Berks County chapter to induct 10 new members
The Berks County chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction ceremony on Sunday, April 22 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading.
This year’s class features past athletes of distinction who made their mark in the county and well beyond. The inductees include: open-water swimmer Dr. Thomas Bell (Wyomissing), U.S. Olympic field hockey goalie Jackie Kintzer Briggs (Conrad Weiser), Oley Valley baseball standout Mike Distasio, Holy Name basketball and softball standout Adelle Schade, Kutztown tennis and basketball great Ted Snyder, Wilson golf star Chris Storck, Reading three-sport stalwart and current Gov. Mifflin athletic director Pat Tulley, longtime official Robert ‘Bob’ Wagner (Reading), Oley Valley coaching great Larry Wildermuth and the late Stanley Wentzel, a 1935 Mount Penn grad who went on to a 19-year professional baseball career.
Family, friends and the public are welcome to attend the ceremony, which includes a social hour at 4 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m. with the ceremony to follow (approximately 6:15 p.m.). The cost is $45 per person, which includes full-course dinner with salad, entree, vegetables, rolls, dessert and coffee/tea. Contact Dave McCoy at davercrinc@ comcast.net or visit BerksCoHOF.org for more information.
Inductees
DR. THOMAS BELL » One of only 113 people in the world to have completed the Triple Crown of ultramarathon swimming — Catalina Channel, 2013, 20.2 miles; English Channel, 2014, 21 miles; Manhattan Island, 2015, 28.5 miles . ... Competed in Olympic distance triathlons and open water swims worldwide. ... 2016 inductee into the Berks County Aquatic Hall of Fame . ... Wyomissing resident.
JACKIE (KINTZER) BRIGGS » 2006 Conrad Weiser grad was Berks field hockey player of the year and named to the All-State team in 2005 . ... Played on two national championship teams at the University of North Carolina, and in 2010 was named All-ACC, All-ACC Tournament, AllNCAA Tournament and a first-team All-American. ... Starting goalie for the U.S. team in the 2016 Summer Olympics and an alternate for the 2012 Games . ... Helped U.S. win gold medals in the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games . ... Named best goalkeeper at the 2017 World League Games. MIKE DISTASIO » Outstanding baseball player at Oley Valley High . ... Played on back-to- back state championship teams in 1984-85. ... Named All-Berks three years in a row ... Berks Legion, Region 2, state Legion Most Valuable Player. ... Selected to play in the Olympic Sports Festival in Houston in 1986, as East team starting second baseman . ... Played softball for the Sunners for a number of years . ... Voted best second baseman in the last 50 years in Berks County high school baseball.
ADELLE SCHADE » Outstanding basketball and softball player at Holy Name in the late 1980s . ... Named to the All-Berks basketball first team in 1989 . ... Four-year starter in basketball at West Chester University, where she is still among the career leaders in free throw percentage, assists and steals. ... Inducted into the Berks Catholic and Berks Basketball Halls of Fame . ... President and founding member of 3 Point Goal.
TED SNYDER » Outstanding tennis and basketball player at Kutztown High from 1979-82 . ... Named to the All-Berks tennis team four times and the All-Berks basketball team twice . ... Won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference singles championship at Millersville University and ranked as high as No. 11 nationally . ... Boys basketball coach at Owen J. Roberts for 20 years and girls basketball coach at Exeter for three years, accumulating more than 300 wins . ... Inducted into the Kutztown High, Millersville and Berks County Tennis Association halls of fame.
CHRIS STORCK » Outstanding golfer and basketball player at Wilson (1980-84) and Kutztown University (1984-89) . ... Won Berks County high school golf title in 1982 . ... Named to the All-Berks golf team in 1982-83. .. Named to the AllBerks basketball team in 1984 . ... Named KU’s golfer of the year from 1986-88. ... One of the most accomplished amateur golfers in Berks County . ... One of only six players to have won all three Berks major championships — Berks County Golf Association Amateur and Match Play titles, and the Hawley Quier Memorial.
PAT TULLEY » Outstanding three-sport athlete at Reading High, earning 10 letters (baseball, 4; basketball, 3; golf 3) . ... Twotime All-Berks in basketball . ... Played on two District 3 championship teams in basketball, and District 3 and PIAA championship teams in baseball . ... Played basketball for four years at Kutztown University. ... Head basketball coach at Reading High for three years, winning the Berks title in 1999 . ... Athletic director at Reading High for four years; in his 15th year as athletic director at Gov. Mifflin.
ROBERT “BOB” WAGNER » 1955 Reading High grad. ... Began officiating career as a member of the Berks County Officials Association . ... Served as an umpire in the Big Eight . ... Worked the 1984 Cotton Bowl, 1985