -100 meter relay in 50.8 seconds. Her time of
12.2 seconds in the -100 meter sprint set a state record.
She followed that by winning the gold in the -200 meter sprint in the 1995 PIAA Championships, setting a state record of 24.92 seconds.
At the 1995 state meet she also took a silver in the 100- meter sprint and anchored the state champion 4 X -100 meter relay team.
At Penn State she ran relay races and was captain of the Penn State Track and Field Team.
Since graduating from Penn State she has continued her involvement in sports as an executive working for sports-related enterprises, including serving on the College Football Playoff’s senior staff and currently serves as vice president of sponsorships, sales and operations for Pitt Sports Marketing through JMI Sports.
Jim Cunningham
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Jim earned nine letters in football, basketball, swimming, and track at Connellsville High School (1954-1957).
Named Honorable Mention All-State as a senior (1956) and All-Fayette County First Team in football both as a junior and senior (1955-56).
Jim was the fullback in the famed "Three C's" backfield at Pitt along with Fred Cox of Monongahela High School and Bob Clemens of Munhall High School (1957-1960).
In 1960 game vs. Notre Dame, was voted “Outstanding Running Back” by coaches and teammates
He was First Team All-East his junior and senior years (1959-60) and was UPI Honorable Mention All-American as a senior.
He was drafted in 1961 in the third round by the Washington Redskins and played 3 NFL seasons with them. Was also drafted that same year by the New York Titans of the AFL.
Was named the game MVP of 1963 Shrine Charities Pro Football game ( Redskins vs Colts)
Played for the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League and was their MVP in the 1966 season.
Jim has been inducted into both the Western and Fayette County Chapters of PA Sports Hall of Fame, the Connellsville High School Sports Hall of Fame , and the Minor League Pro Football Hall of Fame
Dennis Douds
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Dennis is the all-time winning coach (264) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Won nine PSAC East titles and made four NCAA playoff appearances.
In 2018, he was the NCAA active leader in career wins (264).
At East Stroudsburg State his entire career, he led the nation in games coached (471) at that level,
Ranked sixteenth in NCAA history (all divisions) in career wins and seventh in games coached.
Retired in 2018 with two games remaining during his 45th season as a head coach, which was then seventh longest head coaching tenure in NCAA history.
Ranks fifth in years coached at one school and his 264 wins at one school is ranked tenth in NCAA history.
Mentored 24 Associated Press Little All-Americans, 6 AFLA All-Americans, and 6 Finalist for the Harlon Trophy.
Albert "Al" Jacks
Deceased
Year Inducted:2022
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At Peabody High School he quarterbacked the 1953 Dragons to an undefeated season, a Pittsburgh City League championship and he was named the 1953 City League MVP
He was the starting quarterback at Penn State in 1957 and 1958 under coach Rip Engle.
Al began his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at Penn State in 1959 and then served as the backfield coach at Slippery Rock State College from 1960 to 1962.
In 1963 he was named the Head Football Coach at Clarion State College and stayed until his retirement in 1981.
Coach Jack’s career Clarion record was 128 - 44 – 5 (winning percentage of 72.9%). Beginning with the 1964 team and continuing through the 1981 season under his leadership, Clarion registered 18 consecutive winning seasons, longest active streak in NCAA Division II at the time of his retirement.
During his head coaching tenure, Clarion won 4 PSAC West titles and 3 PSAC championships.
Clarion’s 1980 team was named the ECAC “Team of the Year”.
From 1963 -1996 he was a member of the teaching faculty at Clarion and a Department Chair for 17 years.
He received the Clarion University Distinguished Service Award in 1997 and was inducted into the Western Chapter of the PA Sports HOF in 1979 and the Clarion University Sports HOF in 1989.
Stu Jackson
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Stu Jackson was a graduate of Reading High School and Seattle University.
He played basketball at the University of Oregon and Seattle University.
Stu remained on the West Coast with coaching stints at Oregon (1981- 83) and Washington State (1983-85) and was an associate coach with Rick Pitino at Providence College (1985– 87).
Jackson was named the head coach at the New York Knicks in 1989 at age 33, the second youngest head coach in NBA history.
He was the head coach of the Wisconson Badgers for the1992–93 and1993–94 seasons, leading the Badgers to the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
General Manager of the Vancouver Grizzlies for their first five seasons.
Stu then became an Executive Vice-President of Basketball Operations for the NBA
Dee Kantner
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Dee Kantner is a Reading native and graduate from Exeter High School.
At Exeter, she earned 13 varsity letters (four in Field Hockey, four in Basketball, four in Track and one in Cross Country).
NCAA Division I Referee (1984 – present).
NCAA – Referee for 24 Final Four Tournament games.
NCAA – Referee for 15 National Championship games.
In 1997 she was awarded the Naismith Award for Officiating.
She was one of the first women to officiate in the NBA 1997-2002.
FIBA – Referee for 1998 FIBA World Championship for women.
Olympics –Basketball referee for 2000 Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
In 2019 Dee was Inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall
Of Fame.
Dick LeBeau
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Dick played both ways (halfback and cornerback) on the 1957 Ohio State Buckeye’s national championship team and scored 2 rushing TD’s in a come-from-behind victory over arch-rival Michigan.
Drafted by Cleveland and cut, he joined the Detroit Lions and played 14 seasons as a Lion’s defensive back.
His career statistics include 185 games played, 62 interceptions (then a Lion’s record and 10th all-time in the NFL), 762 interception return yards, 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns, 9 recovered fumbles (one returned for a touchdown) and 3 Pro Bowl appearances.
