Bill Bowes Pa. Sports Hall of Fame Induction Oct. 28
WILLIAMSPORT – College Football Hall of Fame member Bill Bowes will be among those inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame later this month. Bowes, a Blanchard native and standout football player at Lock Haven High School and Penn State, will be among 10 living inductees to be recognized Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport. Bowes was head football coach at New Hampshire where he won numerous titles and accolades.
Living inductees, in addition to Bowes, include: Joe Walton (football), Art Rooney Jr. (football), Sheila Murphy (field hockey), Bob Sanders (football), Wil Robinson (basketball), Jerry Conboy (basketball), Michael Payton (football), Joe Egresitz (football) and Ron Insinger (basketball); also three deceased inductees: Dick Harter (basketball), Sam Jethroe (baseball) and Red Worrell (football).
Living Inductees:
Bill Bowes (West Branch Valley)
Elected to College Football Hall of Fame in 2016 … coached University of New Hampshire football for 27 years … 175 wins, most in Yankee Conference history and top 25 in FCS history… claimed four conference and three division titles … four-time conference, three-time district and two-time New England Coach of the Year … helped 1975 team to Division II semifinals … earned four NCAA Tournament bids … 2002 New England Football Writers Contribution to Football award … 1964 Penn State captain … played in Blue-Gray Football Classic … 2000 PSU Alumni Athlete Award … Quarterback of undefeated 1960 Lock Haven HS team … played in 1961 Big 33 game.
Joe Walton (Robert “Tick” Cloherty Chapter)
Coached Robert Morris football team for 20 years (1994-13), winning 114 games and six Northeast Conference titles … won five straight conference titles from 1996-00 … won conference title in 2010 and earned a bid to the FCS playoffs … coached Jets for seven years from 1983-89, helping team to AFC playoffs in 1985 and ’86, posting a 53-57-1 overall record … played at the University of Pittsburgh, helping the team to the 1955 Sugar Bowl and 1956 Gator Bowl, earning two All-American honors as a wide receiver and an Academic All-American as a senior … drafted in the NFL draft second round by Washington, spending eight years in the NFL, four seasons with the Redskins and four with the Giants … began NFL coaching career as a scout for the Giants before becoming wide receivers coach … coached Redskins from 1974-80, serving as an offensive coordinator from 1978-80 before moving to the Jets in 1981 … promoted to head coach in 1983 and also served as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1990-91 … native of Beaver Falls, Pa.
Arthur J. Rooney Jr. (Robert “Tick” Cloherty Chapter)
Oversaw the Steelers’ scouting department from 1966-87, an era during which the team drafted nine future Pro Football Hall of Fame selections … widely regarded as largely responsible for the Steelers winning four Super Bowls in a span of six years in the ’70s … his 1974 draft produced Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster … played football at Saint Vincent College and toured with the U.S. Marine Corps … after exiting the Steelers daily operations in 1987, he began to run the family’s real estate holdings, but remained team’s Vice President and is still part of ownership group.
Sheila Murphy (Bucks County Chapter)
Coached field hockey at Neshaminy H.S. for 19 years … led team to 11 consecutive league titles, a District 1 title and two PIAA State Championships (’83, ’90), going 259-52-23 overall … coached girls’ basketball for six years and softball for 11 years, winning two league titles in softball and going 124-54 overall … played basketball, field hockey and lacrosse at Temple, being inducted into their athletics hall of fame in 1985 … also inducted into Neshaminy’s All Sports Hall of Fame.
Bob Sanders (Metro Erie Chapter)
Developed into one of the top safeties in football, winning a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts and becoming a two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection … named 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the highlight of an eight-year professional career … given the nicknames “The Hitman” for his physical style of play and “The Eraser” by former Colts coach Tony Dungy for his ability to erase teammates’ mistakes … played seven seasons with the Colts and one with the San Diego Chargers before retiring in 2011 … a star at the University of Iowa, where he was a three-time All-Big Ten selection … graduated from Erie’s Cathedral Prep, where he helped the Ramblers to the 1999 PIAA championship game as a standout running back and safety … a first-team all-state selection.
