Joe Dello Stritto admitted he was, at first, a little surprised to learn of his selection for induction to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter.

But the Plum resident was humbled and grateful to learn that several people involved in the process of assembling the Class of 2018 spoke highly of his time as a three-sport letterman at Swissvale High School, his scholarship to play football at N.C. State and his accomplishments as a junior high coach in the Plum School District.

Dello Stritto took his place among other area athletic greats and joined fellow hall-of-fame group members Jim Alcorn (Penn Hills), Michael (Mickey) Catello (Penn Hills), Bob Flajnik (Plum), Alfreeda Goff (Westinghouse Memorial/East Allegheny), Dave Loya (East Allegheny), Barbara Wright Russell (Wilkinsburg) and R.J. Umberger (Plum) at a banquet and ceremony last month at Edgewood Country Club in Churchill.

“The special thing about coaching junior high is that I was helping prepare kids for the next level, and I hoped to give them a solid foundation as they continued on into high school,” said Dello Stritto, who founded the Plum junior high wrestling program in 1971 and coached seven undefeated teams from 1977-81 and in ‘83 and ‘84.

His teams’ record from 1977-85 was 65-3 with an overall 15-year record of 80-28-2.

“A lot of the athletes I coached went on to be successful at the next level, and that made me proud that I was able to give those basics and fundamentals and help motivated them to do well,” said Dello-Stritto, who also was inducted into the Plum Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

The Class of 2018 was the 41st to be inducted since the East Boros Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1978.

Flajnik, a 1985 Plum graduate, received posthumous induction, and the banquet ceremony was a mix of celebration and emotional reflection for his friends and family.

Flajnik passed away at age 49 in May 2016.

“At the time of the banquet, it seemed so surreal,” said Lynda Dougherty, Bob’s sister. “It was such an honor for myself, my family and his wife Cindy. It was bittersweet because it was such a great honor for him to not only be nominated but to be inducted. It was also sad that he wasn’t there to be able to accept the award in person. It’s hard to put into words.”

Flajnik, was a member of the 1983 Plum WPIAL Quad-A championship football team and was captain of the 1984 squad. He became well known later in his life for his success in road races, marathons and triathlons, and the Boston and Pittsburgh marathons were among his favorites.

“A lot of people at the banquet didn’t know my brother, but I think that by the time Cindy was done with her (acceptance) speech, everyone felt like they had met him at some point,” Dougherty said. “He had the most outgoing personality and would be able to make friends with everyone. That’s just the type of person he was.”

More than 300 have been enshrined since 1978. A number of them were on hand to celebrate this year’s class.

The East Boros Sports Hall of Fame selects members each year in the categories of athlete, coach, official or significant contributor to athletics. The process for nominations, which currently are being accepted, can be found at paeastborosshof.com/nominations/.

The hall of fame also is looking forward to its 16th annual scholar-athlete golf outing in late May. The event raises scholarship dollars each year for four selected area student-athletes.

The goal each year is to present four $1,000 scholarships to male and female candidates from eight local school districts: East Allegheny, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, Plum, Riverview and Woodland Hills.

Additional information on the golf outing can be found at paeastborosshof.com/golf-outing/.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

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