His 171 consecutive starts is second in NFL history to Ronde Barber for a defensive secondary defender.
All four Lions secondary starters from that era, Dick ‘Night Train” Lane, Yale Larry, Lem Barney and Dick LeBeau are enshrined in the Pro Football HOF in Canton, an unprecedented honor.
Upon his retirement as a player, he first coached for 2 years with the Philadelphia Eagles followed by 2 years with the Green Bay Packers.
He spent 11 seasons in Cincinnati helping the Bengals reach 2 Super Bowl appearances (XVI and XXIII).
As defensive coordinator he helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to 4 Super Bowl appearances and 2 Super Bowl victories (XL and XLIII).
He was inducted into the Western Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton in 2010.
Jerry Marks
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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As a star on the gridiron for Southern Columbia Area Jerry Marks ran for 7,075 career yards, which broke the Pennsylvania state record in 1987.
He became the first ever Tiger football player to be selected as a 1st Team All-State honoree.
Marks was also the school’s first ever 2x PIAA wrestling champion. He had a record of 74 - 1 over his final two years, winning state titles in the 167-pound and 185-pound weight classes.
In college he was a starting running back at Bloomsburg University. In a game at Mansfield, he carried the ball a school record 59 times for 300 yards.
Marks eventually came back to coach wrestling for the Tigers and turned the program into a state-power.
He was named Pa’s Class 2A Wrestling Coach of the Year on multiple occasions during his tenure at his alma-mater.
In 2019 his program won the PIAA 2A Individual Team State Championship.
Additionally, the Tigers finished as the runner-up in the PIAA 2A Team Dual State Championship three times.
Kelly Mazzante
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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A graduate of Montoursville High School where she scored 3,215 points finishing as the then third leading scorer in Pennsylvania girls basketball history.
Kelly became a star at Penn State University and the all-time leading scorer in the Big-Ten Conference with 2,919 points at the time.
She also held Big-Ten offensive records in most categories, was a 2X Big Ten Player of the year, and led the nation in scoring her sophomore year. She was a 3X Kodak All- American.
The two-time Associated Press first team All-American led the Lady Lions to two Conference Championships, two Sweet 16 appearances, and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament with a trip to the Elite Eight.
Kelly received the 2005 NCAA Top Eight Award and her Penn State jersey (#13) was retired in 2004.
She was selected in the second round in the 2004 WNBA draft by the Charlotte Sting.
When the Sting folded in 2007 she was selected in the dispersal draft by the Phoenix Mercury, contributing to the Mercury’s 2 WNBA championships in 2007 and 2009.
During the off-season she played in Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Italy, and later played for the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Atlanta Dream before retiring in 2014.
James Roth
Living
Year Inducted:2022
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Coach James Roth of Southern Columbia Area is Pennsylvania’s all-time winningest high school football coach with 471 victories and still counting after the 2021 season.
He has set records for Pennsylvania’s most PIAA Football State Championships with 12 in20 state final appearances. He has a record 29 District IV titles.
Since his career started in1984 he has the top winning percentage of any coach in the United States. In 38 seasons, he has never had a losing record.
In 2020, Roth was named the Max-Preps Small School National Coach of the Year and his Tigers were picked as the Max-Preps Small School National Champions.
From 2018-2020, Southern Columbia Area won three consecutive High School Football America (HSFA) Small School National Championships.
Roth’s program broke the state’s regular season winning streak with 93 straight victories from 2011 to 2021. During that time frame the Tigers won 65 games in a row overall which was the longest streak in the nation at the time.
Robert "Bobby" Del Greco
Deceased
Year Inducted:2022
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A Pittsburgh native, Bobby was drafted by and played for the Pirates from 1952 – 1956.
He played for 17 seasons with the Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals (1956), Chicago Cubs (1957), New York Yankees (1957 and 1958) Philadelphia Phillies (1960, 1961 and 1965) and Philadelphia Athletics (1962 and 1963).
He was a member of the 1957 and 1958 New York Yankees teams that each captured American League pennants.
His career batting totals include 95 doubles, 11 triples and 43 home runs.
Throughout his career, Bob was highly praised as an exceptional defensive outfielder.
He was 2nd in MLB in outfielder fielding percentage in 1956 (.987)
He was in Top 10 in MLB in double plays involving an outfielder for 3 seasons
He was in Top 10 in MLB for assists by an outfielder for 4 seasons
Marty Schottenheimer
Deceased
Year Inducted:2022
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Marty played football (All-State First Team in 1960) and basketball (1960-61 Class AA State Champions) at Fort Cherry High School in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Played college football at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a 1964 Second Team All-American and played in the 1965 College All-Star Game vs. the Cleveland Browns
He played professional football for the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots.
In 1975-76 he was the New York Giants Linebacker Coach and in 1977 he was the Giants Defensive Coordinator.
In 1980, he served as Defensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
He was the Cleveland Browns head coach in 1984 -1988, and the K.C. Chiefs head coach from 1989 – 1998.
Was the Washington Redskins Head Coach 2000 – 2001 and San Diego Chargers head coach from 2002 – 2006.
AFC Coach of the Year in 1986 AND 2004 and the NFL Coach of the Year in 2004.
He posted a winning record in 19 of his 21 seasons as an NFL head coach and his teams were in the playoffs in 13 of those 21 seasons.
He is the only NFL Coach with at least 200 wins who is not in the NFL Hall of Fame.
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