Jackson, Kantner to be inducted into state Hall

The Berks natives are part of a 12-member class whose induction banquet will be held on Oct. 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading, and is open to the public

Berks natives Stu Jackson and Dee Kantner are part of a 12-member class that will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in October.

The other inductees for 2022 are Laila Brock, Jim Cunningham, Bobby Del Greco, Dennis Douds, Al Jacks, Dick LeBeau, Jerry Marks, Kelly Mazzante, Jim Roth and Marty Schottenheimer.

The induction banquet, hosted by the Berks County Chapter of Pa. Sports Hall of Fame, will be held Saturday, Oct. 29, at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading, and is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at www. berkscosportshof.org.

Jackson, a 66-year-old Reading High grad, led the Red Knights to the 1973 PIAA championship game as a senior and finished his career with a then-school-record 1,563 points. He went on to play at the University of Oregon and Seattle University.

He has been head coach of the New York Knicks and Vancouver Grizzlies in the NBA, as well as the University of Wisconsin men. He also served as general manager of the Grizzlies for five seasons and was executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA.

Jackson currently is executive associate commissioner of the Big East Conference.

Kantner, a 62-year-old Exeter grad, became a basketball official in 1984. She was one of the first two women — along with Violet Palmer — to be hired by the NBA in 1997. She worked her 25th NCAA Women’s Final Four in April.

Brock, a native of Washington, Pa., won six PIAA track and field gold medals in her career, including sweeping the 100, 200 and 400 in 1996, when she also anchored the winning 400 relay. She continued her career at Penn State.

Cunningham was an AllState football player at Connellsville as a senior in 1956 and an All-American at Pitt. He played three seasons in the NFL for Washington as a fullback.

Del Greco, a Pittsburgh native, spent parts of nine seasons in the major leagues with six teams as an outfielder. He played for the Phillies in 1960-61 and in 1965. He died in 2019 at the age of 86.

Douds was the head football coach at East Stroudsburg for 45 seasons. He won 264 games — tops in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference history and 16th in NCAA history — and nine PSAC titles. His teams made four NCAA playoff appearances.

Jacks, a Pittsburgh native, was the starting quarterback at Penn State in 1957-58 before becoming the head football coach at Clarion. He led the Golden Eagles to a 12844-5 record and four PSAC titles in 19 seasons.

Dick LeBeau followed a 14-year Hall of Fame playing career as a defensive back in the NFL with a 45year coaching career. He spent 16 of those seasons as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers over two stints. He was the team’s defensive coordinator for 13 years, helping the Steelers reach four Super Bowls and win two. He also was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 200002. He started his coaching career as the special teams coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973.

Jerry Marks was a football and wrestling standout at Southern Columbia. In football, he ran for a thenstate record 7,075 yards and was the school’s first AllState pick. In wrestling, he won two state titles. He went on to play football at Bloomsburg University and currently is the wrestling coach at Southern Columbia.

Mazzante scored 3,215 points at Montoursville High School, fourth most in state girls basketball history, before becoming a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year at Penn State. She scored 2,919 points for the Lady Lions. She played in the WNBA for seven seasons.

Roth, the head football coach at Southern Columbia, has led the Tigers to 12 state championships. He heads into this season as Pennsylvania’s all-time winningest high school football coach with 471 victories.

Schottenheimer, a Canonsburg native and graduate of Fort Cherry High School, compiled a 200-126-1 record in 21 seasons as an NFL head coach with the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers and Washington. He reached the postseason 13 times and was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2004. He died in 2021 at the age of 77.