Wil Robinson (Fayette County Chapter)
Led Laurel Highlands High School to a state championship in 1968 and was a high school All-America selection after averaging 30 points per game … scored 1,850 points in career at West Virginia University … garnered All-America honors during his senior season in 1972 when he forged the highest season scoring average in WVU history when he scored 706 points in 24 games (29.4), breaking a record set by Jerry West … third in WVU history in career points and holds WVU Coliseum record for points in a game, scoring 45 against Penn State in 1971 … selected in the fourth round of the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets and the fourth round of the ABA draft by the Pittsburgh Condors … played one year in the ABA (1974) with Memphis and Utah … inducted into the West Virginia University Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Cloherty chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Jerry Conboy (Robert “Tick” Cloherty Chapter)
Won 305 games in 20 seasons at Point Park University from 1969-89 … helped team make 14 consecutive appearances in the NAIA District 18 postseason and take two trips to the NAIA National Tournament … led South Hills Catholic to two PIAA titles in 1960s … also coached at Davidson University and with Elizabeth Forward’s girls’, Montour’s boys’ and Seton LaSalle’s girls … helped Seton LaSalle girls to WPIAL title in 2000 and a runner-up finish in 1999 … inducted into Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame in 2012 and is also a member of Point Park and South Hills Catholic Halls of Fame.
Michael Payton (Capital Area Chapter)
Played college football at Marshall University, where he was the recipient of the 1992 Walter Payton Award, bestowed annually upon Division I-AA’s most outstanding player … a two-time All-American and Southern Conference Player of the Year … completed 222 passes on 346 attempts for 3,392 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions as a junior, leading Marshall to the NCAA Division I championship game, where the Herd finished as runners-up … set the Division I-AA record for season passing efficiency (181.3) … completed 268 passes on 415 attempts for 3,610 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as a senior, leading Marshall to its first national title, earning West Virginia Amateur Athlete of the Year honors … finished his college tenure as the Southern Conference’s all-time career passing leader (9,411 yards) … graduate of Central Dauphin East High School … played one season in the Arena Football League for the Florida Bobcats … inducted in the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Joe Egresitz (Capital Area)
The only Gettysburg football player to ever be named first team all-conference on both the offensive and defensive units in the same year as well as being named the MAC University Division’s Co-MVP (1966) … named to the Associated Press Little All-America First Team, Kodak All-America First Team, and the Lutheran All-America First Team as a defensive end as a senior (1966) … earned two First Team All-MAC honors as a defensive end in his career … amassed 231 tackles in career with Bullets, helping team to a Lambert Cup in 1966 … helped John Harris High School to two undefeated seasons … signed a pro contract with the Dallas Cowboys … also starred in track and field at Gettysburg … broke the school’s javelin record with a throw of 208-2 … set stadium javelin records at Delaware and Franklin and Marshall as well as the Little Three standard … covered 100 yards in 9.9 seconds and the 220-yard dash in 23.8 seconds … also pole vaulted, clearing 11-6.
Ron Insinger (West Branch Valley)
Pennsylvania’s all-time winningest high school boys’ basketball coach with 852 career wins in 41 years at Loyalsock Township HS … has won 19 district titles … led team to three PIAA state Eastern finals … 1993 state runner-up … helped team to 26 conference titles … helped Lancers to 35 20-win seasons … coached girls’ basketball team at LTHS for four years (1975-78), leading team to two district titles, four conference titles and state quarterfinals in 1978 … one of two high school coaches in Pennsylvania history to win 900 basketball games.
