Shining stars: The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame inducted its 13th class on Nov. 3. (From left) Coach Jay Wright represented Villanova. Former Eagle Brian Dawkins and former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel were among the inductees. Owner Cosmo DeNicola represented the Soul. PHOTOS: WIKIMEDIA AND FACEBOOK
The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame last week inducted its 13th class during a ceremony at the Hilton on City Line Avenue.
Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker was emcee for the Nov. 3 event. Baker pinch-hit for Pat Williams, a former 76ers general manager and current Orlando Magic senior executive vice president. Baker read a poem from Williams celebrating the inductees.
The Hall of Fame is based at Spike’s, a trophy and awards shop at 2701 Grant Ave.
The 16 latest inductees represented nine sports.
In addition, the Villanova men’s basketball team and the Philadelphia Soul indoor football team each received Pride of Philadelphia awards for winning championships earlier this year.
Coach Jay Wright represented Villanova. Owner Cosmo DeNicola represented the Soul, declaring in his remarks that he is “Northeast Philly born and raised.”
The evening included a silent auction featuring framed pictures of Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hitting the buzzer-beating shot to defeat North Carolina in the championship game.
Other items featured memorabilia celebrating the likes of Carson Wentz, Joe Paterno, Brad Lidge, Julius Erving, Reggie White, Mike Schmidt, Bernie Parent and Rich Gannon, the Fox Chase native and former NFL quarterback who was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame last year.
The inductees were:
• 1966–67 76ers: Finished 68–13 in the regular season and then went on to win the NBA title. Accepting the award was Wali Jones, a player on that team and a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
• Al Severance: Villanova men’s basketball coach from 1936–61, going 413–201 and advancing to the 1939 Final Four at the Palestra.
• Brian Dawkins: Played 13 years as safety for the Eagles and was a six-time all-pro. In his remarks, he gave a special thanks to the late defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
• Bruce Harlan: NCAA champion and Olympic gold medal-winning diver.
• Charlie Manuel: Managed the Phillies to the 2008 World Series championship. Former Phillies first baseman Jim Thome appeared in a video tribute.
• Chris Short: A two-time all-star pitcher for the Phillies who, like Manuel, wore №41. Rhawn Short spoke for his late father. The younger Short was born in August 1964, just before the Phillies blew a 6½-game lead with 12 games to go to lose the National League pennant to the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series.
• Dick “Hoops” Weiss: A basketball writer for the Philadelphia Daily News and New York Daily News who has covered 45 Final Fours.
• George Orton: Won gold medal in the 2,500-meter steeplechase at the 1900 Olympics. Accepting for him was Penn track and cross country coach Steve Dolan.
• Goose Goslin: Played 18 years as a left fielder in Major League Baseball, finishing with a career average of .316. He won two World Series and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Herman Taylor: Promoted boxers Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Marciano.
• Jeff Chandler: Former bantamweight world boxing champion.
• Jimmy Watson: A 10-year defenseman for the Flyers, he was on the 1974 and ’75 teams that won the Stanley Cup. Played in five NHL all-star games.
• Marilyn Stephens: Basketball star at Temple who was a Division I All-American in 1984.
• Steve Fredericks: A radio play-by-play announcer for the 76ers and Big 5 basketball. Hosted radio sports talk shows on WCAU and WIP in Philadelphia and WFAN in New York. Accepting for Fredericks was his former WIP co-host, Mike Missanelli.
• Sylvia Wene Martin: Rolled three perfect games in bowling.
• Vonnie Gros: All-American in field hockey and lacrosse at Ursinus. Coached West Chester to two AIAW field hockey championships. Coached U.S. field hockey team to bronze medal at 1984 Olympics.
Current Hall of Famers in attendance were Baker, Sonny Hill, Bill Ellerbee, Tina Sloan Green, Bill Bergey, Speedy Morris, Theresa Grentz, Ernie Beck, Brian Propp, Lou Nolan and Ray Didinger.
Local sports figures in attendance included former Rowan men’s basketball coach Joe Cassidy; former Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan; Temple men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy; former Villanova basketball player George Raveling, who later coached Washington State, Iowa and USC; Phillies special consultant Ed Wade, the team’s former general manager; former Flyers Brad Marsh, Doug Crossman Joe Watson and Don Saleski; and Tom Burgoyne, best friend of the Phillie Phanatic.
The pub-lic is in-vited to view the Hall of Fame gal-lery at Spike’s on Sat-urdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment.
For more information, visit Phillyhall.org ••
