Ex-NFL lineman Christy highlights class
As a football player, Jeff Christy was adamant that he would never put his hand on the ground and get in a three-point stance.
“I remember I used to argue with my coaches at Freeport [High School] that I will never play line. It was never going to happen,” said Christy.
But by his junior year at Pitt, Christy was on the offensive line. By the time he finished his NFL career, he had played 10 seasons as a center.
Christy turned out to be one of the most successful offensive linemen ever from the WPIAL and is one of the members of the WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2015. The class was announced Thursday at Heinz History Center.
Christy was a standout running back and linebacker at Freeport. He made the NFL Pro Bowl three times and won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’ll treasure this,” Christy said of the Hall of Fame selection. “Does it replace the Super Bowl or the birth of my three children? Absolutely not. But now that the team stuff is done, it’s nice to look back on individual accomplishments and this one means a lot.”
This is the ninth year of the WPIAL Hall of Fame. All selections will be honored at a banquet in June. Here is the rest of the 2015 class:
Athletes
Missie Berteotti, Upper St. Clair — Won back-toback WPIAL golf championships in 1979-80 and went on to become an LPGA player who finished sixth at the 1988 women’s U.S. Open.
Paul Failla, North Allegheny — A football and baseball standout at North Allegheny who played quarterback and shortstop at Notre Dame.
Joe Lafko, Frazier — Three-sport star at Frazier in football, basketball and baseball who still holds the state record for career interceptions with 37. Has won more than 400 games as Hampton’s boys basketball coach.
Gina Naccarato, Monessen — All-time leading scorer in WPIAL girls basketball with 3,364 career points. Also scored 158 goals in soccer.
Kaitlyn Orstein, Mt. Lebanon — Won six PIAA championships in swimming and went on to win eight NCAA Division III championships at Washington & Jefferson.
Tom Tumulty, Penn Hills — Parade All-American linebacker at Penn Hills who played at Pitt and three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before a knee injury forced him to retire.
Coaches
Joe Hamilton, football — Retired after the 2014 season. Coached 49 seasons at four schools and finished as the second-winningest coach in WPIAL history with a 342-170-11 record. Won four WPIAL titles at Blackhawk.
Ed Olkowski, boys basketball — Built the Midland Leopards into a dynasty in the 1960s and 1970s. Won seven WPIAL and four PIAA titles and had a record of 32296.
Corky Semler, swimming — Coached North Allegheny boys and girls for 35 years and won 25 WPIAL and nine PIAA titles.
Dave Warner, girls basketball/cross country — Had 536-239 record as Brentwood’s girls basketball coach, with two WPIAL titles and one PIAA crown. Also won a PIAA team title as a cross country coach.
Teams
Penn Hills girls basketball 1990 — Team was 32-1 with a handful of future Division I college players.
Kiski Area football 1971 — Won WPIAL title and was ranked No. 5 in the country in one poll.
Official
Kathy Ridilla — Officiated WPIAL and PIAA championship girls basketball games before going on to officiate at the college Division I level.
Contributor
Howard Crawford — Longtime athletic director at Thomas Jefferson who spent more than 20 years on the WPIAL wrestling committee.
Heritage Award
Tito Francona, New Brighton — A 1952 New Brighton graduate, Francona starred in baseball, basketball and football. Played 15 seasons of Major League Baseball and made the AllStar Game once.
Courage Award
Ellen Toy and Jaime Vick Moran — Toy was the Kiski Area girls volleyball coach and Vick Moran her assistant when they were both diagnosed with cancer in the 2009-10 school year. They continued to coach until Vick Moran passed away in 2012.