Fourth Annual Athletic Hall of Fame to Induct 'Incredible' Players, Supporters
April 28, 2007
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The fourth annual University of Baltimore Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony will honor 11 athletes and team supporters from baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling, as well as the 26 members of the 1963 National Championship soccer team, on Friday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (tickets and registration information below).
Though competitive sanctioned athletics are no longer a part of the UB student experience—the rising costs of supporting teams forced the institution to abandon sports in 1983—the UB community is well aware of its esteemed legacy in this arena. Home to more than 150 All-American athletes during its 50-plus years of competitive collegiate sports, UB won numerous Mason-Dixon team championships in baseball, basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling.
UB President Robert L. Bogomolny has been a continuing supporter of the drive to strengthen the UB Athletic Hall of Fame.
"UB had some incredible athletes, and its teams played with an intense competitiveness that you don’t often see in smaller schools," Bogomolny said. "This year's inductees exemplify the spirit, accomplishment and teamwork that are the hallmarks of our athletic history."
The Athletic Hall of Fame began after an extended dialogue with alumni leaders, students and local sports aficionados, who worked with the UB leadership to appropriately acknowledge the long history of sports at UB. In the past three years, well over two dozen athletes and coaches have entered the hall.
Selected by an executive board of former UB student-athletes and coaches, the 2007 class of the UB Athletic Hall of Fame features 11 former student-athletes and two coaches, all of whom were outstanding in their chosen sport or in their contributions to athletics.
More than 50 years of UB history will be covered by this class, which will include members of some of the University's most successful teams from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
The 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are:
Baseball:
Don O. Buttermore Jr., B.S. '51 (deceased)
Dan Coyne, B.S. '73
Richard Geraghty, B.S. '57
Basketball:
George M. Pinchback, B.S. '78
Lacrosse:
Steve Kopf, B.S. '79
J. Donald Willoughby, B.S. '61
Lacrosse/Soccer:
Augie Uleckas, B.S. '67
Soccer:
Charley Myers, B.S. '77
The 1963 National Championship Soccer Team
Wrestling:
Robert Sisk, B.S. '69
Coach:
Frank Szymanski, M.S. '77, director of athletics and head coach of men's basketball, 1971-82
Outstanding Contributor:
H. Mebane "Meb" Turner, president of UB, 1969-2002
Gerry Sandusky, the Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning sports director for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, will emcee the event again this year.
Tickets are $80 per person and can be purchased in individual, half table (five tickets for $400) or full tables (10 tickets for $800). R.S.V.P. by calling 410.837.6131or e-mailing the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@ubalt.edu, or register online. The event includes a reception from 5:30 7 p.m. and a dinner from 7 to 9 pm.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.