Family a key focus for nine Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame inductees

HOPEWELL TWP.  — The Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame inducted nine more members at Saturday’s 46th annual banquet at The Fez but inductees all made it clear that it took a lot more than just those nine to get there – it a took a group, family effort to get there.

In the very first speech, Beaver’s John Burkett made that clear.

“I pitched for five different major league teams,” Burkett told the crowd. “But my favorite team has always been that one (motioning to the table with his wife and three kids).”

Former Blackhawk and Ohio State basketball standout Brandon Fuss-Cheatham also credited his family and coaches, with a new perspective.

“I didn’t get here on my own, I had all the support of my parents,” Fuss-Cheatham said. “My mother died 20 years ago and I can still hear her voice. My dad spent a lot of time and pushed me and coach (John) Miller is the best in the nation and I grew up with him, too.

“Now that I have kids of my own I realize the time you sacrificed and I thank you.”

Aliquippa’s Darelle Revis, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year – making Aliquippa the only high school in the country with three in the hall – also credited his family, though somewhat differently.

“My family was a sports family and it was a household of competitors,” Revis said. “You were happy for someone when they told you they scored 25, but there was also a feeling of needing to one-up them.

“There was competition at the highest level but you knew it came from love. It was super-competitive at Aliquippa, too – you faced every practice as a challenge. You learn to appreciate that Beaver County is so competitive. This is the first time I’ve seen so many Beaver County athletes sitting still and not being competitive.”

Even the inductees not involved in competitive sports credited Beaver County for their success. Fred Vuich is an award-winning photojournalist who has found his niche in golf photography – after giving up a career as a stockbroker.

“When I had doubts about my decision – and that was every day – I’d think about how my friend Chris (Shovlin) was a success in broadcasting,” Vuich said, referring to the banquet MC and now fellow Hall of Famer. “If he did it, it’s possible.

“God had a plan for me but if I don’t come from Midland, I don’t make it. My family developed and nurtured me and they wanted their kids to be a success, not just their kid but the kid down the street and they took joy in the success of kids two towns over, too.”

Much of the success of those kids could be credited to other inductees – current head coaches Mark Lyons and Mike Warfield. In addition to contributing to the success of others, they acknowledged those that led them.

“This honor wouldn’t happen without others,” Lyons said. “I was influenced by my coaches – Elden Price, Jim Karwoski, Dave Nichol, and Alan Guandolo (the last three now fellow Hall of Famers).

“Now, I need to thank my family and all my assistants for their support.”

“My family has made it easy for me to spend the time I need,” said Warfield. “I need to thank all the Aliquippa football family, too, because being a head coach isn’t just coaching. I know that I wouldn’t be here speaking if I was 6-60 instead of 60-6 and I need to thank my assistant coaches and my players.

“I had three coaches that molded me – my high school coach Don Yanessa, my college coach at Catawba JD Haglan of Freedom, and Mark Lyons for the three years I was on his staff.

“There is a sense of pride at Aliquippa – we’re a small town with good athletes who are good students. It’s a testament to the power of sports.”

As was, quite honestly, the entire evening.

Also inducted were Virginia Carver, a player in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League; Sam DiMatteo, a baseball standout from Center and California (PA), and track star Willie Smith. Carver and Smith were inducted posthumously.

In addition to the inductions, four senior student-athletes were presented with scholarships: Greg Barlion and Meghan Kelly of Hopewell; Emma Durr of Beaver Falls; and Parker Lyons of Rochester.

Also recognized were Maggie Townsend of BCCS and Geneva College with the Dick Kadis Award as college athlete of the year; Andrew Bollinger with the Penn State Beaver award; Tanner Mathos with the CCBC award; and Byron Spear with the Geneva Award.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Family a key focus for nine Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame inductees