Dick Vermeil to be induction banquet guest speaker

In a year when the Philadelphia Eagles claimed their first Super Bowl title, there could be no better person to honor the coaches of Montgomery County than the Eagles most famous head coach, Dick Vermeil.

Vermeil will be the guest speaker when the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame holds its 17th annual induction banquet at Presidential Caterers, Germantown Pike and Route 202 in East Norriton, on Tuesday, November 20.

After college coaching success at UCLA, including a Rose Bowl upset of then undefeated and No. 1 Ohio State, Vermeil came to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976. He turned the down-trodden Eagles into a contender and capped the 1980 season by taking them to the Super Bowl. Later, as head coach of the then-St. Louis Rams, he again sparked a quick turnaround and earned the only Super Bowl victory in franchise history in 1999.

He finished his coaching career with a successful five-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Vermeil has had an interesting life outside of coaching. He was a highly rated television analyst and also is the owner of Vermeil Wines in his hometown area of Calistoga, California.

“This is another highlight in the 17-year history of the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame,” said organization president Dale Hood. “To see that someone of Dick Vermeil’s stature holds the legacy of coaching leadership we have in Montgomery County in such his esteem is impressive. This will be a memorable night.”

The banquet, the annual highlight of the sports schedule in Montgomery County, once again will induct a new class to the most revered coaching ranks in a county with a sports-rich history.

The newest class of Hall of Fame inductees includes: Dick Beck, who has built North Penn High into a perennial state football powerhouse; Bob Lorence, who spent five years at Springfield (Montco) and 27 years at Plymouth Whitemarsh High as the head wrestling coach, winning 357 matches; Jim Romano, who has won 630 games as the Jenkintown High girls’ basketball coach, including his first PIAA Class A State Championship this year;

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Staff reports

Dick Vermeil