The Carbon County Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 28th Annual Induction Ceremony on Sunday, May 28, 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, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669-6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-7565, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

The 2023 inductees include:

Coaldale: Bob Urban, Jeff Neitz and the late Cathy (Radocha) Gelatko.

Jim Thorpe: A.J. Petrucci Jr., Mike Paulas and Irene Sebelin Serignese.

Lansford: Tony Zonca, Frank Bydlon and Gina Uher-Lee.

Lehighton: Steven Hawk, the late Marvin J. Barry and George Harris.

Nesquehoning: Jack Corby, Matt Maradeo and Joel Hunsicker.

Summit Hill: Jack O’Gurek and Dan Matika.

The Lansford inductees are:

Frank Bydlon

Frank Bydlon, 1962 graduate of Lansford High School, participated in basketball and baseball there for four years. In baseball, he was a four-year starter, while, in basketball, he played on the varsity team for three years, including two as a starter.

As grateful as it was to have individual success (scoring, assisting from the point and especuially defense), being part of a championship team with the best of teammates was more memorable to Frank. The CYO upset victory while at SS. Peter and Paul’s (Coach John Buchala) was the beginning of more to come.

Lansford High’s championship basketball teams of 1960 and 1962 (second half) and the baseball teams of 1960-62 provided those results and will never be forgotten.

Two years of American Legion Baseball in Palmerton, whose teams were comprised of many valley players, also proved to have more winning results.

Finally, the recognition of being named Black Diamond All League, and also being selected to the Valley All Stars which resulted in his participation in the B’nai B’rith Tournament, was a great ending to his high school career.

After college, Panther Valley provided Frank the opportunity of being a varsity assistant to Coach John Harkins. Having a 23-0 start surely made for Frank a great introduction to the coaching world and placed the 1967 class in the record books. Little did he realize his next year’s coaching jobs would be over 4,000 miles away at a Department of Defense School in Germany. Winning the European Championship in his first year laid the foundation of years to come. Other coaching experiences involved golf, cross country and the Siemens Club Basketball Team.

Many of Frank’s contributions to the sports world came outside and after his school years. In the summers of 1967 and 1968, he was an initial hire in creating Lake Hauto’s recreational program, which included swimming lessons, life-saving certification classes, softball, tennis and children’s hikes.

At Millersville University, he was president of the Intramural Committee which was responsible for scheduling all sporting events as well as social activities for 3,000 students.

In the National Ski Patrol-International Division, Frank spent over 25 years with the Austrian Bergwacht Rescue Service and Swiss Alpine guides, giving him an educational experience in mountaineering and avalanche recognition, which was immeasurable.

This led to being awarded by the NSP one of its highest honors, which was a NSP National Number.

Frank spent most of his senior days living and working on a golf course. Some of his highlights were placing first at the DOD Overseas Teachers Tournament, six birdies in one round, breaking 80 at St. Andrew’s and the best of all comes every April at Augusta (13th or 15th holes).

Frank has been married to the former Susan Stanalis since 1982. They reside in Williamsbirg, VA and have one daughter, Meghan Kinnear, and one granddaughter, Chloe Kinnear.

Tony Zonca

Tony Zonca was a three-year starter in football at Lansford High School, where he also played basketball and baseball. On the gridiron, he was an MVP candidate in the Carbon-Schuylkill All Star football game.

As a senior, Tony suffered a fractured ankle in the second game of the football season; a family illness caused him to miss basketball; and a bowling accident caused him to miss the second half of the baseball campaign.

He went on to distinguish himself in many basketball recreation leagues and tournaments and helped to establish, play in and was president of the Panther Valley Softball League.

Tony served 2-1/2 years in the Marine Corps, during which time, while stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., (1962-64), he played football, basketball and volleyball. He was named All-Marine on the 1962 base football team and also captained the company volleyball team that won the Camp Lejeune championship, qualifying for the All-Marine Tournament in Camp Henderson, S.C.

