Speedway hall of fame nod bestowed on Reinhard
Paul Reinhard loved auto racing.
He loved to cover the races at Pocono Raceway and he loved to be at the Indianapolis 500 every May — he knew everybody and everybody knew him. But Reinhard, an Allentown High School and Moravian College graduate who had a career as a sports writer, sports editor and columnist at The Morning Call that spanned from 1960 until his death last year, loved the local auto racing tracks. That’s where his interest in the sport began.
So it was quite fitting that Reinhard was recently inducted into the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame on Nov. 6 in a ceremony at America On Wheels in Allentown.
“We’ve got car owners, we’ve got crew members and we had all kinds of fans,” said Dino Oberto, president of the Eastern Motorsport Press Association. “But we had to get the word out there and who was able to do that? Paul Reinhard was a reporter for the better part of 60 years at The Morning Call and the work he did was phenomenal.
Sometimes you take a guy like him for granted but as I look back at the history and try to find some facts and stats, Paul’s name was always coming up.
“Long before we had the internet and a lot of modern technology, Paul was able to get the information out there almost instantaneously,” he said. “Whether it was Friday into Saturday, Saturday into Sunday or Sunday into Monday, Paul would get the information out there in the paper. All the drivers, all the team members made the history, but it was important to preserve the history and Paul was one of those individuals who had a very close and passionate feel for the racing community.”
Betty Reinhard, Paul’s widow, noted how much her husband enjoyed racing and the people involved in it. She noted that on the second to last day of his life, Reinhard had a conversation with his friend Mario Andretti.
Mike Reinhard, Paul’s son and a former Northampton High and Moravian football player, said his dad’s passion was racing.
“He loved Mario and that end of racing, but he also loved local racing and he would love this honor,” Reinhard said. “He would work the room and talk to everybody in here.”
Reinhard’s career at The Morning Call was interrupted for two years from 1978-80, when he was the director of communications for the U.S. Auto Club in Indianapolis.
At the time of his death in March 2021 at age 80, Andretti said: “He was a dear friend and we were close for many years. He was the man. He was our anchor in terms of racing coverage. I got to know journalists from all over the world and Paul ranks right at the top. He did his job, I did mine, but there was a personal touch there that went beyond our jobs. I think Paul knew my career and my history better than I did.”
Several others joined Reinhard as new hall of fame inductees: For Dorney Park:
■ Joe “Reds” Protivnak, who is second on the all-time late model wins list with 18 victories between 1961-65.
■ Kermit “Bup” Christman, who raced Sportsman modifieds successfully at the park from
1971 until its closing in 1986. He then moved on to Mahoning Valley and continued his stardom through the 1990s.
■ Tim Parry, who enjoyed a great career from 1966-83.
■ Al Hewett, a 1980 Dorney Park late model champion who was a frequent winner during the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Mahoning Valley’s induction list included: .
■ The Rahmer brothers, Al and Fred Sr., who paired up for numerous wins when Mahoning became a paved track in 1970; Al was the first modified champ on the pavement track.
■ George Steigerwalt Sr., who forged a great history that began during the track’s dirt days and continued through the early pavement years. He was the 1962 Sportsman champion.
■ Darryl Bruenig, who was a frequent winner in modifieds, late models and D/A models. He won the 2003 late model championship at Mahoning.
■ Carman Bauman, a noted car owner who saw several drivers take his cars to Victory Lane.
Dandy Dalstad
Becca Dalstad, a 2019 Emmaus grad and volleyball player and libero for the team, has reached several significant milestones as a senior at Millersville University — all in three seasons because she didn’t get to play in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Dalstad, whose older sister is the late Jess Finlayson, the Northampton volleyball coach who died in 2021 after a battle with brain cancer, reached eighth place in Millersville history books with 1,218 digs.
“Super happy for Becca, who moved from 10th to ninth and then eighth in career digs during her final match as a Marauder,” Millersville coach Brian Smith said. “Becca is also now only the second player in program history to make that esteemed list with only three seasons of play.”
Dalstad was also named a second-team all-PSAC selection. It was the first time she received all-league honors. She notched double-digit dig totals in 26 of the team’s 29 matches this season, including a seasonhigh 29 on Sept. 10 against Notre Dame (OH). Dalstad totaled 20 or more digs on five occasions. She also had 40 aces and 92 assists, both ranked second on the team.
“When I reflect back on Becca’s career here at the ’Ville it’s going to be 10% of what she contributed on the court and 90% on what a remarkable young woman she has become,” Smith said. “I’ve never coached a player at this level that had to face as much heartache and grief and handled it with as much grace as Becca. She endured the loss of a best friend from high school and even tougher was the loss of her beloved sister. We all have defining moments in life that make a tremendous impact on us but not at such a young age. Thankfully Becca has a strong support network and great parents.”
Pam Bilger’s golden moment
Salisbury High graduate Pam Bilger, who played field hockey, basketball and softball at for the Falcons and also served as the school’s Falcon mascot, recently helped the USA Street Ball Hockey team win the gold medal at the world championships in the Czech Republic.
Bilger has been playing street ball hockey with the U.S. team since 2009. Her masters team consists of players over age 35. Bilger will be 45 this month.
In round-robin play, USA went 4-1, losing only to Canada. In the medal round, USA beat the Czech Republic and then got a rematch with Canada in the finals, winning 2-1.
Bilger was named the defensive player of the team. Next year the world championships will be held at a still-undetermined U.S. site.