Nine new members to be inducted later this month
Even after 39 years, the Tri-County Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame keeps churning out illustrious induction classes.
This year holds suit with the nine-member class that will be inducted into the local chapter of the Pa. Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown. The 39th awards ceremony and dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a social and cocktail hour with the dinner and ceremony to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The 2016 class includes: Barry Flicker, St. Pius X and Villanova javelin record-setter (1997); Gregory Glenn Jr., Pottstown football and basketball standout (1980s); Rick Keeley, St. Pius X football star (1971) and accomplished Berks Catholic head coach; Rick Moatz, longtime Boyertown American Legion baseball coach; Mike Spaid, wrestling state champion at Boyertown (2004) and All-American at Bloomsburg; Andre Thornton, Phoenixville (1967) baseball star who went on to a 14-year Major League Baseball career spent largely with the Cleveland Indians; Grant Wiley, record-setting running back and linebacker at Perkiomen Valley (1998) and recent West Virginia Hall of Fame inductee; Shannon Witzel, three-sport athlete at Pottstown (2003) and Towson lacrosse star; Tracey Wright, Pottstown football and wrestling star and all-time sacks leader at Kutztown.
Tickets are available for the general public at $40 per person. Contact chapter president Dave Reidenouer at drmmqb@aol.com or 484-300-1971 for ticket inquiries.
BARRY FLICKER » Flicker was a track and field standout at St. Pius X High School (Class of 1997). He specialized in the javelin throw starting out as a raw sophomore before quickly maturing into a District 1 and PAC-10 champion as a junior, setting a new record for both the league and district. He became the PIAA champion in the javelin as a senior and earned All-American status. He accepted a full scholarship to Villanova and became a two-time Big East champion, and broke the Villanova school record. He also attended the U.S. Olympic trials for the javelin. He was affiliated with the Penn Relays after graduation from Villanova, and served as a voluntary coach at Clemson. He is currently a principal in the Kutztown Area School District.
GREGORY GLENN JR. » Glenn starred in football and basketball at Pottstown High School. He played defensive back and quarterback for the Trojans. He was team captain and led his team to the final victory for the Trojans in the ChesMont League over OJR on Thanksgiving Day. He was point guard on the hoops team, leading the Trojans to a 19-4 record his senior season, including a double OT win over powerhouse Coatesville. He was the PHS Outstanding Athlete his senior year. Glenn went to Kutztown University for football after graduation where he played defensive back, running back and returned kickoffs. Over his four-year KU career, Glenn earned 3 ECAC weekly honor roll awards. He was second in tackles his senior year and led in interceptions. After graduation he played 6 years for the BuxMont Bulldogs, guiding them to a 14-0 championship season in 1995. He also currently is a PIAA varsity official in football and basketball.
RICK KEELEY » Keeley played football at St. Pius X, lettering in his junior and senior seasons. He was elected team captain his senior season, won the Outstanding Lineman Award, and the Pottstown Optimist Outstanding Player Award before graduating in 1971. Keeley went on to Kutztown State College, where he was three-year letterwinner on the defensive line. He was a two-time All-Conference first team selection and received the John Davis Award his senior year. Keeley began his long coaching career at Pius in 1976, then moved to Holy Name High School in 1978. He was an assistant for 8 years, before becoming head coach in 1986. He has been the head coach at Berks Catholic since 2011, covering 40 total seasons (30 as head coach). He has 215 wins over his career; three District 3 championships, two Berks championships, six Section championships, and six times named Coach of the Year. He is currently in the Holy Name Hall of Fame, the Berks County Football Coaches Hall of Fame, and Kutztown State College Team of the Decade (1970s).
RICK MOATZ » Moatz has been the Boyertown American Legion baseball coach since 1988. At 28 years and counting, Moatz has coached over 350 boys to an overall record of 1,222322. His accomplishments as the head coach include: 14 Berks County Championships; 2 Pa. regional championships; 13 Pa. state championships; 3 Mid-Atlantic regional championships/4 runner-ups; 1 World Series runner-up (1 World Series title as assistant coach).
