May 12, 2018 5 min read

Lee Fritz was a special athlete at Waynesburg High School.

This multisport athlete became the first football player in WPIAL history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in a season. He was an outstanding baseball player and twice was named to the all-state team in football.

Now, he is going to be a hall of famer.

Fritz will be honored with 10 others at the induction ceremonies for the Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held June 8 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.

Tickets can be purchased through PayPal at wash-greenesportshall.org

Fritz joins Ron Dellapina (wrestling), Craig Dellorso (wrestling), Bob Grove (sports journalism) George Linck (athletic director), Nancy Merkle (volleyball), Morgan “Mike” Mosser (track and field), Kurt Schottenheimer (football) and Rodney Wilson in this year’s group. Coleman Scott of Waynesburg was originally elected in 2017 but because of a schedule conflict couldn’t attend and will be inducted this year. The 1971 Chartiers-Houston WPIAL championship football team will be inducted as the Team of Yesteryear.

The Chapter will also recognize former major league baseball players, Eddie Kazak of Cecil, and Andy Seminick of Muse, and the 1939 Waynesburg College football team – first team to play in a televised game – as Special Honorees.

The following are bios from a portion of the inductees. The remaining bios will be published at a later date.

Lee Fritz

Waynesburg High School, West Virginia University: A three-year starter with 24 interceptions, Fritz was a three-time All-Conference selection in football. He rushed for 1,191 yards as a quarterback and threw for 2,400 yards and had 61 total TDs. He led the Raiders to the 1999 WPIAL Class AA championship and a runner-up finish in 2000.

In baseball, Fritz went 16-3 as a pitcher and had a .475 career batting average. He pitched a perfect game in 2000 and was a two-time All-PIAA selection, leading Waynesburg to the 1999 WPIAL championship and PIAA runner-up finish.

At West Virginia, Fritz hit .385 with 229 hits, had a .428 on-base percentage, 119 runs and 96 RBI. He was two-time All-Big East (2004, ’05) and second team Big East in 2003. Fritz was Big East batting champion in 2003.

Ron Dellapina

Union High School, Findlay College: As a wrestler, Dellapina had a career record of 47-6 at Burgettstown. He was section champ and WPIAL runner-up as a senior and section runner-up as a freshman and junior.

At Findlay College, Dellapina was a two-time champion at the Wheaton Invitational, and was named Outstanding Wrestler once. He also won a title at the Case Tech 4-I tournament and was runner-up at the Wilkes College Open, which was known as the Rose Bowl of Wrestling.

Dellapina was a Pennsylvania State College Conference runner-up, and placed fourth at the NAIA National Championships. He won team awards for most take downs, and most pins and named the team’s Most Valuable Wrestler. He was elected to the Findlay College Hall of Fame.

In 18 years as head coach and three years as junior high coach at Fort Cherry, he compiled 159 victories, winning two section championships, a conference championship and WPIAL team of the year award.

Dellapina coached 25 individual section champions, five WPIAL champions, six WPIAL runners-up, two PIAA runners-up, a PIAA third place winner and two PIAA fourth-place finishers. He was named WPIAL Coach of the Year in 1976.

Craig Dellorso

Canon-McMillan High School, U.S. Naval Academy: Dellorso became the first Big Mac to capture 100 career victories, going 127-21, and won PIAA and WPIAL championships at 132 pounds in 1983.

Dellorso won section titles in 1980 and 1983. He was selected to represent the Pennsylvania Team at 132 pounds in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic in 1983 and named Outstanding Wrestler. He was named a Cliff Keen High School All-American in 1983.

At the Naval Academy, Dellorso recorded a 96-27-1 record, which still ranks 15th on the Midshipmen’s list of total victories.

Dellorso was a three-time NCAA qualifier and an EIWA champion at 134 pounds in 1984. He was named team captain in 1987. He also placed 3rd in the EIWA in 1986 and 1987 and was a two-time Navy Classic champion at 142 points in 1984 and 1985.

Bob Grove

Freeport High School, Penn State University: Grove covered the Penguins for 17 years for the Observer-Reporter (1981-1998) and also handled general reporting, including California University football, The Meadows Race Track, and Wash High basketball in 1984-86.

Grove is the author of “Pittsburgh Penguins: The Officials History of the First 30 years,” and is chairman of the Pittsburgh Chapter, Professional Hockey Writers Association and a member of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Champions Committee.

Grove covered the Penguins for 14 years for the Pittsburgh Sports Report (1998-2012).

A Washington County resident since 1981, Grove was part-time co-host for the Penguins Hockey Network for six years and full-time pre and post-game host for PHN from 2005-2015.

He is a contributor to Pittsburgh Hockey Now (Columnist), contributor Total Hockey, the official Encyclopedia of the NHL & The Game I’ll Never Forget, 100 Hockey Stars Stories, Hockey Digest, Goal Magazine and Ice Time Magazine.