The Carbon County Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 27th Annual Induction Ceremony on Sunday, May 29, at the Franklin Township Fire Company hall.

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the banquet will begin at 1:45.

Tickets to the dinner program are $35 for adults and $15 for children under 12 and can be purchased from the following committee members: Danny McGinley, 570-325-3550, Vince Spisak, 570-645-4542, Art George, 610-826-2830, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669-6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-8652, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

Inductees were selected in 2020 but because of COVID-19, no ceremonies were held in the past two years. They include:

Coaldale

– Gene Collier, Bob “Bogie” Griffiths and Bernie Radocha.

Jim Thorpe

– August “Matt” Long, Jim McHugh and Eric Schrantz.

Lansford

– Michael Lukac Jr., Brian Raabe, George Neyer and Peter Prosper (George LaRover).

Lehighton

– Suzanne (Rehrig) Howland, Tom Keer and George E. Zellers Jr.

Nesquehoning

– Dr. Michael S. Bales, Gerry M. Farnsworth and Dr. Richard G. Miller.

Palmerton

– Jeff Dobias, Amanda (Samok) Rex, Rodney Strohl and George Schmidt.

Summit Hill

– Robert Bydlon, Joseph Gillespie and David McAndrew.

The Lansford inductees include:

Michael Lukac Jr.

A 1964 graduate of Lansford High School, where he played varsity baseball for four years, Michael Lukac Jr. went on to play baseball and golf at East Stroudsburg University before returning to Carbon County to work in education and athletics in the Weatherly and Panther Valley school districts, and, during his career, eventually become a top-notch football official with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

A lifelong resident of Lansford, he played baseball at East Stroudsburg from 1965-67, and golf from 1967-68, during which time he earned bachelor’s (1968) and master’s (1972) degrees in education.

He then began his teaching and coaching professions in the Weatherly Area School District, where he taught American History, World History and Psychology from 1968-72, while being an assistant cross country and varsity basketball coach and head baseball coach for those four years. His Wrecker diamond team won the Southern Division, Hughie McGeehan League championship in 1969, losing the District 11 and league championship games to Hazleton High.

From 1972-2003, he taught PA and Local History and American Government at Panther Valley, and became the Panthers’ first cross country coach, starting that program in 1972 and piloting it for three years. In 1974, he began an aquatics program at PV, where community swims and American Red Cross life-saving techniques took place. The same year, he was named assistant athletic director for the district.

Lukac became only the second AD in the district, holding the post from 1992-98 and 2000-2003, when Panther Valley hosted numerous District 11 and Schuylkill League basketball playoff games and wrestling tournaments. He retired as the AD and teacher in 2003.

But it was in PIAA football officiating where Mike really left his mark, initially becoming an official in 1967. He worked his first varsity game (Hazleton vs. Berwick) in 1970 and from there his career took off. In 1977, he officiated his first Eastern Conference playoff game, followed in 1978 by his first EC championship game. In 1985, he officiated his first District 11 playoff and championship games, and in 1986 received the assignment of his first state playoff contest.

Lukac worked the 1989 PIAA Class 4A championship game (Wilson West Lawn vs. Upper Saint Clair). In 1999, he officiated the PIAA 3A final between Strath Haven and West Allegheny.

Continuing to officiate, he became the rules interpreter for the Anthracite Chapter, PIAA Football Officials, and was an officials’ observer for the PIAA until 2008.

Mike considers highlights of his officiating career to be his 42 years on the field, including working several games with his father, the late Michael Sr., and son, Michael, including the last game he worked, that being the 2008 District 11 2A championship game at the Palmerton High School Stadium.

Mike has been married to the former Susan Matta since Oct. 11, 1969. In addition to their son Michael, of Upper Dublin, the have two daughters, Suzanne of Springfield Delco and Rebecca of Seattle, WA.

George Neyer

A 1963 graduate of Lansford High School, George Neyer lettered in four sports: football, baseball, basketball and track and field.

A four-year letterman in baseball, he played a host of positions for the Panthers, but was at his best while on the mound.

In 1961, the right-hander hurled the first no-hit game in LHS history, winning the game 9-0 and missing a perfect game when he issued a free pass in the fourth inning.

During his career, the Panthers won back-to-back Black Diamond League titles, one year finishing the season with a 16-3 record. During the off-season, George traveled to play in a summer league with the Palmerton American Legion team of the Lehigh Valley League, where he was an outstanding pitcher and outfielder.