MIKE SPAID » Spaid definitely opened some eyes during his wrestling career. He finished his outstanding career at Boyertown with a record of 116-14. He was a three-time champion at the prestigious Governor Mifflin tournament, threetime Sectional champion, two-time District 1 champion, placed at the PIAA Championships twice, including his perfect run to the gold medal in 2004 at 275 pounds, Boyertown’s first wrestling state champion. During his remarkable state title run he pinned every wrestler he faced from the Sectionals through the PIAA finals, finishing his unbelievable senior season 43-1. He then went to Bloomsburg University where he qualified for the NCAA Division I championships four times. He was named All-American while at Bloomsburg and finished his college career with a record of 120-43. Spaid currently serves as an assistant coach with the Boyertown wrestling team.
ANDRE “THUNDER” THORNTON » Thornton was an allaround athlete at Phoenixville High School, graduating in 1967. He followed his dream to play professional baseball and signed with the Phillies a week before his 18th birthday. He played first base and designated hitter for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and the Cleveland Indians during his 14-year professional career. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in 1973, and was named to the All-Rookie team by Baseball Digest. After an injury-plagued stop with the Expos, he was traded to the Indians where he played most of his career. He hit a career-high 33 home runs in 1978 and 1984 (finished with 253). He had a career high 116 RBIs in 1982 (finished with 895). Thornton won the Silver Slugger Award in 1984, and the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award in 1979. He was a two-time All-Star in the American League, and was inducted into the Cleveland Indians’ Hall of Fame. He also was named in the Top 100 Greatest Indians.
GRANT WILEY » Wiley had an incredible high school career at Perkiomen Valley as a running back and linebacker. His lengthy list of accomplishments include: First Team All-PAC-10 in 1997-98; All-Area Mercury, Philadelphia Inquirer, Times Herald; Defensive Player of the Year (1997), Offensive Player of the Year (1998); PAC single-game record all-purpose yards (415); rushed for 1,600 yards and 24 TDs in 1998; named MVP of PAC-10; played in prestigious Big 33 All-Star Game; named All-State. Wiley earned a scholarship to West Virginia University to play linebacker. He was selected Big East Rookie of the Year; All-Big East LB 2 times (2002-03); Team captain and MVP of Big East champion Mountaineers; consensus All-American 1st team, Bronco Nagurski Award finalist. Wiley still holds three WVU defensive records (total tackles/solo tackles/tackles for loss) and was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
SHANNON WITZEL » Witzel was a three-sport standout at Pottstown High School. She played field hockey, basketball, and her best sport, lacrosse. She helped her basketball team win the District 1 championship, helped a downtrodden field hockey team return to respectability and led her lacrosse squad to several wins and accomplishments. She finished with 200 career goals and memorably scored 15 goals in a game and rallied her team from 7-0 down to score eight straight goals for a win. Witzel then went to Towson University to play lacrosse where she was Rookie of the Year by scoring 44 goals and 53 total points. She led the nation with 3.74 goals per game her sophomore season, and set the Towson record with 71 goals. She scored seven goals in the CAA championship game against Hofstra. As a junior, she ranked 4th in scoring per game with 3.59 and was named First Team CAA, and Third Team All-American. After another productive year as a senior, Witzel finished tied for career goals with 208, and was honored Towson’s Sr. Female Athlete of the Year. After graduating she started a coaching career at Towson, then went to LaSalle, now to her current position at Cincinnati University with fellow PHS graduate (and TriCounty Hall of Famer) Regina Oliver.
TRACEY WRIGHT » Wright was a football and wrestling star at Pottstown High School. He was a dynamic athlete with a distinctive flair. In football he would block a kick or create a fumble or recover one when it was most needed or he would pin his opponent in wrestling to get his team fired up. In football he was selected All-Ches-Mont his junior and senior seasons at defensive end. He was chosen to play in the Montgomery County All-Star game and was Honorable Mention All-State. He won several tournaments in wrestling his junior and senior seasons, and medaled in the Sectional, District, and Regional tournaments. After graduating from PHS in 1982, he moved on to Kutztown, where he flourished. The defensive end was named All-PSAC three years. In 1985, he was named All-American Honorable Mention, was ECAC Honor Roll three times and ECAC Player of the Week against Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg. He is still the all-time leader in sacks with 25.5, and in 2015 was named to Kutztown’s 100th season all-time team as well as being inducted into KU’s Athletics Hall of Fame.