LHU Hall of Fame Induction

LOCK HAVEN – The first-ever Lock Haven University Athletic Hall of Fame Class was inducted at the school’s Durrwachter Alumni Conference Center on Sunday.

Among those in attendance were members of the school’s 1980 NCAA Division II men’s soccer team and individual inductees Rose Ann Neff, Bruce Parkhill, George Dintiman, Kristin Erb and Gray Simons. Additionally Neff accepted for the late Charlotte Smith and Simons for the late Hubert Jack, Simon’s wrestling coach at LHU.

Current LHU women’s basketball head coach Jennifer Smith accepted for the late Carol Eckman and current athletic trainer and faculty member Mike Porter accepted for the late Dave Tomasi.

Initial inductees are:

Charlotte Smith

One of the great pioneers of women’s varsity sports at LHU, Smith founded the field hockey program in 1945 and the lacrosse program in 1970.  In her 28 years as field hockey coach, her teams compiled a record of 152-36-19.

Hubert Jack

One of the most successful coaches in LHU history, Jack led the wrestling team to a record of 228-52-5 between 1946 and 1964.  He also led the football team to its only undefeated and untied season in 1957.

Gray Simons

Simons was a three-time National Champion (1960-62), two-time Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and finished his college career at 91-2, winning 84 straight matches after losing twice as a freshman.  He was a member of two Olympic Teams, in 1960 and 1964, finishing sixth in 1960.

Rose Ann Neff

A three-sport star at LHU – in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse – Neff was a member of three U.S. Lacrosse Teams.  She scored 28 goals for the 1975 team that completed its tour of Great Britain with a perfect record of 13-0, earning the U.S. squad the right to be called “World Champion” for the very first time.

Bruce Parkhill

Parkhill, a goalie, was selected to the first-team All-American soccer squad in 1969.  One of the finest all-around athletes in school history, he was also a conference champion in the javelin and All-Conference in basketball.

Carol Eckman

An outstanding basketball player at LHU in the late 1950s, Eckman later earned a spot on two U.S. basketball teams in 1967 and 1968.  While a coach at West Chester in 1969, she established the very first National Tournament for women’s college basketball, an achievement that earned her a place in the first class of inductees to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.

George Dintiman

A three-sport star at LHU, George “Big Train” Dintiman was at his best on the football field, where he was a two-time All-State and NAIA All-American halfback.  He later earned his doctorate at Columbia and gained national recognition as an authority on speed improvement for athletes.

Kristin Erb

Arguably the best Division II softball pitcher of all-time, Erb, a four-time All-American, led LHU to National Championships in 2006 and ’09. She owns six NCAA records, six PSAC records and 10 school records. Erb threw 14 no-hitters and eight perfect games during her Haven career. Three times she was nominated for the NCAA DII Woman of the Year Award, winning it twice.

Dave Tomasi

Tomasi will forever be remembered as the father of LHU’s Athletic Training program and a devoted athletic trainer to so many of LHU’s student-athletes. The Athletic Training Program was developed and sustained through the efforts of Tomasi. He stayed busy teaching athletic training students, but also served in the capacity of Head Athletic Trainer where he positively impacted the lives of many LHU athletes. In 2001 he was elected into the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame for his dedication and passion to LHU, his students, his athletes, and to the profession of Athletic Training.

1980 Men’s Soccer Team

Led by head coach Mike Parker and co-captains Billy Hibbs, and Tim Gargan, the Bald Eagles finished the 1980 season with a perfect 21-0 record on the way to the NCAA Division II Soccer Championships. Lock Haven breezed through the regular season at 17-0. On the season, the Bald Eagles recorded nine shutouts, including the 1-0 victory over Florida International in the National Title match.

Rube Bressler – The Golden Era Inductee (Pre-1950)

Bressler was a star on the Lock Haven Normal School baseball teams of 1911, ’12 and ’13.  He spent eighteen seasons in Major League Baseball, including 11 with the Cincinnati Reds. He retired with a .301 lifetime batting average and was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1963.

The LHU Athletics Hall of Fame was established to celebrate the history, pride, passion and tradition of LHU Athletics by honoring the school’s greatest athletes, coaches and supporters from the school’s founding in 1870.

The LHU Athletics Hall of Fame will be displayed in Thomas Field House by the main entrance on the lower level.