Sports Hall of Fame

The Fox Chapel Area Schools Sports Hall of Fame is an independent organization operating in concert with and in support of the Athletic Department of the Fox Chapel Area School District.

It now has been over a decade since the formation and the first induction class of the Fox Chapel Area Schools Sports Hall of Fame.  In such a short time, the Hall's founders and donors have donated thousands of dollars in scholarships, funded significant equipment needs of the athletic department, and created a physical Hall of Fame within the high school. How did it all begin?

In 1996, the school's wrestling coach, Ron Frank, contacted school board representative Bill Bresnahan with a suggestion that Fox Chapel establish a Sports Hall of Fame.  In the discussions that followed, Superintendent Robert Myers and Assistant Superintendent Helen Sobehart also backed the plan.  An executive committee of fifteen faculty, administrators and parents got to work, establishing goals, setting priorities and enacting both as quickly as possible.

By Spring of 1997, a guiding Executive Committee was firmly in place, and the first members of the Hall of Fame were inducted.

In keeping with the Hall's mission, one of the first things to be established was a scholarship fund.  Originally, the Hall handed out a female (The Campbell Scholarship) and a male (The Fuhrer Scholarship) scholarship.  Now the Fuhrer Family Scholarship is handed out to the most deserving athlete, male or female, of the graduating class. An additional scholarship, the Ed Boyle Soccer Scholarship, has been added in the most recent years.

The Committee established smaller scholarships for the middle school. Each year, two Dorseyville students receive a $100 Wateska Scholarship to attend a sports camp.

In 2001, the Hall of Fame officially opened an actual hall.  Located in an alcove across from the LGI and Athletic Department office in the high school, the display cases honor decades of athletic achievement. The original goals (summarized on the Home page) of the Hall's Mission Statement have remained the same since 1996. 

Similarly, the original dedicated Executive Committee has had only a few changes in its membership. Fox Chapel parents Wheezie Babst and Mary Succop; coach, teacher and parent Ed Boyle; and school administrators Myers and Sobehart are no part of the group only because they retired, passed away or left the district. All remaining original members continue an enthusiastic support of honoring athletes from the district's geographic area, even if those athletes predate the current school district configuration.

There have been several enthusiastic additions to the Executive Committee.  Deb Welty became the first female HOF inductee to join the Committee.  Athletic Director Mike O'Brien joined the committee as soon as he joined the district in 2005.  And since then, the HOF Executive Committee has moved onto new generations.  Patrick Frank, son of Ron Frank, is now the Annual Banquet Emcee.

Facilities improvements that the Hall has funded over the years are quite diverse.  From theraputic equipment in the training room, to girls lockers on the field, to sod on the baseball field, to a TV/VCR in the LGI for reviewing game films, the Hall has sought to fill in the gaps in the taxpayer-funded athletic budget. Interested in supporting the Hall in some way?  Please see our Help the Hall page, our Contacts page, or contact any member of our Committee.