The first ever and historic Pittsburgh City League All Sports Hall of Fame banquet held on Saturday Dec. 13, at The Blue Line Grille was larger-than-life. A gathering of current, past and future City League stars that required a downtown prestigious location.
There is a foolproof way to turn a casual conversation about high school sports into a heated debate. Ask somebody to name 10 to 20 of the best players in city league history.
There is an emotional attachment to those players and teams that makes the best-ever debate so difficult. Everyone has a favorite, and it tends to be sentimental or territorial, if not both. We all bring bias to this discussion.
Some high school sports fans can’t agree on which was the best players in their school’s history, let alone the best in City League history. At Schenley, Perry and Westinghouse, such talk is taboo.
For most people, winning a state title is as good as it gets. For Dr. Rahmon Hart, he won a state championship in both football and basketball.
“I am so humbled and honored to be here with these legends. I want to thank my wife, parents for the investments they made in me,” said Dr. Hart. “My senior year at Perry we won a state championship in football and basketball but it was during my freshman year when I learned what it took to be a champion. I watched the way Darrelle Porter conducted himself in school. How he carried himself and he was a great role model to all us young guys.”
Westinghouse High School has its own hall of fame. So many great men and women walk through those hallways over the years and maybe the greatest Bulldog of them all is Orin Richburg.
“At Westinghouse we won several City League football championships and I was the state champion in the 100 and 220 yard dash and broke the state record in the 220. But my proudest moment was to graduate high school with honors, “ said Richburg. “I am the youngest of 10 kids and there are a lot of people in my family who are responsible for all that I was able to achieve in my lifetime.”
Schenley high school is known for producing some of the greatest basketball players in the country and 1971 state champion Ricky Coleman is one of the first Spartans mentioned when a basketball conversation comes up.
“I want to thank everyone for praying for me and your prayers brought me up from the pits of hell! I had a 20 year drug addiction and I have been clean now for many years,” said Ricky Coleman. “I want to thank the committee for this honor. I won a lot of awards but this one is special because I got voted in by my peers. The pride of the Pittsburgh City League is what it’s all about. I remember a game against Cleveland East Tech and we were down by 16 at halftime and we went into the locker room and began to chant ‘Pittsburgh City League let’s do this’! We blow them out in the 2nd half and won by 20 points! Who would ever thought that little Ricky Coleman would be considered one of the best ever.”
Dr. Mary Myers, is the all-time leading scorer at Allderdice and Jennifer Bruce was an all star at Carrick and scored over 2,000 career points at Pitt. Rock Robinson was a baseball star at Schenley, Cindy Dallas was an All-American basketball player at Schenley and Brandi Hogan was an All-American hurdler at Perry.
“I was a gym rat and I wore number# 30 because my favorite player was Keith Starr,” said Robbin Smith Capers. “I am blessed and happy to be here. I am thankful for my husband, son and two daughters.”
Phyliss Jones, Westinghouse girls basketball coach, was one of two coaches voted into the Hall of Fame.
“Phyliss Jones is more than a coach. She is like a mother to the kids and they come back every year to pay homage,” said coach George Webb. “She has won championships or been in championship contention every year. Phyliss Jones and Westinghouse forever!”
Sam Clancy, star of the 1976 Fifth Avenue state basketball championship team, was the leading vote getter but when Major Harris walked in the room parted like Moses splitting the Red Sea.
Harris was all-state in football and basketball at Brashear and was a college All-American quarterback at WVU. Major was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in
2009.
“The first ever Annual City League Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony Saturday night in downtown Pittsburgh was a long overdue recognition for past and present “top notch” athletes of the City League, “ said Jodi Velazquez, author of Slick Move Guide. “The well orchestrated and very classy event had an overwhelming turnout! This gives a strong indication that this will be a reoccurring event and the beginning of a powerful gala that will encourage and guide the youth of Pittsburgh as well as honor deserving athletes.”
This was an historic precedent setting event that recognized, honored and inducted into the City League’s own Hall of Fame and is endorsed by Mayor Bill Peduto, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Councilman Dan Gillman, state Rep. Ed Gainey and state Rep. Jake Wheatley.