In his senior year, track and field coach Vince Spisak asked George to join the track team, which consisted of a few athletes participating in several District 11 track meets. In order to avoid conflicts with his commitment to the baseball team, George would finish his track and field workouts after practice with the baseball team. He ran the last leg of the 4-by-400 relay team that went on to win the Bronze Medal in the District 11 meet.

As a junior in 1961, he had a banner year in football, finishing third in the valley area in scoring, behind second-place finisher Ed Kassak and the area’s top scorer, Bob Gelatko. George played the right halfback position, from where he threatened opposing teams with his speed and agility on his way to 11 rushing touchdowns. Playing on both sides of the ball, opposing teams tried to run away from him. On many occasions, if a ball carrier broke loose, George had the speed to catch the runner and prevent a score.

Neyer also punted for the Panthers, hitting his longest punt of 57 yards. That year, the Panthers won the Carbon County-Panther Valley area high school football title and ranked first in offensive scoring (270 points) and in defense, allowing their opponents just 95 points.

George also found success on the basketball court. He was a three-year starter for the Panthers and was selected to play in the District 11 All Star game.

After graduation, George married his longtime sweetheart, Ann Rhodunda. Together, they had two daughters, Louise and Brenda, who led to four grandchildren, Justin, Anthony, Shaylee and Tyler. Shaylee was a star gymnast, winning countless medals on her way to finishing first in her age group at the National Finals in Chicago, IL.

George’s college experience came along later in life when his grandson, Anthony Neyer, was accepted to play quarterback for the University of Southern California Trojans. George was a father figure to Anthony and was deeply involved in his college experience. Upon graduating from USC, Anthony was invited to attend camp with the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately, he was not signed to join the team fulltime and went on to become an investment banker with UBS in New York.

George worked in the golf business for 37 years, holding management positions at the Indian Wells Country Club, an exclusive private country club in Palm Springs, CA. He was involved in the Frank Sinatra Golf Tournament, the Al Geiberger 59 Tournament and the more well-known Bob Hope Desert Classic.

After retiring in 2011 and moving to Sedona, AZ, he continues to work in the golf business as a golf starter at the Sedona Golf Resort. He plays golf three days a week while carrying a handicap of seven. George has won many golf tournaments and holds six hole-in-one trophies, but, he says, “Nothing will ever compare to the lifelong memories of playing at Lansford High School and participating in competitive sports in the Panther Valley.

Brian Raabe

Overall at Panther Valley, from grades 7-12, teams Brian Raabe played on had an outstanding overall record of 113-27, an 81% winning percentage, At the varsity level, Raabe started 73 games from 1984-86, helping PV to a 59-14 record (80.8%).

In his senior year, the team won 25 straight games in compiling a 29-2 record (93.5%) – all of which are still school records. The team also captured the Schuylkill League Championship, the District 11 title and made it all the way to the PA State Eastern Final, where is lost by two points to Wilkes-Barre GAR, which still remains as the only boys’ team in school history to do so.

Raabe showed potential early in his high school career. In his sophomore year, he started 18 games and helped the Panthers to a 20-12 record while making it to the eastern semi-finals, where they lost on a last second shot to Lourdes Regional. He averaged 9.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. He also lettered on the football team that year.

During Raabe’s junior year, he averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds a game in aiding his team to a 17-7 record. He was awarded 1st team honors on the Schuylkill League Division 1 team and Reading Eagle Lower Anthracite All Region team, was named to the Hazleton Standard Speaker 2nd team and was also an honorable mention All State selection. That Spring, he also lettered on the track team. After the school year, he played in the West Reading Summer League and was named to an all star team that traveled to Arizona to play in the BSI Prep International Basketball Tournament. There, he competed against the likes of future NBA players Gary Paton, Antonio Davis and Greg Foster.

Raabe’s senior roundball season stands out as one of the best in Carbon County history. He averaged 15.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.9 blocked shots per game while leading the Panthers to their best season in school history. During the team’s nine-game playoff run, he averaged 15.2 points, 15.8 rebounds and 7.4 blocked shots per game. Raabe’s presence was felt most in the biggest games. In the Schuylkill League championship game vs. Jim Thorpe, he had a triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 14 blocked shots. In the District 11 championship game against rival Marian Catholic, he was just one blocked shot short of another impressive triple-double when he had 22 points, 19 rebounds and 9 blocked shots.

