Westmoreland County high school notebook: Jeannette legends up for national football hall of fame honors

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 6, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Three Jeannette football legends are among 60 nominees for the National High School Football Hall of Class of 2024. Former coach Joe Mucci and star players Dick Hoak and Terrelle Pryor are on the ballot for the second hall class.

Mucci also was nominated last year.

They are among impressive company. Other nominees include Franco Harris, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Jack Ham, Jerome Bettis, Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, John Elway, Emmitt Smith, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Randy Moss and others.

The hall’s founder is LaMont “Showboat” Robinson, a Jeannette alum who made his mark on the comedy basketball circuit with the Harlem Road Kings and other teams. He is a member of the American Basketball Hall of Fame and also created the R&B Hall of Fame.

Last summer, 23 former prep stars and coaches were inducted during a ceremony at Canton McKinley High School, two minutes from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Canton McKinley is the temporary home for the high school hall.

Former Jeannette running back John “Showboat” Crowell was inducted last year, along with legendary Jim Brown, Peyton Manning, Marcus Dupree and others.

Crowell is Robinson’s grandfather.

On Wednesday morning, 25 finalists will be announced during a news conference in Canton. The 2024 National High School Football Enshrinement Weekend will be June 6-8 in Canton and will include a youth camp, coaches meeting, red jacket luncheon, enshrinement dinner and golf classic, leading up to the enshrinement ceremony.

Wednesday’s news conference will be livestreamed beginning at 10 a.m. at www.nhsfootballhof.com.

The full list of nominees includes:

Players

Deion Sanders, North Fort (Fort Myers, Fla.)

Terrelle Pryor, Jeannette

Chuck Ealey, Notre Dame (Portsmouth, Ohio)

Franco Harris, Rancocas Valley Regional (Mount Holly, N.J.)

Joe Namath, Beaver Falls

Dick Hoak, Jeannette

Charles Woodson, Ross (Fremont, Ohio)

Dexter Manley, Yates (Houston, Texas)

Bob Golic, St. Joseph (Cleveland, Ohio)

Dan Marino, Central Catholic

Jack Trice, East Tech (Cleveland)

Barry Sanders, Wichita North (Wichita, Kan.)

Ernie Davis, Elmira Free Academy (Elmira, N.Y.)

LeRoy Kelly, Gratz (Philadelphia)

Charlie Batch, Steel Valley

Jack Ham, Bishop McCort

Jerry Jones, North Little Rock, (Little Rock, Ark.)

LeBron James, St. Vincent-Mary (Akron)

Vince Young, Madison, (Houston, Texas)

Billy Sims, Hooks, (Hooks, Texas)

Troy Aikman, Henryetta (Henryetta, Okla.)

Doug Williams, Chaneyville, (Zachary, La.)

Bobby DiGeronimo, (Independence, Ohio)

Calvin “Jack” Jones, Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio)

Robert Smith, Euclid (Euclid, Ohio)

Harvey Armstrong, Kashmere H.S. (Houston)

Tim Couch, Leslie County (Hyden, Ky.)

Dick Butkus, Chicago Vocational (Chicago, Ill.)

Ted Ginn Jr., Glenville (Cleveland)

Rod Woodson, Fort Wayne Snider (Ind.)

Alan Page, Central (Canton)

Shannon Sharpe, Glennville, (Glennville, Ga.)

Herschel Walker, Johnson County, (Wrightsville, Ga.)

Bo Jackson, McAdory, (McCalla, Ala.)

Emmitt Smith, Escambia (Pensacola, Fla.)

Paul Warfield, Warren Harding (Warren, Ohio)

Eric Dickerson, Sealy (Texas)

Josh Cribbs, Dunbar (Washington, D.C.)

John Elway, Granada Hills (Calif.)

Cris Carter, Middletown (Ohio)

Orlando Pace, Sandusky (Ohio)

Tony Dorsett, Hopewell

Randy Moss, DuPont (Belle, W.Va.)

Jerome Bettis, Mackenzie (Detroit, Mich.)

Harvey Armstong, Kashmere (Houston)

Allen Iverson, Bethel (Hampton, Va.)

Tom Cosineau, St. Edwards (Lakewood, Ohio)

Geoff Mitchell, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (London, Ontario)

Clay Matthews Jr., New Trier (Palo Alto, Calif.)

Coaches

Lee Tressler (Massillon, Ohio)

George Curry (Berwick)

Chuck Kyle (St. Ignatius, Ohio)

Joe Mucci (Jeannette)

Reno Saccocia (Steubenville)

John McKissick (South Carolina)

Frank Lenti (Mt. Carmel, Ill.)

Gerry Faust (Cincinnati)

John T. Curtis Jr., (New Orleans, La.)

Teams

Washington Massillon (Massillon, Ohio)

Valdosta (Valdosta, Ga.).

Jeannette Hall

The Jeannette Athletic Hall of Fame weekend will be Friday and Saturday, with this year’s inductees being recognized during Friday night’s home boys basketball game against Springdale.

The induction ceremony will be Saturday at the Jeannette American Legion. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the event begins at 6.

Tickets are $40. Contact: 724-309-0034.

Bowl games

Saint Vincent College has a nationally ranked women’s bowling team that has a 32-5 record and a nation’s best 86.5 winning percentage.

The Bearcats, ranked 13th in Division II/III poll, are hosting their annual high school tournament, the Bearcat Challenge, on Saturday at New Great Valley Lanes in North Versailles. The event drew 180 bowlers and 27 teams (18 boys, nine girls).

On Jan. 13, SVC will host the 31-team Greater Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic at Hillview Lanes in Greensburg. The event started last year with 18 teams.

North Carolina State and Michigan State are coming to the area to compete.

Another local event, the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Bowling Championship, is set for Jan. 20 at Hillview Lanes.

Recruiting

Belle Vernon senior football player Aiden Johnson picked up another Division II scholarship offer, his sixth overall, from Edinboro.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette