The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame last week announced its 2019 inductee class.
The Hall of Fame’s latest class of inductees consists of 15 individuals representing achievement in nine different sports.
The inductees are:
• Al Cantello, a member of the track and field team at Norristown High School and La Salle College. He once held the javelin world record with a throw of 282-3.
• Bill Melchionni, who played basketball at Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken, New Jersey and Villanova. He won the 1967 NBA championship with the 76ers and ABA titles with the New York Nets in 1974 and ‘76.
• Charlene Morett, a graduate of Lansdowne-Aldan High School who starred in field hockey and lacrosse at Penn State. She coached field hockey at Boston College for three years before becoming coach in 1987 at Penn State, where she remains.
• Clara Schroth-Lomady, who won 39 national gymnastics titles from 1941-52. She won a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics.
• Donovan McNabb, who quarterbacked the Eagles for 11 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl from 2000-04. He leads all Eagles quarterbacks in career touchdown passes and yards. The team retired his No. 5 jersey.
• Eric Desjardins, a defenseman for the Flyers for 11 seasons. He was a plus-143 in his career for the Flyers. He was captain from March 2000 to October 2001. He played in two all-star games for the Flyers.
• Fran Dunphy, who coached Penn and Temple basketball to a combined 566-317 record. He won 10 Ivy League championships at Penn and three Atlantic 10 tournament titles at Temple.
• Frank “Home Run” Baker, who played seven seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. He won three World Series with the A’s. He led the American League in home runs four times with the A’s.
• Jayson Stark, an Abraham Lincoln High School graduate who was a longtime sportswriter at the Inquirer and ESPN. He’s authored three books on baseball, including one on the 2008 Phillies team that won the World Series. Earlier this year, he was given the Baseball Hall of Fame Spink Award.
• Matthew Saad Muhammad, a former WBC and NABF light heavyweight boxing champion.
• Mike Scioscia, a Springfield (Delco) High School graduate who was a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 13 years. He was a two-time all-star and a member of the 1981 and ‘88 teams that won the World Series. He managed the Angels from 2000-18, winning the World Series in 2002.
• Paul Owens, who spent 45 years with the Phillies as a manager, general manager, scout and special adviser. He was the GM of the team that won the 1980 World Series.
• Rasheed Wallace, a graduate of Simon Gratz who played basketball at North Carolina and 16 seasons in the NBA. He won an NBA title in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons.
• Suzy Kolber, an Upper Dublin High School graduate who joined ESPN in 1993.
• Troy Vincent, a Pennsbury High School graduate who played eight seasons with the Eagles. He played in the Pro Bowl as an Eagle from 1999 to 2003. Today, he is the NFL head of football operations.
The Hall of Fame’s 16th induction ceremony and reception is Thursday, Nov. 7, at the SugarHouse Event Center.
In 2013, the Hall of Fame opened a gallery at Spike’s, a trophy and awards shop at 2701 Grant Ave. The gallery is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon or by appointment.
For more information, go to phillyhall.org or the Hall’s pages on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. ••