“After 40 years of community service with Champion Enterprise, Bill Neal continues to uplift our community through the newly established Achieving Greatness organization by honoring some of the greatest athletes in the world whose roots began in Pittsburgh,” said Chanel Smith, business owner and Wellness coach. “The camaraderie, respect, the outpouring of love and support experienced by family, friends and athletes being inducted to the newly established Pittsburgh City League All Sports Hall of Fame was reflected in what quickly became a standing room only event making it more than just an award ceremony but rather a family reunion.”
Criticizing the judges of the hall of fame committee is one of the sport world’s favorite pastimes. The barber shops, sports bars and social networks is typically laced with comments like, “Why isn’t Curtis Martin, Kevin Barlow, Chuck Franklin, Rod Rutherford and others not in the Hall of Fame?” As it turns out, 2014 was actually a very good year for the men and women who had a vote. Controversy was kept to a minimum.
“I think we should be more pissed off at why the Post Gazette, Tribune, channel 11 and 2 wasn’t present to cover this event. No way in hell you have something dealing with Pittsburgh sports, with that many greats being honored and only the New Pittsburgh Courier and channel 4 show up,” said Pep “Pepsi” Farrow, star linebacker on Perry High School’s state championship football team. “Personally everyone that I played with should get involved and submit names. We need to understand to breakdown a list of 300 athletes to 50 and then finally 20 someone is bound to miss out this first go around. Jimy Lincoln, Herndon, Suber, Edna Campbell and so on.”
When you boil it down, the Pittsburgh City League Hall of Fame is a nonstop, 24-hour evaluation. It’s the ultimate scorecard, a blatant act of subjectivity. The Hall of Fame is a sport of opinion and there’s never a shortage of that. So, as we prepare ourselves for the start of a new year in, let’s sharpen our pencils and fill out our unofficially “official” report card for the 2015 class.
I learned a long time ago it isn’t the most gifted athlete who Achieves Greatness—it’s the one that just won’t quit.
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh City League First Hall of Fame Class of: Sam Clancy, Fifth Avenue and Brashear; Dwight “Iceman” Clay, Fifth Avenue; Ricky “Black Magic” Coleman, Schenley; Major Harris, Brashear; Dr. Rahmon Hart, Perry; Dap Porter, Perry; Orin Richburg, Westinghouse; Rock Robinson, Schenley; George Webb, Westinghouse; Lloyd Weston, Westinghouse; Robbin Smith Capers, Schenley; Cindy Dallas, Schenley; Brandi Hogan, Perry; Jennifer Bruce, Carrick; Dr. Mary Myers, Allderdice; coach Phyliss Jones, Westinghouse; Gus Catanese, Perry; Kirk Bruce, South Hills; Ron Carter, Perry; D. J. Dinkins, Schenley and Eddie Jefferies.
City League Hall of Fame inducted posthumously are: Chuck Cooper Sr., Bill Nunn Jr., Saul “Tip Toe” Levine, Maurice Stokes, Kenny Durrett, Anthony Rivers, Ed Fleming, Eugene McCay, Tyrone “Moon” Howard, George Brown, Maurice Lucas, Robert Kelly, Nathan Sonny Lewis, Delton Heard, Carl Kohlman, Larry Richardson (South Hills), Archie McGill, Larry Walker, coach Pete Dimperio Sr., coach Pete Dimperio Jr., Bill Colbert, Warner Macklin, George Cupples, Jaron Grayson, Clarence Bruce, Montel Brundage, Fred Ortman, Fleeming Reynolds, Louise Fulton, Lenard Johnson, Dave Logan, George Harvey, Calvin Kane, Thomas Howard, Bob Prince, Myron Cope, Winston Hillard, Larece Ashley, Sherrill Brown, John Kinsez, Darryl Brown.
“In the history of the city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh school system some of the greatest athletes have finally been inducted in their own Hall of Fame,” said Bill Neal, organizer. “Special thanks go out to Mayor Bill Peduto, City Councilman Dan Gilman, state Rep. Ed Gainey; School Board President Tom Sumpter, and others for helping make this historic day possible.