Deceased Inductees
Dick Harter (Tri-County)
Served as head coach of four NCAA Division I basketball programs for total of 18 years and head coach of an NBA team for two seasons … posted a career record of 296-195 in college basketball, spending one season at Rider (1965-66), five at University of Pennsylvania (1966-71), seven years at Oregon (1971-78) and five seasons at Penn State (1978-83) … led Penn to two Ivy League titles and two NCAA tournament appearances, going 25-2 season in 1969-70 and 28-1 record in 1970-71 … enjoyed six winning seasons and two 20-win campaigns at Oregon and four winning seasons at Penn State … left Penn State to become an assistant with NBA’s Detroit Pistons … became first head coach of Charlotte Hornets in 1988, coaching the team for one and a half seasons … continued to coach in the NBA as an assistant 16 of the next 20 years, working with New York (Pat Riley head coach), Portland (P.J. Carlesimo), Indiana (Larry Bird/Jim O’Brien), Boston (Jim O’Brien) and Philadelphia (Jim O’Brien) … spent 53 years coaching (three at Germantown Academy, eight as college assistant, 18 as college head coach, two as NBA head coach, 22 as NBA assistant coach) … played basketball at Penn, graduating in 1953 … a native of Pottstown, Pa., went to The Hill School … passed away March 12, 2012 at age 81.
Sam Jethroe (Metro Erie)
Part of the first wave of African-American players to reach the major leagues when he joined the Boston Braves in 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier … named National League Rookie of the Year that year, becoming the oldest player ever to win the award at 32, and led the NL in stolen bases in his first two seasons, each time with 35 … led Negro American lead with .353 batting average in 1944 and .393 average in 1945 … led Cleveland to Negro World Series title in 1945 … played in five East-West Games (the Negro League All-Star Game) … took a pay cut in 1948 to enter the minor leagues, where he starred in two seasons with Montreal before reaching Boston … played three seasons of major league baseball in Boston and two games with Pittsburgh, finishing career with .261 average, 280 runs, 460 hits, 80 doubles, 25 triples, 49 homers, 181 RBI and 98 stolen bases … played six more seasons in minor leagues, including final five years of career in Toronto of the International League … born in Mississippi and raised in East St. Louis, he moved to Erie in 1943 and stayed until his death in 2001, running Jethroe’s Bar and Restaurant.
Red Worrell (Washington Greene)
1956 First Team High School All-American Football at Centerville High School … only player from Pennsylvania on the Wigwam Wisemen All-America First Team that year … also named to the Scholastic Magazine All-American squad … the first four-time All-Western Pennsylvania selection … a two-time winner of the Thom McAn Bronzed Shoe Award as best player in WPIAL … a Pa. Big 33 All-Star selection … in just seven contests, scored 18 touchdowns and added 17 extra points to post 125 points as a senior … scored 376 points in career and rushed for nearly 3,000 yards in career … set PIAA shot put (55-5.5) record as a junior … won PIAA discus championship as a sophomore … won WPIAL titles in shot put (53-6) and discus (145-3), setting records in both and single-handedly helping Centerville finish seventh at the event as a senior … broke all rushing records with Penn State’s undefeated freshman team … scored six touchdowns in a game against the Navy Plebe team … scored on runs of 40,37 and 35 yards while rushing for 236 yards in another 23-13 win over Navy … Penn State established the “Red Worrell Memorial Award” following his accidental death at home in 1957 at age 19 … inducted into the Washington-Greene Hall of Fame in 1998, the Mid-Mon Valley Chapter Hall of Fame in 2007 and the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2012.
Tickets for the banquet are $75 and must be purchased by Friday, Oct. 19. They can be purchased by sending a check to Dave Bower, West Branch Valley Sports Hall of Fame Treasurer, 1420 Campbell St., Williamsport, PA 17701 and can also be requested through e-mail at dgbower2@gmail.com. Along with your ticket request, please include a name for each ticket and a meal preference for each ticket – meals available are an 8 oz. prime rib, San Diego chicken, cheese ravioli ratatouille or vegan ratatouille.
The banquet is the 56th annual showcase for the best of Pennsylvania athletes and Ken Sawyer, longtime sports personality in the Williamsport area will serve as the event’s emcee. The last time it was held in Williamsport was 1977.
