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 Lehighton inductees are:

Marv Barry

The football program at Lehighton Area High School saw a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s. Those who were a part of the football teams during those timers all agree that the development of the Lehighton Knee-Hi Football Program beginning in 1956 set the stage for success in future years.

One of the key people responsible for the continuing success of the knee-hi program at its early stage was Marv Barry, assistant coach of the Oklahoma Sooners knee-hi team from 1961-65 and then head coach of that team from 1965-78.

Marv, a 1940 graduate of Lehighton High, was not your typical coach. He did not participate in athletic activities in high school, mainly because he was only 15 years old when he graduated. After high school, he spent a year getting a machinist rating, and shortly after that training was complete, he went to Baltimore, MD, to work at the Glen L. Martin aircraft manufacturing plant. There, he met the first love of his life, his wife Ethel, who was also working – Rosie the Riveter – in the same plant. They were married for 60 years when Ethel passed away in 2006.

While working on the B-26 Marauders at the Martin plant, Marv rekindled his love for aviation that began in 1938 when he attended a high school program about aviation mechanics and fabrication specialists. He signed up for the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in early 1943 and graduated in April of 1945 with his coveted pilot wings. Aviation was Marv’s second love. He was hired by Eastern Air Lines in 1957 and retired in 1984. In June of 1996, he was honored for his 55 years of aviation excellence by the Friends of Aviation in Lehighton.

There is no question that Marv’s third love of his life was the Oklahoma Knee-Hi football team. He was very passionate and focused on his coaching duties for 17 years, He was successful, winning league championships and coaching the winning All Star team. It was not easy.

Marv had seven children – six boys and a girl. All six boys played for the Sooners’ knee-hi team and all six played high school football at LHS. Marv’s airline schedule made football season a real challenge. He would drive two hours for an early morning trip to either Newark or LaGuardia airports that had a return time which would allow him to drive two hours back home and make the evening practices.

He would study movies of the games taken by family members for hours during the football season. His players knew that he would hold them to a high standard during practices and games, making sure they were well schooled in the basics of football. He also followed his players through high school, college and their adult lives.

Several of his players went on to coach at the high school and college levels.

In 1978, when he retired from the knee-hi program, five of his former players were coached in the program. It was also no coincidence that in 1978, the year Marv retired from coaching, he had 14 players on the high school football team that won the Centennial League Championship.

Marv was very proud of his family and his time coaching knee-hi football. Three of his sons went on to play sports at the college level and were also inducted into the Carbon County Area Sports Hall of Fame. Jay, a 1966 LHS graduate and a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, was inducted in 2012. Craig, a 1968 LHS graduate and a 1972 graduate of the Air Force Academy, was inducted in 1996. Bruce, a 1970 LHS graduate and a 1974 graduate of the Air Force Academy, was inducted in 2017. Like Marv, all three of his sons went on to have successful airline and Air Force careers.

Marv was very pleased that his players became good football players at higher levels but was most proud of the fact that his kids became respectful students and outstanding citizens. The pleasures of working with the youth of Lehighton were the source of some of his best memories.

His coaching expertise helped to set the foundation of the LHS football program.

Sadly, Marv passed away on Jan. 18, 2022, leaving many memories of his commitment to the Lehighton Knee-Hi and Lehighton High School football programs.

Steven Hawk

As a proud, lifelong Lehighton resident, Steven Hawk grew up involved in the great Lehighton Booster Club programs, very thankful for all of the parents and volunteers who made the program possible.

He participated in track and field at the current middle school field, played basketball in “the pit” at the junior high school, and participated in Dennis Semmel’s wrestling program until third grade, when he could no longer make the highest weight class.

He was a proud member of the Lehighton “Senior Knee Hi” football program, a group of boys who either didn’t make the weight limits or were too old for the regular knee-hi program and couldn’t yet play for the high school. The team was coached by his dad, Clark Hawk, and would play any willing team.

Steve went on to graduate from Lehighton High School in 1993, but not before being a three-year varsity starter in football, a four-year starter at heavyweight on the wrestling team and a shot put and discus thrower on the track team for four years.

He was a member of the Indians’ 1990 and 1991 league championship football teams and the 1991 District 11 runner-up squad.

As a wrestler, Steve had a record of 111-17 through his career, and became the first Lehighton wrester to reach 100 career wins. He became an AAU Folkstyle national champion, a two-time league champion and one-time runner-up, and he twice became the District 11 AAA champion, also winning a bronze medal and finishing fifth in that competition.

He advanced to the PIAA State Championships, finishing as the Northeast Regional runner-up and then placing third in the state.

Participating in the weights on the track team, Steve placed third in the District 11 AAA discus competition.

He went on to graduate from Mansfield University with a bachelor of science degree in biology, and East Stroudsburg University with a master’s degree in biology. In college, he was a two-year starter at the heavyweight position for the wrestling program at North Carolina University, followed by wrestling for two years at the 190-pound class at Mansfield, where in 1997 he was a national qualifier.

Steve currently resident in Lehighton with his wife Kim. They have two sons, Nick and Bodie.

Steve truly cherished being able to coach and watch them participate in many of the great athletic programs as he did as a kid, and now enjoys watching them represent the Lehighton Indians on the basketball court and in track and field.

George Harris

George Harris of Lehighton was a star baseball player and golfer at Lehighton Area High School from 1973-76, having been named Most Valuable Player in both sports in his senior campaigns.

He pitched and played centerfield for the diamond squad for three years and went on to win the silver medal in the league tournament and place 13th in District 11 competition.

George played Lehighton Legion Baseball from 1974-77 and then moved on to Moravian College (1977-80), where he pitched, played the outfield and was a designated hitter. He compiled a 7-0 record in the mound as a freshman, a school record.

In 1981, George pitched for Kutztown State College, compiling a 5-1 record. He was 3-0 in the Florida Spring Tournament, where he threw against and his team defeated the ninth-ranked team (Belmont Abbey) in the division, 3-2, throwing a nine-inning complete game, fanning 12 and walking just three batters. While at Moravian and Kutztown, he also had a 4-0 record against Division 1 Lehigh University, pitching shutouts in all four games.

Pitching in the Pocono Mountain League, George had a record of 53-11 with 551 strikeouts. In 1983, he had a 14-1 record. He and his teammates won three league championships.

In the Blue Mountain League, George played for the Bethlehem As, Saylorsburg Lakers and Allentown Wings from 1977-88, during which time his pitching record was 49-19 with a record 301 Ks. He had a 30-4 record for Allentown from 1983-88, including an 11-0 record in his final season. The Wings won three league championships while George wore its uniform, when he was also a Turoscy Formula and Pitcher of the Year winner. He was inducted in the Blue Mountain League Hall of Fame in 1998.

His pitching talent earned his tryouts with the Phillies, Reds, Dodgers and Pirates.

After his playing days were over, George umpired PIAA, college, American Legion and semi-professional baseball for 25 years and coached baseball at Lehighton High from 2007-2009, when the Indians went 29-27 after he took over a team that was previously 1-18 and guided it to Lehighton’s only District 11 championship.

George was also a pitching coach for the Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup entry (Phillies) from 2009-2011. The team won the 2011 championship.

He is a son of the late Charles and Judy Harris and has a sister, Tracy (Bob) Strohl of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; a daughter, Keri (Jeremy) LeClair of Green Brook, N.J., and a son, Tyler Harris of Lehighton.