Into the Hall: George Von Benko
When the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame is mentioned a wealth of outstanding area athletes likely comes to mind.
There is another name that will always be intertwined with the Hall of Fame.
That name is George Von Benko.
After helping to make his dream of a local hall of fame come true and seeing droves of deserving sports figures being inducted, Von Benko himself has been chosen as a member of the Class of 2024.
It seems only fitting that Hall of Fame Executive Chair/Co-Founder Von Benko, the man most responsible for the many Fayette County athletes who have had the Hall of Fame honor bestowed upon them, is also inducted into that organization.
Hall of Fame Board Chairman Chris Cluss certainly felt so.
鈥淲hat success we鈥檝e had is based on George鈥檚 legacy and what he鈥檚 done,鈥� Cluss said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the founder and he鈥檚 done yeoman鈥檚 work. He鈥檚 worked tirelessly to make the thing a success. A majority of the information comes from George. He鈥檚 a wealth of knowledge when it comes to things almost no one else knows. He has a lot of good connections in the sports world.鈥�
Cluss also cited Von Benko鈥檚 weekly 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� feature that appears in the 缅北禁地 and puts the spotlight on local sports greats.
鈥淚t was prefaced on George鈥檚 鈥楳emory Lane鈥� stories that have appeared in the 缅北禁地 for years,鈥� Cluss said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a popular thing and gives you an idea of how many outstanding athletes have come through here.鈥�
Cluss noted there had been a recent push for Von Benko to be inducted.
鈥淔or the last couple years with the nominations and letters, we鈥檝e got a lot of, 鈥楬ey, when is George going in?鈥� We never had him on the ballot, but we had a considerable amount of input from the membership on George and this year we felt it鈥檚 time to recognize him for what he鈥檚 done, being the main guy behind the Hall of Fame,鈥� Cluss said.
鈥淪o the board unanimously decided to make him a part of this year鈥檚 class.鈥�
Von Benko discussed his impending induction while being interviewed by WMBS general manager Brian Mroziak on Von Benko鈥檚 own 缅北禁地 Line Talk Show recently.
鈥淚t is truly an honor. I鈥檓 very humbled by it,鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淚 was surprised but deeply honored.鈥�
Von Benko discussed the evolution of the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame.
鈥淢y friend Jes Hutson, who was the co-founder of the Hall of Fame, had been bugging me about doing something in the summer to honor our great athletes,鈥� Von Benko recalled. 鈥淗e wanted to have a dinner and honor one or two people. He caught me in the parking lot leaving here one Saturday, and he said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e been avoiding me. What鈥檚 going on?鈥� I said, 鈥榃ell Jes, I鈥檝e got a different vision. I have a different idea. All these other counties around us have a hall of fame and I鈥檝e always wondered why we didn鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淲ell, I started researching it and they had tried to start it twice in the past. One of the guys who was really pushing it was the late James 鈥楲ash鈥� Nesser, the old coach at St. John鈥檚 and Uniontown. But it never got off the ground. I said, 鈥楾hat is my idea. I want to start a sports hall of fame.鈥�
鈥淛es and I went to Chris Cluss and a bunch of other people in town, some old coaches, and that鈥檚 how the Hall of Fame started.鈥�
Inductees and representatives for the Class of 2024 will be recognized through the 缅北禁地, Von Benko鈥檚 缅北禁地 Line Talk Show on WMBS Radio and the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame web page and Facebook page.
Von Benko is a Laurel Highlands graduate who couldn鈥檛 crack the Mustangs鈥� talented boys basketball roster under coach Harold 鈥淗orse鈥� Taylor, so he decided to get involved in a different way as a 15-year-old.
鈥淚 was always friends with all the athletes. We had so many players at that time that I couldn鈥檛 make that team,鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淏ut the guys wanted me to be a part of everything so they talked me into being the manager, and Horse let me do all of the scouting notes, stats and everything else like that.
鈥淏ut he knew that I wanted to get into radio. I told my dad when I was 5 years old that I wanted to get into radio and do play-by-play. I used to practice on an old tape recorder with the television sound turned down.