In July, 1964, Tony began his journalism career as a photojournalist for the Lansford Evening Record. He became its sports editor the following year. He then worked briefly for the Times News before being hired to write sports for the Reading Eagle, where he served as assistant sports editor, Sunday sports editor, a columnist and writing coach. He ended his career in June, 2022, as a member of the editorial board.

Tony mainly covered the Reading and Philadelphia Phillies, Sixers and Eagles. He also covered national golf and tennis, along with Penn State football, one Super Bowl, two World Series championships, NCAA basketball, the Big Five in its heyday and professional boxing. He also covered and established a close relationship with Muhammad Ali when the champ trained at Deer Lake in Schuylkill County. One of the highlights of his career came when he broke the story worldwide of Ali coming out of retirement to fight then-champion Larry Holmes.

Tony was a basketball official and baseball umpire. He coached youth baseball, football and basketball in Lansford and Reading and ran summer baseball camps and winter hitting camps for youths. His son, Chris, played Division 1 baseball at West Chester University and also in the Phillies’ minor league system.

In 1999, on the last day of Tony’s role as the Phillies beat writer for the Eagle, he was feted at an unprecedented event that honored his many years of coverage. Key members of the organization, Tony’s peers, along with several players, presented him a cake and gifts at a pregame ceremony in the press dining room as his wife, Banny, and sons, Tony and Chris, looked on. During the game, his likeness and congratulations appeared on the giant Vet score board.

Gina Uher-Lee

Uher-Lee grew up in Lansford and attended Panther Valley High School, graduating there in 1984 after an athlete career in three sports – basketball, volleyball and softball.

She was a member of the first Panther teams to win Schuylkill League and District 11 volleyball championships, reaching the PIAA state playoffs.

A varsity netter for four years, Gina and her teammates won four consecutive league and District 11 titles (1981-84), also qualifying for the state playoffs. She also played club volleyball for the Pottsville Volleyball Club and the USVBA traveling team and was a member of the gold medal winning team in the Keystone State Games.

After graduating, Gina attended East Stroudsburg University where her outstanding volleyball career continued. While earning a bachelor of science degree in education with a teaching certificate in health and physical education in 1988, she was a four-year member of the volleyball team (1984-87), during which time the Warriors won three straight PSAC Eastern Division and overall conference championships (1985-87).

Gina played a major role in the team’s success, helping it to set a school record 35 straight PSAC wins (1985-87) and being named the university’s Women’s Volleyball Team MVP in those three years, as well as three times being named to the First Team All-PSAC East team.

Her other accomplishments include being named PSAC Outstanding Player twice (1986-87); two years being named to the NCAA Middle Atlantic First Team (1986-87); being selected to the First Team AVCA All Region in 1987; and winning MVP honors in the Kutztown University and Army Classic tournaments.

Gina earned a master’s degree in sports management while serving as a graduate assistant for the men’s and women’s volleyball teams at ESU. She was inducted into the university’s Arthletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Upon the completion of her college career, Gina continued her volleyball career as a coach at the collegiate level and at two high schools in Adams County, where her tenure spanned over 20 years while she taught health and physical education.

At Millersville University, she was an assistant volleyball coach, followed by a successful seven-year stint at Delone Catholic High School, during which time the team won four straight YAIAA Division II championships (1998-2001), copped two consecutive District 3 titles (1998-99), and finished as the district runner-up in 2002. Her teams qualified for the PIAA playoffs five straight seasons from 1997-2002, placed third in the state in 1999, was the Northeast Regional champion in 1998 and finished as the state quarterfinalists in 1998 and 2000. Under her watch, Delone also won the York County Officials’ Sportsmanship Award.

Gina headed the Fairfield Area High School volleyball team for 13 years, during which time she received 10 coaching awards, including the Evening Sun, Gettysburg Times and York Daily Record Coach of the Year honors.

She was also the Club Volleyball Coach for York County and coached in the World Athlete Games in Providence, Rhode Island.

Gina’s multi-faceted career saw her served as an American Red Cross instructor for 32 years; a grant writer for the purchase of Bikes; an After-School coordinator; summer camp counselor and blood drive coordinator.