Palone, Moorer elected to Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
Dave Palone has been to the winner’s circle 21,251 times in his career, more than any harness racing driver.
But he never thought he would find his way to the dias of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
He finally found the way.
Palone, a Jefferson-Morgan High School graduate and Rices Landing native, has been elected to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He’s only the second harness racing figure to be elected to the HOF. Legendary Delvin Miller was inducted in 1964.
Palone will be inducted Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh.
In addition, Michael Moorer, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, was also elected. A Monessen High School graduate, Moorer was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year.
Another local athlete who has been elected to the state Hall of Fame is Sean Casey, who played in the major leagues for a variety of teams including the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers. Casey, an Upper St. Clair High School graduate, hit the first home run in PNC Park history while playing for the Reds.
Other inductees include Charlie Batch (football), the late Jule Holleran Igoe (swimming), Steve Kline (baseball), former Pitt basketball standout and 11-year NFL veteran Sam Clancy, Gerald Feehery (football), the late Gary Brown (football), Melanie Morgan Miller (swimming), Karen Hall (basketball) and Olympic basketball player Swin Cash.
Palone, 63, won his world-record 20,000th harness race June 25, 2022, at The Meadows.
“When you see the names who are in there, you just think about where you came from and how you got started,” Palone said, “You know there’s been so many highs and lows with the injuries and big races. It gives me goosebumps.”
Palone said he had the pleasure of working with Miller and the great Arnold Palmer.
“Delvin is the pinnacle of harness racing,” Palone said. “I just tried to do things the way he would’ve done them. I remember when I was young and he would give me advice on how to do things. I trained a horse for Delvin and Arnold Palmer – Ardell. To get to meet those two guys was as big a thrill for me – 25-years-old at the time – as anybody could ever have.”
Some of Palone’s other accomplishments:
N Being inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame July 4, 2010, in Goshen, N.Y.
N Having the most driving victories in North America three times (1999, 2000 and 2004).
N In September 2005, driving P Forty Seven to victory in the Little Brown Jug – the second leg of the harness racing Triple Crown – in Delaware, Ohio.
N Stakes wins that included the Messenger Stakes in 1996; the Little Brown Jugette in 1999 and 2008; the Glen Garsney Pace in 2011 and 2012; and three Breeders Crown races.
His most emotional and coveted win came in the 1999 Adios Pace – on his home track at The Meadows – when he steered 9-1 shot Washington VC to victory over eventual Triple Crown champion Blissful Hall.
“That was the biggest, truly a David and Goliath story, I could ever come up with,” Palone said. “It would’ve been a great Walt Disney story because I never heard of the horse until that day and he was probably one of the biggest long shots in the field against Blissful Hall. I needed everything to go right — a muddy racetrack, the right spot of the racetrack, there to be a closing bias and to be able to come off the last turn and have Blissful Hall in my sights. Then to be able to run him down like that in the stretch with so many family and friends there that day. You couldn’t write a better script.”
Moorer, 57, competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes — having held the WBO light heavyweight title (1988-1991) with 22 straight KOs and the WBO heavyweight crown from 1992 to 1993; and the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight championship in 1994, when he won by decision over Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas.
His record was 57-4-1 with 52 wins by KO.
Moorer remains one of only two southpaws to win the lineal world championship at heavyweight.
Moorer said it’s a “proud moment” every time he’s elected to a Hall of Fame.
“It’s because of the accomplishments and the hard work and the dedication that I put myself through,” Moorer said. “It’s rewarding to know you’re going to be in the Hall of Fame. I am always grateful.”
Moorer, 57, feels the impact on his body every day. But wouldn’t change the course or sacrifices made.
“I know that everything is over and done with,” he explained. “I said ‘what in the world did I put myself through?’ My body hurts like hell every day. I had 28 surgeries from boxing.
“When I look at it now, it’s more of a wow that I did this all by myself. I was the only one who got in that ring and did it. It’s not a team sport. It is one -on-one. It’s a lot of hard work.”