Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame inducts 3rd class
?The third class of the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame may have been two members smaller than the 2010 class. But the quality and status of this year鈥檚 class easily matches the impact of its predecessors.
The induction banquet on Saturday at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus capped three days of activities that included the Salvation Army Hall of Fame 5K Race on Thursday and a golf scramble and luncheon on Friday at the Uniontown Country Club.
One of Saturday鈥檚 highlights was the completion of the induction of what many county residents called 鈥渢he big three鈥�; a trio of sportswriters who informed residents from all corners of Fayette County about the achievements of its athletes. Jim Kriek was posthumously inducted into the hall, joining first year inductee Todd Trent and second year inductee Bob Petriello.
With Kriek as sports editor of the Daily Courier in Connellsville, Trent as sports editor of the Uniontown Morning Herald and Evening Standard, and Petriello sports editor of the Brownsville Telegraph, many of the athletes who have been inducted into the County Hall of Fame were covered extensively on a daily basis.
Former Connellsville High School baseball coach Tom Sankovich said of Kriek, 鈥淗e was a great sportswriter and a close personal friend. He often said, 鈥榣et鈥檚 play two,'鈥� before high school baseball games.
Kriek鈥檚 son, George, said the late sportswriter once reminded him that it was important to spell all names correctly because it might be the only time an individual gets their name in the sports pages.
Julie Jones Venick was the second female inductee, following last year鈥檚 induction of Rutgers women鈥檚 basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer.
But Venick is the first female athlete to join the FCSHOF. A basketball standout who scored more than 1,000 points at both Laurel Highlands High School and Richmond University, Venick said, 鈥淭here are so many opportunities (today) for young female athletes. I hope they are able to take advantage of these opportunities. They enabled me to get a good education and use it as an English teacher at Laurel Highlands.鈥�
On behalf of Brownsville baseball star Ed Roebuck, whose health kept him from attending the banquet, Dave Holliday said Roebuck 鈥渋s very appreciative of being inducted into the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame.鈥�
Frank Wydo spoke on behalf of his later father, German Township football standout Frank Wydo. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to have his name and to be his son,鈥� said Wydo, who told the gathering that his father was among 300 collegiate players taken in the 1947 National Football League draft. 鈥淥ne other person in that group played six more games than my dad,鈥� Wydo said.
Connellsville, Pitt and Washington Redskins player Jim Cunningham said he has been blessed in life. Redstone Township and University of Pittsburgh star Fred Mazurek acknowledged all the athletes he played with and against as a youth.
Uniontown basketball standout Don Yates, said the 1962 Red Raiders won with humility and the players were never cocky. 鈥淭he seed (to win) was set in all of us by the community,鈥� Yates said.
Speaking about his late father, Uniontown High School and Uniontown St. John鈥檚 coach James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser, James Nesser said his father鈥檚 roots in Catholicism and the community helped lead to his successes in coaching. Nesser said following his father鈥檚 goals and drive 鈥渨e can all be Hall of Famers.鈥�
Speaking for the 1961 Class A championship football team from Albert Gallatin, Ross Brown said 鈥渨e won this as a team. We had a sense of team values to honor our teammates and respect our teammates.鈥�
Speaking for the 1989 WPIAL and PIAA championship Connellsville High School baseball team, coach Tom Sankovich said, 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of our team. It鈥檚 the first baseball team in the Hall of Fame. It鈥檚 a tremendous honor for the kids and the community.鈥�
Board chairman Chris Cluss reminded the gathering that the FCSHOF is based in the Uniontown Library, where plans are under way to expand the organization鈥檚 facilities of inductees鈥� plaques and memorabilia.