AFA ANNOUNCES ITS SEMI-PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME 'CLASS OF 2002
The 'Class of 2002 is made up of sixteen (17) former players, five (5) former coaches, two (2) executives, two (2) officials, one (1) trainer, one (1) media personality, one (1) semi-pro football pioneer and two (2) individuals
representing Youth Football. These honorees have been added to the previous list of 365 Hall of Fame alumni to bring the 22 year total to 397 semipro footballers honored by the AFA.
AFA PRESS RELEASE: (PRWEB) March 16, 2002
Media - contact Dave Burch at AFA National Office (877)624-4485 or (941)388-3510; amerfoot@aol.com (or) usafoot@aol.com
AFA ANNOUNCES ITS SEMI-PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME 'CLASS OF 2002
The American Football Association announced today the names of those selected for induction into the AFA Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame 'Class of 2002'. It's hard to believe that we have been selecting individuals on our level of the sport for this honor for the past 22 years - but we have.
The 'Class of 2002 is made up of sixteen (17) former players, five (5) former coaches, two (2) executives, two (2) officials, one (1) trainer, one (1) media personality, one (1) semi-pro football pioneer and two (2) individuals
representing Youth Football. These honorees have been added to the previous list of 365 Hall of Fame alumni to bring the 22 year total to 397 semipro footballers honored by the AFA.
The 'Class of 2002' had been invited to attend the 22nd annual Hall of Fame enshrinement dinner in Canton, Ohio on Saturday, June 22nd. "Although the 'Class of 2002' is one of the largest ever inducted at one time into our prestigious
football brotherhood, we have only averaged 18 inductees per year over the past 22 years", said AFA Hall of Fame director Ron Real. "By taking advantage of this year's large number of deserving Hall of Fame nominees we increase our averaging number of inductees per year closer to where we want our annual limits to be".
Although the AFA anticipates that they will be selecting some 25 different individuals each year for semi-pro football's most prestigious award (as compared to the limited number of former NFL greats selected by the professionals for their Pro Football Hall of Fame on an annual basis), one must remember that the NFL has always had a limited number of teams to concentrate on
- while the AFA monitors the action of more than 400 teams each season, comprised of over 20,000 annual active players, 3200 coaches, 2,000 executives, 1,600 trainer's/equipment managers, some 800 media personnel, a large number of
people with semi-pro football teams internationally . . . as well as more than
1000 officials known to be working in the 45 different semi-pro leagues across the country. Additionally acknowledged, year after year, are those early footballers who had served as 'pioneers to the grass roots level of the sport - which of course dates back more than 100 years.
While professional football has a very sophisticated selection process to honor their limited number of deserving NFL legend's each year, the AFA must rely on the memories of our alumni members to single out the names of nearly 30,000 footballers available to us on an annual basis. As more and more of the HOF alumni get actively involved in the nominating process each year, more pressure will fall on the selection committee to name for induction the most deserving people in each of the ten categories.
"Yes, we are proud to recognize those on our level who have given of themselves unselfishly over the years to perpetuate the semi-pro football level of the greatest sport in the world. Seeing the expressions on recipient's faces after they have received their Hall of Fame rings and commemorative plaques during our
enshrinement ceremonies - is really heart warming. Hardly a dry eye in the room. Most of them are being honored for their long term dedication for living and playing in the obscurity of semi-pro football. Our Hall of Famers are truly the epitome of the slogan . . . "playing for the love of the game" . . . and their 'semi-pro football legends will live forever through their peers, families and their AFA Hall of Fame fraternity alumni brothers", added Mr. Real.
To help commemorate the 22nd Annual AFA Hall of Fame Induction Dinner the AFA National Association is expected to publish a 'special event program book featuring not only the Class of 2002 Hall of Fame inductees but many of the
previously enshrined Hall of Famers as well. Additionally, this event will be videotaped professionally as was done last year.
Semi-pro football enthusiasts looking to be part of this exciting football event should make their hotel and dinner reservations early as the banquet is nearly always a 'sellout. The Induction Dinner will take place at the Holiday Inn in North Canton, Ohio on Saturday, June 22, 2002.
The following is a list of names of those to be inducted into the AFA Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame 'Class of 2002 - as well as their home town and alumni member sponsor (in parentheses):
PLAYERS CATEGORY:
Scott Boyd - Portage, Michigan (Jim Nugent)
Lavert Carr - Bolingbrook, Illinois (Paul Hudson)
Frederick 'Cannonball Cooper* - Richmond, Virginia (Dave Burch)
Phil Dewall - Chicago, Illinois (Ray Carski)
Wilson Guttley - Concrete, Washington (Moose Fahey)
Larry Heindle - Northbridge, Mass. (Bob Brennan, Bob Kays)
Bob Kutzer - Burlington, Washington (Henery Schroder)
Tony Lombardo - Rye, Colorado (Bob Milkie)
Steve Oldt - Shippensburg, Penn. (Don Heiges)
Carl Perkins - Park Forest, Illinois (Wright, Erbeck, McLaughlin)
Carl Polisena - Orange Village, Ohio (Tichy, D. McElligott, D'Orazio)
Dick Queeney - Quincy, Mass. (L. DeVoe, Mike Fallon, Kevin McCarthy)
George 'Jocko' Rice - Pittsburgh, Penn.(Leonard Duncan)
Tim Rucks - Racine, Wisconsin (Jesse Vail)
Roman Strzala - Bloomingdale, Illinois (Joe Wolfe)
Danny Suhr* - Brooklyn, New York (Pudgy Walsh)
Jim Willig - Queensbury, New York (Dick Leland)
COACHES CATEGORY:
George Ashcraft - Watertown, New York (Alvin Lollie)
Paul Costello - Duxbury, Mass. (Rihbany, Reale, Young)
John Green - Squamtum, Mass. (O'Kane, B. DeVoe)
Harold Haberman - Lakewood, Wisconsin (Doug Brozek)
Thomas Wagner - Lakewood, Ohio (John Armbruster)
EXECUTIVE CATEGORY:
Rick Starosta - Waukegan, Illinois (Ron Hart)
Asbury Summers - Gary, Indiana (Joe Mooney)
OFFICIALS CATEGORY:
James Bard - Chambursburg, Penn. (Charles Smith)
Jack Pittges - Chicago, Illinois (Paul Whiteside)
PIONEER CATEGORY:
J. B. Wise* - Watertown, New York (AFA Historians)
EQUIP.MAN/TRAINER
Randall Dreessen - Lynnwood, Washington (Ken Austin)
MEDIA/HISTORIAN
William Callahan, Jr. - Glens Falls, New York (Alan 'Butch' Keller)
YOUTH FOOTBALL
Joe Galat - College Corner, Ohio (Jim Taft)
John Patella - Sarasota, Florida (Ron Real)
WOMENS FOOTBALL - TBA
*Posthumously
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