鈥淗orse went to the radio station at that time that was doing Laurel Highlands, WPQR, the FM station. He talked Ed Olesh, the general manager, into using me on the broadcast. I started doing color. Then one game 鈥� the guy doing the play-by-play showed up inebriated. He could not do the game. So young George Von Benko was thrust into doing the play-by-play and that was the beginning of it all.鈥�
Von Benko, whose education background includes the School of Journalism at both Penn State and West Virginia, saw his career take off after that and has become a rarity among media members.
鈥淚n my career I鈥檓 the only guy who I know of 鈥� and Bill Hilgrove said the same thing 鈥� that at one time worked for Penn State, Pitt, Duquesne and West Virginia,鈥� Von Benko said with a chuckle.
Von Benko鈥檚 first professional job also came at WPQR-FM.
鈥淚 started doing a sports show, and they had a cable television outlet so I did a show on television, too,鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淚 interviewed the local high school coaches and college coaches. From there I went to WLSW, which was in Scottdale. I was the morning guy. I did a sports talk show there and did all sorts of interviews.鈥�
Bigger and better opportunities arose for Von Benko.
鈥淎 job opened up in Morgantown, West Virginia, WAJR, which was the flagship station for the Mountaineers,鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淚 applied for a news job. Well, the guy started looking at my background and said, 鈥楥an you do sports?鈥� I said I love sports. The next thing you know I was hired as sports director at WAJR/WVAQ. That鈥檚 what started my career at West Virginia. I was there for several years, then left for WTAE in Pittsburgh.鈥�
Von Benko was part of a night trio that included Myron Cope and Stan Savran at WTAE.
鈥淚 did the pre- and post-game shows for the Steelers with Jack Fleming and Myron Cope,鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淚 was there for a little bit then left there after I was let go, which happens in radio. Myron used to tell me all the time, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not in the business unless you鈥檝e been fired,鈥� which is the way radio is.鈥�
Von Benko just moved on to another Pittsburgh network.
鈥淚 hooked on with Cox Interactive Media, which was part of WIIC, Channel 11 in Pittsburgh (now WPXI),鈥� Von Benko said. 鈥淭hat was their Internet thing. We had a sports page and everything on there.鈥�
Von Benko eventually moved on to work for the University of Cincinnati.
鈥淏ob Goin, who was with me at West Virginia, was athletic director at Cincinnati,鈥� Von Benko pointed out. 鈥淭heir play-by-play guy, Paul Keels, left and went to Ohio State. They called and said, 鈥榃ould you be interested in coming and doing the Bearcats?鈥� Of course I had the backing of Bob Huggins (the Bearcats men鈥檚 basketball head coach at that time) who was my friend since college (at WVU), so I went to Cincinnati.
鈥淚 did the Bearcats for a couple years, including a year they should鈥檝e won the national championship when Kenyon Martin got hurt in a meaningless Conference USA game. They would鈥檝e won the championship that year.鈥�
Von Benko also has broadcast Pitt women鈥檚 basketball, volleyball, swimming and wrestling and Duquesne basketball and worked for WJAS, Prime 缅北禁地 Network (as Pirates baseball 鈥淭alkin鈥� Bucs鈥� guest host) and Fox 缅北禁地 Radio in Pittsburgh as a college basketball analyst. He鈥檚 written for the Louisville 缅北禁地 Reporter and MLB.com.
Von Benko鈥檚 professional path finally led him to WMBS in Uniontown.
鈥淚 was doing a show on a station that鈥檚 no longer around, the one in Brownsville, WASP,鈥� Von Benko explained. 鈥淚 had a pretty successful show there. That station closed up and I was looking for another talk show gig and fate brought us (he and Mroziak) together. And the rest is history I guess.鈥�
Von Benko鈥檚 talk show has aired Saturday on WMBS from 10 a.m. to noon since 2005.
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame Golf Outing/Luncheon/Social, starting with golf at 9 a.m., on June 21 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Those interested in purchasing luncheon tickets or participating in the golf outing can contact Katie Propes by phone at 724-415-2211 or by email at kpropes@occluss.com.