For the past 56 years, the Pa Sports Hall of Fame has honored and inducted over 700 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. And through our future museum we will educate and celebrate their achievements for years to come.
Pete Dimperio
Year Inducted:1964

Dimperio was born in 1905 in Pittsburgh, where he attended Fifth Avenue High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Thiel College in Greenville and a master's degree in physician education from Springfield University in Illinois. He and his wife, Adeline, also had a daughter, Peggy. From 1946 to 1966, Dimperio had a record of 118 wins and five losses, and he took his foootball team to the City of Pittsburgh championship 21 years in a row and at the time was one of the most successful high school football coaches in America.
Charles "Rip" Engle
Year Inducted:1964

Charles "Rip" Engle was a football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from 1950 to 1966, compiling a career college football record of 132–68–8. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973.
Engle's coaching record from 1944 to 1965, including stints at Brown University and Penn State, was 132–68–8. Under the leadership of Engle at Brown, Joe Paterno developed as a capable quarterback and a skillful leader. After graduating in 1950, Paterno joined Engle at Penn State as an assistant coach. Upon Engle's retirement in February 1966, Paterno was named coach of the Nittany Lions for the 1966 season, a position he would hold until 2011.
Engle's best season at Penn State was in 1962 when the Lions went 9–2, were ranked ninth in the country, and played in the Gator Bowl. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
Stuart Holcomb
Year Inducted:1964
Stuart K. Holcomb (September 11, 1910 – January 11, 1977) was an American football and basketball coach from Erie, Pennsylvania who served as head football coach for Miami University (1942–1943) and Purdue University (1947–1955). He was a starting halfback at Ohio State University and the captain of the 1931 Buckeyes football team before he moved on to coaching. Prior to arriving at Miami, Holcomb was the head football coach at three smaller schools: the University of Findlay (1932–1935), Muskingum College (1936–1940), and Washington & Jefferson College (1941). He also served as the head basketball coach at University of Findlay for four seasons, 1932–33 thru 1935–36,[1] and at the United States Military Academy from 1945 to 1947. After retiring from coaching, Holcomb was the athletic director at Northwestern University (1956–1966) and later the general manager of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox (1971–1973).
Charles D. "Charley" Hyatt
Year Inducted:1964

A Native of Syracuse, New York, Charley was an exceptional Shooter. Scoring a then outstanding 880 points throughout his career at the University of Pittsburgh. He was named an All- American three consecutive years and was the Helms Foundation Player- of-the-Year in 1930. The year he led the nation with a 12.6 points per game average.
Delvin Glenn "Del" Miller
Year Inducted:1964

