Many of the area’s brightest inducted
Millen, Coval, McGeehin, Newhard among the honorees
Brian Schneider had a major league baseball career that spanned 13 seasons and then spent the better part of another decade in MLB as the catcher’s coach for the Marlins and a quality control coach for the Mets.
Matt Millen was a standout for Joe Paterno at Penn State and then spent 11 seasons in the NFL and won four Super Bowl rings before embarking on a broadcasting career and a long run as the president and CEO of the Detroit Lions.
Billy McCaffrey played on an NCAA national championship team at Duke and was later a two-time All-American at Vanderbilt and spent five seasons playing professional basketball overseas.
Schneider, Millen and McCaffrey excelled in three sports and made it to some of the most prominent stages in each, but what they all had in common was that it started for them in the Lehigh Valley where they shined at the high school level.
Schneider, Millen and McCaffrey were just three of 13 extraordinary individuals inducted into the District 11 Sports Hall of Fame Sunday night at the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Breinigsville.
It was the fifth class of inductees and it brought the number of honorees to 70.
“This is not just about me tonight,” Schneider said. “It’s about my family, my friends, the town of Northampton. Northampton has been so good to me over the years. Without all of them I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
His advice to those starting out: “I tell everyone to play every game like it’s your last one. No. 1, have fun. You might be in a small town, but who knows what can happen. And even if you’re not thinking about going to the next level, enjoy yourself.”
Millen said he can still hear the words of Andy Melosky, his coach at Whitehall in the early 1970s.
“He was one of the strongest influences in my career,” Millen said. “I have Andy in my head and with me all the time. The stuff he taught me has always been true. He was always big on being smart and tough and the fundamentals. I’ve never forgotten that.”
Millen runs into local products all around the country.
“Everybody knows you get good kids coming out of this area,” he said. “That’s always been true. We’ve got blue-collar kids who get it and remember where you’re from and what you’re about. My uncle Andy Tomasic, who was a phenomenal athlete himself, told me in high school to never forget where you came from and I carry this place with me all the time.”
McCaffrey used to rock Rockne Hall in a special era of Allentown Central Catholic basketball.
“Those days come up from time to time especially when I catch up with some of my teammates,” he said. “I still look back on those days with fond memories and the good relationships we built. It was a very well-run program led by coach Bob Schlosser and it prepared me well for college because we ran good practices and scouted the other teams well. We conditioned well. We had a system and ran it well. It was a good training ground for my future.”
McCaffrey remembered the packed crowds and how everyone couldn’t wait to see him play.
“It was so much fun and as the years go by, I think more about how special it was,” he said.
In addition to legends being honored, special guests included Pete Lisicky, the former Whitehall and Penn State basketball star; Ed McCaffrey, the former Stanford and NFL star, and Bob Greacen, who played in the NBA with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Here’s a look at the class of 2023:
Scott Coval
Coval was the captain and leading scorer on Whitehall’s 1982 PIAA 3A title team and was a first-team all-state selection as a senior. He ended his career with 1,858 points, the most in Zephyrs history at the time. He went on to play at William & Mary where he set game, season and career assist records and season and career free-throw shooting percentages. He went on to become the basketball coach at DeSales where over 30 seasons he has led the Bulldogs to 12 league titles and six NCAA tournaments. He has also been the school’s athletic director for 23 years.
Frank D’Angelo
One of the most recognizable faces in local high school athletics, D’Angelo worked as a PIAA official from 1979 to 2022. He was a league assigner in football, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and softball. He also served as a rules interpreter for District 11. He officiated numerous District 11 title games in three sports and also worked seven PIAA championship games — three in baseball, two each in basketball and football. He was also District 11’s Male Officials representative for six years.
Tarik El-Bassiouni
A star athlete in both tennis and basketball, El-Bassiouni also played both sports at the University of Miami. He finished his Stroudsburg basketball career with four straight Mountain Valley Conference titles, a District 11 gold and a trip to the 1996 state quarterfinals where the Mounties lost to Kobe Bryant and Lower Merion. He was an all-league and Morning Call All-Area selection as a junior and senior and finished his career with 1,402 points. In tennis, he went 109-5 all-time and was a four-time MVC and threetime District 11 champion. He was a two-time PIAA runnerup in singles and won the title as a senior. He is the current boys basketball coach at Stroudsburg.
Ron Hassler
An outstanding football and basketball player at Catasauqua, Hassler set the District 11 tournament scoring record with 48 points in a game. He coached at Catasauqua, Whitehall, Allentown Central and North Penn. He went 489-193 in 24 seasons at Lehigh Valley schools and then capped his career by going 45-28 in three seasons at North Penn. His teams won 10 District 11 and six league titles and his 2000-01 ACCHS team reached the 3A state finals before losing 58-50 in overtime to Franklin. He was named The Morning Call coach of the year three times.