At the conclusion of his senior season, Raabe received many accolades. He was selected to play in the Schuylkill/Berks All Star Game with and against the best players in the region and he had an outstanding game, scoring 19 points and gathering 16 rebounds to earn team MVP honors. He was awarded 1st team honors on the Schuylkill League Division1 team, Reading Eagle Lower Anthracite All Region Team, Schuylkill League All League Team, Allentown Morning Call All District 11 Team and the Hazleton Standard Speaker All Area Team. In addition, he was named the Reading Eagle Lower Anthracite Region Player of the Year. He was also the first basketball player in PV history to be nominated to the McDonald’s All American Basketball Team and was an All State honorable mention selection. Brian also earned 5th team All State honors by a group of sportswriters for the PA High School Sports Report booklet.

At the conclusion of his career, Raabe finished as the 2nd leading boys’ basketball scorer in school history with 1,113 points. He is currently 3rd on that list. His 793 career rebounds and 300 career blocked shots still remain as the most in PV history. He also holds single season records for rebounds with 421 and blocked shots with 117 rejections, and also holds the single game record for most blocked shots in a game with 14.

Upon graduation from PV , Brian accepted a full athletic scholarship to Drexel University, becoming the only basketball player in school history to do so at the Division 1 level.

In his freshman year at Drexel, he made an immediate impact, appearing in 22 of 28 games. The following year, he took on the role as the team’s premier post defender and started 27 of 28 games, then following that by starting every game in his junior and senior years. He played in a total of 106 games at Drexel and led the team in offensive charge calls drawn in his last three years, as well as earning the “Dragon D” award given to the team’s top defensive player, for each of those three seasons. He graduated in 1990 with a bachelor of science degree in business and administration.

In 2000, the Reading Eagle created an All Lower Anthracite Region Team, where it picked the top 15 players from each decade as well as the top 16 players spanning the last 50 years. Raabe was included on the 1980s selections, as well as the top 16 player list.

Raabe is a son of Fran Raabe and the late Dave Raabe. He has a brother, Scott; two daughters, Mandee, wife of Phil Redline, and Brianna; three grandchildren, Maverick, Celina and Niko Redline; and girlfriend, Peggy Brown. He still resides in his hometown of Lansford and is a quality improvement manager for Silberline Manufacturing, where he has been employed for the past 30 years.

Peter Prosper (George LaRover)

George LaRover (real name Peter Prosper) was born in Lansford on Nov. 1, 1923, to the late Guglielmo Prosperi and Giovanna Formara, and resided in the community until 1933.

That year, his father returned to his home in Italy, taking Peter, then 10 years old, with him.

Peter was orphaned when his father passed away in 1938, and the family arranged for him to return to America where he resided with his sister, Angela, who by then lived in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia.

After a brief career as an amateur boxer, Peter turned professional at the age of 18. As his sister did not approve of boxing, in order to hide the fact that he was “going pro,” Peter used the I.D. of his good friend, George LaRover, on his application for a boxing license, and fought his entire career as George LaRover.

He was a highly-touted lightweight prospect in the boxing hotbed of Philly, winning 24 of his first 25 bouts, knocking out 3 of every 4 opponents he faced. His final record was 73 wins, 29 loses and 6 draws, with 38 KOs, including 11 wins, 1 loss and 7 KOs that he compiled in the Army.

Of course, his real name, not that of George LaRover, was used in the Army and therefore those bouts were never connected with or entered in the official record listed in BoxRec. These bouts were not exhibitions, as the 7 KO victories would attest. They were bouts by professional boxers who had enlisted or were drafted in the Army and Marines during World War II, and were real bouts for the entertainment of the troops.

Some highlights of his career as he rose as a contender in the lightweight and welterweight divisions were: two wins over the Mexican champion (decision and KO), a KO victory over the Canadian champion, two bouts against lightweight champion Bob Montgomery, in which he went the 10-round distance both times, and a bout against the great Sugar Ray Robinson, whose record at the time was 101 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws. While in the Army, he won by a second round KO over fellow Philadelphia and highly-regarded lightweight prospect Frankie Carto (Marines).

In the early part of his career, George LaRover’s success and KO record found him being avoided by many boxers, as was reported by the Boxing News magazine. A big break came when he took a bout on short notice against young KO artist Juste Fontaine, who was being considered as an opponent for lightweight champion Bob Montgomery. George won a 10 round decision as a 12-5 underdog, and in a rematch four months later, he KO’d Fontaine in round 8.

Of those 108 bouts, 105 of them were packed into only 8 years, an average of 13 fights a year. That kind of wear-and-tear took its toll, physically and mentally, and in Peter Prosper’s later years, he suffered the effects of all those battles until he passed away in 1991.