Delvin Glenn "Del" Miller was a driver, trainer and owner in the sport of harness racing as well as an important breeder after acquiring Adios to stand at his Meadow Lands Farm in Meadow Lands, Pennsylvania. During a career that spanned eight decades, Miller won major races in the United States as well as in France.
He won $11 million and won 2,442 races.
Anne Townsend
Year Inducted:1964
Townsend helped begin the U.S. Field Hockey Association and her reign as the captain of the U.S. field hockey team ran from 1924-38. She began at University of Pennsylvania and helped start their field hockey program. She was named an All-American in field hockey in 1923. She played in two World Cups as part of the U.S. Field Hockey team and toured Holland and Germany. Townsend served as the president of the United States Field Hockey Association from 1928-32, was the president of the Philadelphia Field Hockey Association and was the secretary of the International Federation of Hockey Associations from 1927-32. She was also a state champion in tennis and squash and captained the Middle States Sears Cup team in Eastern tournaments. Townsend represented the Merion Cricket Club in both sports. At 36, she remained the only undefeated member of the Cricket Club's squash team. Over 20 years later, at age 57, she won the U.S. Senior Women's Doubles title in squash.
Steve Van Buren
Year Inducted:1964
Van Buren was a halfback for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1944 to 1951. Through eight NFL seasons he won four league rushing titles, including three straight from 1947 to 1949. At a time when teams played twelve games a year, he was the first NFL player to rush for over ten touchdowns in a season which he achieved three times. He was on the Championship Teams of 1948 and 1949 and scored the only TD of the 1948 game. He has been inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Harold "Pie" Traynor
Year Inducted:1963
Chuck "Concrete Charlie" Bednarik
Year Inducted:1963
Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed Concrete Charlie, was a professional American football player, known as one of the most devastating tacklers in the history of football and the last full-time two-way player in the National Football League. He was selected to the Pro Bowl 8 times and won 2 NFL Championships. 10 time First-Team All-Pro and member of the 1950s All-Decade Team. He won the Maxwell Award in 1948, was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame who also retired his number (60) for their team.
Roberta Bonniwell
Year Inducted:1963
Roberta Bonniwell own career was cut short when an injured knee kept her from competing in the 1936 Olympic Games, then four years later when the 1940 Tokyo Games were cancelled because of World War II. This revolutionary figure for women’s gymnastics did, however, enjoy much success on the national stage as a coach for three Olympic Games. It is believed that Bonniwell was responsible for the first class of women in the US Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1974.
Henry "Barney" Ewell
Year Inducted:1963
Henry Norwood "Barney" Ewell (February 25, 1918 – April 4, 1996) was an American track star, winner of one gold and two silver medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics. While a student at Pennsylvania State University, he ran the 100 m and 200 m races and won 12 gold medals and championships in collegiate meets between 1940 and 1942. He also won 11 gold medals in AAU national meets between 1939 and 1948.
Glenn G Killinger
Year Inducted:1963
William Glenn Killinger (September 13, 1898 – July 25, 1988) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was a 3 letter Athlete at Penn State University and All-American Football player in 1921. He then played in the National Football League for the Canton Bulldogs, New York Giants, and for Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League in 1926. He served as a head football coach for numerous college teams including Dickinson College (1922), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1927–1931), Moravian College (1933), West Chester University of Pennsylvania (1934–1941, 1945–1959), and with the North Carolina Pre-Flight School (1944),with a career college football record of 176–72–16. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1971.
John "Hans" Lobert
Year Inducted:1963
John Bernard "Hans" Lobert (October 18, 1881 – September 14, 1968) was an American third baseman, shortstop, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. Lobert batted .274 for his career and played 14 seasons (1903, 1905–17) with five National League clubs, including regular stints as a third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds (1906–10) and Philadelphia Phillies (1911–14). He also played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1903), Chicago Cubs (1905) and New York Giants (1915–17). During his career, Lobert was known as one of the fastest players in the game. Throughout his career he stole 316 bases over 14 seasons. He later coached the United States Military Academy at West Point University and then served as a full-time scout for the New York Giants in 1928.
Connie Mack
Year Inducted:1963
Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an MLB player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins (3,731), losses (3,948), and games managed (7,755), with his victory total being almost 1,000 more than any other manager. Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the club's first 50 seasons of play. He retired at age 87 following the 1950 season. He was also a part-owner from 1901 to 1954. He was the first manager to win the World Series three times, and is the only manager to win consecutive Series on separate occasions (1910–11, 1929–30); his five Series titles remain the third most by any manager, and his nine American League pennants rank second in league history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
Stanley "Stan" Musial
Year Inducted:1963

Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial (November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and first baseman. He spent 22 seasons playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1941 to 1944 and 1946 to 1963. Musial batted .331 over his career and set National League (NL) records that have since been beaten for career hits (3,630), runs batted in (1,951), games played (3,026), at bats (10,972), runs scored (1,949) and doubles (725). He was a seven-time batting champion and MVP winner 3 times. He also won 3 World Series Championship titles with St. Louis while being selected for 24 All-Star games. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 and later was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011. He was selected to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999.
Arnold D Palmer
Year Inducted:1963

Arnold D Palmer (September 10, 1929 - September 25, 2016) was one of the greatest golfers to ever live. His career spanned more than six decades during which he won 62 PGA Tour Titles from 1955 to 1973 making him fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list. He won seven major titles and is widely considered along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to be responsible for popularizing and commercializing golf around the world. He also helped break down the perception of golf being only an upper-class pastime with his humble beginnings.
Jim A. "Jim" Thorpe
Year Inducted:1963
James Francis Thorpe May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953) was a Native American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. He was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation. Thorpe was the first Native American to win a gold medal for his home country. He is still considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports. Winner of Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals.
Thorpe played six seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Giants. He also played for six teams in the NFL winning three championships with the Canton Bulldogs. He was the first president of the American Professional Football Association which later became the NFL in 1922. He was an amazing athlete and was a force to be reckoned with in every different sport he ventured into.