After long wait, county finally has hall of fame

It seemed like such a good idea at the time, a hall of fame recognizing Centre County’s long and rich history of outstanding athletes.

It just made sense. Blair County to our south has one. Clearfield County to our northwest had one at the time, which has since died. To our north, Clinton County had one which has since morphed into the Susquehanna Chapter of the state hall of fame.

Yet we here in Centre County had none. There was nothing but our memories, and faded newspaper clippings and photos, to commemorate the greats who performed on our fields and courts and mats.

So 20 years ago I wrote a column for the CDT advocating the formation of our own hall of fame.

Why didn’t we have one? Why shouldn’t we have one?

The response was cold, as though I had proposed that Penn State drop all sports and become a monastery.

How could a county that has produced All-Americans in football, baseball, soccer and wrestling not have a means to honor them? How could a place that has had all-state performers in every sport, four-time state champions, even national champions, not recognize them and preserve their successes for posterity?

As time has proven, I was right. It was a good idea whose time had just not yet come.

Now it has.

Today at the Ramada Inn in State College, 13 individuals will be inducted into the inaugural Centre County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame class. Attendance at the banquet will be 309. That speaks to the notion that there was indeed an interest in the subject, it just needed time to grow.

Two years ago the idea took root thanks to the efforts of former Bald Eagle Area wrestling coach Dick Rhoades and his brother, Lloyd, who came home from the Susquehanna chapter’s annual banquet and decided to revisit the subject. This time the seeds fell on fertile ground.

“We need to be able to recognize people who have done good things,’’ said Ron Pifer, a former Bellefonte and Penn State wrestler and State College wrestling coach who is the chapter president. “Something needed to be done.’’

The Centre County Chapter, one of 30 in the state, borrowed heavily from the state’s mission statement, saying, “The purpose is to perpetuate the memory of individuals who have brought lasting fame and recognition to the county and its people through their achievements in athletics.”

In keeping with its intent to honor the county’s athletes beginning with the current school year, the Hall will donate $100 scholarships to a male and female athlete at each of the county’s five public schools as well as St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy.

And while there is no permanent structure that will serve as a true Hall of Fame, the names of every inductee will be placed on a display board on the wall of the Centre County Convention and Visitors Bureau across from Beaver Stadium. There will be room on the board for 176 nameplates. There are at least that many men and women deserving to be on display there.

Today, there are 205 members of the Hall, an impressive number since it was only formed in November of 2015. Each of those members is able to nominate candidate(s) for the Hall and has a vote in the annual election, so it’s membership driven and not an arbitrary process. And membership is open to anyone.

This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 11:23 PM with the headline "After long wait, county finally has hall of fame."