The 26th Annual Carbon County Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and banquet will be held Sunday, May 26, at the Franklin Township Fire Company social hall.

The doors will open at 1 p.m., with the dinner to start at 2 o’clock, followed by individual inductions of 22 who attained athletic accomplishments.

This year’s inductees are:

Coaldale – Cindy Hassler, John “Ronnie” Drosdak and Jake Flyzik.

Jim Thorpe - Geoff Kelowitz, Chuck McGowan and David Mueller.

Palmerton – Jason Balliet, Frank Zelinsky and Manny Guedes.

Lehighton – Gregory Ebbert, George Ebbert, Tom Mullen and Bob Capasso.

Nesquehoning – William Sluck, Joseph Blazosky and Daniel Blazosky.

Lansford – Ron Swider, Cory Sheridan and Edmund Gargula.

Summit Hill – Nadia Gauronsky, Bruce Frassinelli and Eugene DeGiosio.

Carbon County - Blue Ridge TV-13 sports reporter Bob Capasso.

The following will be inducted representing Lansford:

Cory Sheridan

One of the prolific football players ever to don a football uniform, this 1989 graduate of Panther Valley High School broke school and Lycoming College records in attaining all league, state and All American status.

Cory Sheridan was a three-year varsity letter winner in football, basketball and baseball an PVHS, and he left his mark on the Panthers in all three sports.

On the gridiron, he became PV’s all-time leading rusher with 2,498 career yards, while amassing over 1,200 yards in his senior season, rushing for 21 touchdowns. He attained numerous honors in his senior season, including Honorable Mention All State, First Team All Schuylkill League and First Team Reading Eagles, all as a running back.

On the court, he played point guard and shooting guard, tallying over 700 career points, while he went on to become a standout shortstop and pitcher on the baseball field.

When he moved on to Lycoming College, Sheridan became one of the Mid Atlantic Conference’s best players ever. He earned letters in four years, helping the Warriors to gain an NCAA Division III playoff berth four years, including playing in the 1990 national championship game.

In 1992, he was named a Small School All American Running Back, while also gaining and MAC Running Back honors from 1989-92, and First Team All MAC Running Back in 1990-92 and Second Team All MAC Running Back honors in 1989.

His 1992 performances won him the Mid-Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors.

At Lyco, he totaled 2,798 yards on 515 carries, including 1,198 in 1992. He tallied 35 TDs, the most in school history, and his 118 receptions were also a record for running backs there.

He was inducted into the Lycoming College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and is a member of the Sigma Pi Fraternity.

Cory went on to play for the USA Tomahawks team in the International Rugby League, and participated in 31 international test matches vs. Australia, England, France, Russia, Ireland, Canada, Morocco, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, South Africa and Jamaica.

He continued his interest in sports through the years as an assistant coach at his high school alma mater, Loyalsock, Glen Mills and Chichester high schools and on the staff at Lycoming. He also coached hockey at Glen Mills, baseball in the Aston Valley Cal Ripken League and as a coach in the Aston-Middletown Little League.

Also at Glen Mills, where he served from 1996-2007, he was a teacher and guidance counselor, and was a member of the school’s Rugby League team.

His working career includes serving as dean of student/behavioral specialist in the Philadelphia School District from 2007-2014, and director of the Path Academy from 2011-2014. He has worked for the United Parcel Service since 2014 as an on-road supervisor and center manager.

Cory and his wife, the former Nichole Logan of Nesquehoning, have been married for the past 18 years. They are the parents of Keighly, 16, and Cory, 12.

Edmund J. Gargula

A 1959 graduate of the former Lansford High School, Edmund J. Gargula was a three sport athlete there, earning letters in basketball, baseball and football in his sophomore, junior and senior campaigns.

On the gridiron, he was named a First Team All Star Player, while his basketball prowess, which followed a stint in which he played CYO for the former SS. Peter and Paul Parochial School, Lansford, was furthered when he moved on to Alliance College, where he played for two years. He was also a participant in the Huntingdon Adult City League.

Gargula was a gifted athlete on the diamond as well, eventually becoming a two-sport athlete at Alliance, where he played baseball for two years. He participated in the Big Orange Golf League for 41 years and was also participated in bowling.

After his playing days were over, Ed went into coaching both basketball and football. On the court, he piloted the Huntingdon Junior High boys’ team for 35 years, and was the head coach of the Juniata College women’s team for three years, 1975-77. He was an assistant football coach at Juniata in 1978-79.

A son of the late John and Josephine (Trojan) Gargula of Lansford, Ed married the former Rita Haggerty. Married for 55 years, they have six children and 15 grandchildren.

After graduating from SS. Peter and Paul Elementary and Lansford High schools, he attended Alliance from 1959-61, and Bloomsburg University from 1961-63. He obtained a master’s degree in 1966 from the Pennsylvania State University.

Ed was a guidance counselor at the Huntingdon Area Middle School from 1963 until retiring in 2001.

He was also active in the community, being a 50-plus-year member of the Knights of Columbus, having served as the lodge’s Grand Knight for two terms. He is a teacher of Religious Education for Adults and Children, served on the Board of Children’s Services and was the chairman of the board of directors of the United Way in his area.

Ron Swider

Playing sports was very much a part of this 1959 Lansford High School graduate’s school days. After playing baseball and basketball in his freshman year, he went on to become a three-sport athlete - football, baseball and basketball – for the Panthers.

With football being his true passion and having an aspiration to one day play professional football, he became an all star gridder, being named to area All Star teams as both a junior and a senior, and then being selected to play in the 1959 UNICO All Star Football Classic.

Afterward, he received a scholarship to play football for Albright College, Reading, beginning in August of 1959 with hopes of extending his football career. However, a knee injury in practice ended up requiring extensive surgeries, ending his dream of playing professional football.

Also during high school, he was a member of the Lansford High School Marching Band, for which he played various instruments.

While on a fishing trip with members of his class, Ron was credited with saving the life of a man who was drowning.

In 1962, he married Mary Klapac, a high school classmate and cheerleader, and they started their life together in Harrisburg, where he was employed by the federal government. In 1965, Ron accepted a position with the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, where he worked in the information technology department. The family has resided in the Bethlehem for the past 54 years.

Ron and his wife are the parents of two daughters, both of whom graduated from college and are very successful in their careers. They are the grandparents of five “wonderful” grandchildren - two grandsons and three granddaughters - all who are college students. Ron and Mary will tell you their newest joy is a great-grandson.

He and his wife enjoy traveling, vacationing with their family and attending their grandchildren’s activities and sporting events.

Ron says football is still very much a part of his life, as he enjoys watching high school, college and professional football games with family and friends.

Ron says he enjoyed a lifelong dream this year when with the Lehigh Valley Notre Dame Club he spent four days at the university in South Bend, IN, where they attended the Michigan-Notre Dame game, attended pregame festivities and attended an event where Lou Holtz was the main speaker.