Banquet honors Alle-Kiski Valley hall of fame inductees
NEW KENSINGTON -- All eight inductees at the 39th Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame banquet Saturday had stories relating to how athletic experiences helped them later in life.
None was more poignant than Joseph Guyaux, former Tarentum High School standout, now the president of PNC Bank.
"It's always easy to celebrate the victories, but it's hard to remember the failures," Guyaux said. "In my first 12 years of corporate life, I kept getting passed over by people I thought I was working harder than, but then my opportunities came along."
Guyaux had, perhaps, the funniest line of the night when he was talking about the secret of keeping school records.
"After hearing from Garry Lyle (Verona) and Rich Carlberg (Oakmont), I figured the best way to keep your records is to have the school go out of existence," he said. "Then nobody can break them."
Guyaux helped Tarentum to the WPIAL basketball titdles and was part of a 30-match winning streak in tennis.
Carlberg reflected on his days learning football and basketball in Oakmont.
"As we grow older, you realize your friends and teammates are what makes sports so great," Carlberg said.
He fondly recalled his football coach, Chuck Wagner, getting him a tryout as a punter for the Green Bay Packers in an era where punters also had duties as regular players.
"I was running a sweep and was greeted by middle linebacker Ray Nitschke," he said.
Lyle, who led Verona to the WPIAL Class B football title before going on to George Washington University, thanked those who stood by him in tough times as a youth, particularly Verona School Board President Scotty Clark. Lyle played eight seasons with the Chicago Bears and has been working up the corporate ladder 32 years with Xerox Corp in Tampa.
John Telford, 87, an all-star pitcher in the old Georgia-Florida League who later became an umpire on numerous levels before going into law enforcement, spoke of how different it is being a judge and an umpire.
"When you're a judge, what you say in the courtroom goes, but as a umpire you're hoping sometimes just to get out of the ballpark," he said with a laugh.
Former Kiski Area and University of Maryland sprinter Cammie Biss Fleming recalled the last performance of her career in 1994 and how she looked back immediately after the event and wished she could run the 220 again.
"I learned a big lesson in perseverance and I can compare that to challenges in my adult life -- like handling my three children," Biss Fleming said.
She was part of the first-ever Kiski Area girls track team.
Former Valley and Pitt tight end Ben Pryor talked about the coaches who influenced him, starting with his first baseball coaches in the old Twin City Midget League in Arnold.
"I've never been able to give back more than I got," said Pryor, now a vice principal at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md. He thanked his older brother, Dave, for creating a competitive spirit in him.
"They say today that teaching students competition is a bad thing, but I say it's a good thing," Pryor said.
Arny Ferrando made his mark in gymnastics at Kiski Area before heading to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. At 132 pounds, he has been anxious to try and excel at other sports. Ferrando, who now holds a doctorate in nutrition and health-related services, thanked his high school coach Dem Answine and other Kiski Area athletic administrators that prepared him for the rigors of Army life.
Apollo-Ridge girls basketball coach Ray Bartha was honored for more than 500 victories and 21 WPIAL playoff appearances, but chose to thank his coaches as a youngster in Leechburg for laying the groundwork for his success.
"The path to this evening started in the 60s with the coaches I had a Leechburg High School," Bartha said. "And I want to thank the Apollo-Ridge School District for giving me time to build a program we all can be proud of."
Toastmaster Bob Tatrn reminded the nearly 300 in attendance that future enshrinees can be nominated by forms on the group's Web site: www.akvalleysportshalloffame.com .
