Marvin Lewis to speak at hall of fame banquet
The Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will have a special guest to help celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the chapter’s existence.
Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and a graduate of Fort Cherry High School, will speak at the banquet, which will be held Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.
Lewis, who was inducted into the Washington-Greene Chapter in 2002, spent four season with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-95), coaching some of the best linebackers in the NFL, including Pro Bowlers Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland and Greg Lloyd.
Tickets are $45 apiece and can be purchased by calling B.J. at 724-678-4320.
The 15 individuals being honored at this year’s banquet are Fred Pagac (Football, Athlete of Distinction) of Beth-Center, Mark Angle (wrestling), Chris Sidick (baseball) and Henry Armstrong (track and field) of Canon-McMillan; Jamey Bennett (football) of Fort Cherry; Frank Bernadowski (football) of California University; Michael Bonus (baseball), the late Jerry Lattimore (wrestling), Kory Sensky (soccer) and Kevin Holley (football) of Trinity; Kaitlyn Orstein-Fife (swimming) of Washington & Jefferson; the late John Guzik (football) of Cecil High School; Kristin Polosky-Puskas (basketball) of Mapletown; Tom Trettel (Meritorious Service) of Charleroi and Mel Blount (Youth Service Award).
The first induction class of 1986 also will have some individuals returning for the event. In that year, another NFL player, Doug Kotar, was inducted. Kotar, a Canon-McMillan graduate, was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974 then traded to the New York Giants. He died from a brain tumor in 1983 at age 32.
Joe Shook, a former wrestling coach at Trinity High School, is expected to make an appearance.
Other notable inductees in 1986 were the late Mike Pavella, who qualified for 14 U.S. Open championships and nine PGA championships; the late Dr. William A. Harris, who established the wrestling program at Washington High School; and the 1942-43 basketball team from Washington & Jefferson College that upset Creighton in the NIT.