Kim Homa
A star in both basketball and softball at Minersville, Homa, a 1990 graduate, was an all-stater in both sports. She finished her basketball career with 3,151 points, which was the fifth most in Pennsylvania history. As a senior she scored 890 points, averaging 27.8 per game. In softball, she compiled a three-year batting average of .520 and was 17-3 as a pitcher with a 0.39 ERA. She was the school’s Zelusky Award winner in 1990 as its top athlete and played basketball at Kent State.
Kenneth Kline
An Allentown High graduate, Kline went on to coach basketball at five different schools covering 31 seasons and accumulating 437 wins. At Jim Thorpe, he won 101 games and four District 11 titles with the highlight being a Class C championship in 1962. He then spent 15 seasons at Pottsville where he won 201 games and the 1964 East Penn League titles. he also coached two seasons at Mount Carmel, four years at Blue Mountain and three years at Panther Valley, posting winning records at each school.
Billy McCaffrey
McCaffrey started his career as a freshman at Allentown Central Catholic with the 1985-86 team and while he didn’t start, he made an impact off the bench in helping the Vikings win a state title on a team that also featured his brother, Hall of Famer Ed McCaffrey. He led ACCHS back to the state finals as a senior in 1989. He earned all-league and all-state honors and was both a Parade Magazine and a McDonald’s All-American. He was also the Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year and the Atlanta Tip-Off Club Player of the Year. He helped Duke reach the Final Four in 1990 and 1991 and helped the Blue Devils win the 1991 crown. He transferred to Vanderbilt where he led the Commodores to an SEC title in 1993 and was a second-team All-American and the SEC co-player of the year as a junior. In 1994, he was an honorable mention All-American and a finalist for the Wooden Award.
Jeff McGeehin
One of Allentown Central Catholic’s all-time best athletes, McGeehin excelled in both basketball and football. In football, he set nine school receiving records including most career catches (144), single-season (54) and game (9). He also set marks for career receiving yards (2,377) and season (874) and set scoring marks with 29 career touchdowns and 186 points. In basketball, he was Central’s leading scorer as as a junior and senior and the East Penn League’s MVP both years. He was voted second-team all-state in 1973 and third-team all-state in 1974. He was honored with the Thomas Buck Award as Central’s outstanding athlete in 1974 before embarking on a collegiate career at Villanova.
Matt Millen
Although he went on to great success at Penn State and in the NFL, Millen was first a standout at Whitehall from 1972-75 where he played tight end, fullback, and defensive end. As a senior, he was an all-state and Big 33 selection and was a Scholastic Coach All-American recipient. At Penn State, he was a four-year starter and in 1978 he earned All-American honors. He played with the Raiders, Redskins and 49ers in his NFL career and won Super Bowls with each before embarking on an extensive radio and TV broadcasting career. He was the CEO and president of the Lions from 2001-08.
Laura Newhard
Newhard ended her high school career in 1996 as the all-time points leader with 2,237. She scored her 1,000th point as a sophomore. She led the team to a second-place finish in the state in 1996 and was a three-time league MVP, in the East Penn Conference as a sophomore and in the Mountain Valley Conference as a junior and senior. In 1996, she was named secondteam all-state and was The Morning Call, Blue Ridge Cable and Express-Times player of the year twice. She continued her career at La Salle University where she finished eighth all-time in blocks and had the highest field-goal percentage in school history. She also earned Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honors for her academics.
Brian Schneider
A 1995 Northampton High graduate, Schneider compiled a .427 career batting average for the Konkrete Kids with 22 doubles, 3 triples and 11 home runs. He also set a school mark with 91 RBIs and was The Morning Call’s player of the year as both a junior and senior and a unanimous EPC firstteamer. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1995 amateur draft and played in the majors from 2002-2012. He finished his career with 67 home runs and a .247 average, but also threw out 36% of those attempting to steal.
Bill Wanish
One of the greatest athletes in Allentown High history, Wanish made his mark in both basketball and football. In basketball, he led J. Birney Crum’s squads to a record of 83-3. He was named first-team all-state in three straight seasons from 1944-47. With Wanish, the Canaries won three straight East Penn League, District 11 and PIAA titles. In football, he was second-team all-state in 1946. He played basketball in college, first at the University of Maryland and then transferred to St. Francis of Loretto, where he broke every existing scoring record and was the first player to eclipse 1,000 points.
Herb Welsh
An outstanding three-sport athlete at Tamaqua Area High School, Welsh went on to become one of District 11’s most distinguished officials. He made his mark as a football and basketball official, working for 42 years. He was also an NCAA basketball official for 25 years and worked dozens of PIAA state playoff games including a state title game in 1987. He was a member of the District 11 committee for 25 years and was the male officials representative to the PIAA. He also served on the PIAA Board of Directors for two terms. Welsh died in 2020 at the age of 82.