Nine area legends set for enshrinement into Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame May 20
For Beaver High School graduate John Burkett, the journey to induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame started back in the early 1980s – but he wasn’t even considering the possibility back then.
“I’ve never been in any hall of fame before,” said Burkett, from his home in Texas. “I’m excited. I can remember reading about it in the newspaper back then.”
Also in the newspaper back then was news of Beaver’s state baseball championship in 1983 when Burkett and Doug Piatt were the rotation. Later that year, Burkett started his professional career in Great Falls.
He made his major league debut in 1987 with the San Francisco Giants and eventually pitched for five different teams during his career from 1987 to 2003, compiling 166 wins with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox.
In 1993, John was voted to the All-Star game and was the National League wins leader, going 22-7 with the Giants but the road to the all-star game wasn’t paved with gold.
“It wasn’t quick and easy, I was in the minor leagues for seven years,” said Burkett. “Everybody thinks they’ll come out of high school and be Roger Clemens but it doesn’t work that way so I never really thought about a hall of fame.”
After his retirement in 2003 with a 12-9 record with the Boston Red Sox, the competitive spirit didn’t wane. He was on the professional poker tour for about 10 years and is now winning titles on the Pro Bowlers Association senior tour, having bowled 32 perfect 300 games at last count.
“My last year of baseball, the world series of poker on a loop,” Burkett said. “I’ve always been competitive so I got into it. When I turned 49 I got on the bowling tour.
“I had offers to get into coaching or broadcasting for baseball when I retired but the travel was tough. I had made the post season eight of my last nine years so that kept it exciting but I still compete.
“After the banquet, I’ll get ready for the bowling tour that starts in June.”
The Hall of Fame will be holding its 46th annual banquet at The Fez on May 20, honoring Burkett and eight others. Ticket information is available at the Hall website - www.bcshof.org or contact Hall of Fame secretary Janet Zigerell (jzigerell@gmail.com, 724-561-3226). Following are capsules of the other eight newest members of the hall.
Virginia Carver was born in New Brighton and is a Lions high school graduate. She was a pitcher and fielder in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), playing for the 1953 South Bend Blue Sox and the 1954 pennant-winning Fort Wayne Daisies in the final season of the AAGPBL. The AAGPBL has a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, honoring the entire league.
Starring in football and baseball at Center High School, Sam DiMatteo went on to attend California University of Pennsylvania to play baseball, where he was a four-year starter, from 2007 to 2010, and a three-time, first-team all-conference selection for the Vulcans. Sam completed his collegiate baseball career holding the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference career record for stolen bases with 115 (which he still holds) and school records of 223 hits and 175 runs scored. He signed as a free agent with the Washington Nationals and spent five seasons playing minor league ball. Sam is a 2020 inductee of the California University of Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame.
Playing basketball at Blackhawk High School, Brandon Fuss-Cheatham scored 2,278 points, which at that time was 8th best in WPIAL history. He was the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Male High School Athlete of the Year in 2001, and was ranked by ESPN as tenth in its list of top 20 point guards for the freshman class of 2001-2002. Moreover, Brandon helped Blackhawk win four section championships, two WPIAL championships, and a PIAA championship. Brandon later played basketball for the Ohio State University Buckeyes from 2001 through 2005.
Mark Lyons has been a football coach for 36 years including 26 as a head coach. At Central Valley since 2010, Mark has averaged 10 wins a season, winning 7 section titles, 5 WPIAL championships, and 2 state championships. Mark's resume includes 36 consecutive victories and many Coach of the Year awards, including the 3A Pennsylvania Writers Coach of the Year Award in 2020 and 2021 and the NFHS Sectional Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2021 for the section covering Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.
Darrelle Revis was an award-winning football player at Aliquippa High School and the University ofPittsburgh. Darrelle was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round (14th overall) of the 2007 NFL draft, and, in his 11 years in the league, would earn a reputation as one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history. Among other awards, Darrelle was named to the Pro Bowl seven times, was first-team All Pro four times, was named to the New York Jets Ring of Honor, and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. Darrelle was in the starting lineup of the New England Patriots when the team won Super Bowl XLIX.
Rochester native Willie Smith was a track star at Auburn University from 1975 to 1978. In 1977 and 1978, Willie won the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400 meters, and he won gold medals in the 4x400-meter relay in 1979 in the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Cup in Montreal, in 1981 in the IAAF World Cup in Rome, Italy, and in 1984 at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Midland native Fred Vuich is an award-winning sports photographer whose work includes multiple cover shots for Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine and a first prize award in the 2002 World Press Photo Contest. Fred has contributed to Major League Baseball and the U.S. Golf Association, and he is a member of the Midland Sports Hall of Fame.
In his first five years as head coach of the Aliquippa Quips football team, Mike Warfield has won three WPIAL championships and two PIAA state championships. In 2019, Mike was named Pennsylvania Football Writers Class AAA Coach of the Year in 2019, and in 2021 Mike was named PA Football Writers Class 4A Coach of the Year and PAFootballNews.com Coaches Class 4A Coach of the Year. Before his outstanding coaching career, Mike played football at Catawba College, where in 2005 he was inducted into the Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame.
HOF Class of 2023
John Burkett (Baseball - Beaver)
Virginia Carver (Baseball - New Brighton)
Sam DiMatteo (Baseball - Center)
Brandon Fuss-Cheatham (Basketball - Blackhawk)
Mark Lyons (Coaching - Central Valley)
Darrelle Revis (Football - Aliquippa)
Willie Smith (Track - Rochester)
Fred Vuich (Sports Media - Midland)
Mike Warfield (Coaching - Aliquippa)
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Nine area legends set for enshrinement into Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame May 20
