Reading, PA – April 1, 2010 –

Berks Chapter of state Hall of Fame to add nine

The Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will induct nine members at its 35th annual banquet Sunday, April 11, at Riveredge.

The banquet, open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m.

Tickets and reservations are available by contacting Dave McCoy at 484-332-3273 or 484-332-3273      .

Socrates "Sock" Anthony

Socrates "Sock" Anthony was a baseball, basketball and soccer standout at Reading High, graduating in 1943.

In baseball he played on the Red Knights' 1942 and '43 East Penn League baseball championship teams.

He also played baseball in the Canadian-American League, won an Illinois state amateur title and played two years for Buffalo in the Class AAA International League.

In basketball he played on five different city title teams and was the scoring champion of the Greek Hellenic League.

John Crossan

John Crossan played basketball and golf at Bishop Shanahan High School, graduating in 1965, then was on the golf and track teams at West Chester State College.

He coached soccer and softball in the Reading School District and was a softball official for 27 years.

He has been a PIAA basketball official for 35 years. The president of the Berks County Basketball Officials has been on the executive board for 25 years and the rules interpreter for 20 years. He is one of two officials in the state to work both a boys and a girls state final.

He also officiated college basketball for 27 years.

Rick Fehling was an outstanding football player and swimmer at Wilson, graduating in 1970.

He played on two undefeated Tri-County League football champions. He was a captain with Gerry Slemmer and John Yocum as a senior, when he was an All-Berks and all-league end and a Big 33 selection and was named the school's top male athlete.

In swimming he won the District 3 50-yard freestyle as a senior and was on relay teams that won two district titles and a state title. He set school records in the 50 free and 200 individual medley and on the relay teams.

He went on to play football at Yale University, where he was an All-Ivy League selection at defensive end.

A graduate of the Dickinson Law School, he was recently elected as a federal bankruptcy judge.

Paul Grube

Paul Grube was a standout in basketball, baseball and soccer at Hamburg High, where he was named as the top senior male athlete in 1956.

He played basketball and baseball while in the Air Force from '56-60.

He went on to East Stroudsburg State College, where he earned two letters in soccer and two each in basketball and baseball.

He helped the Warriors win the NAIA national title in soccer in '62 and was named an All-American in the sport.

Rick Moatz

Rick Moatz was a baseball standout for Boyertown High and Boyertown Legion.

He has been the head coach of Boyertown Legion for 22 years, becoming the winningest coach in Berks Legion history with an overall record of 1,025-244.

His teams have won 13 Berks, 13 state Region 2, 12 state and three national regional titles and made three Legion World Series appearances.

The Bears begin this season with a regular season league winning streak of 49 games.

Bernie Nowotarski

Bernie Nowotarski was a football, basketball and track standout at Exeter High, where he was named as the top senior male athlete in 1978.

He went on to play football and run track at Kutztown State College, leading the nation in Division II in interceptions and punt returns in '81 and was named as a Division II All-American in both Football and Track. He played for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL as well as the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions of the NFL.

He is the head coach and general manager of the Reading Express. He was named the American Indoor Football Association coach and GM of the year in '09 after leading the Express to a franchise first, AIFA National Championship, with a win over The Wyoming Cavalry.

Carl Schnellenbach

Carl Schnellenbach is a 1951 graduate of West Reading High School, where he led Berks County in scoring in football and was the 440-yard champion in track.

He went on to West Chester State College and served in the Navy.

He is the winningest scholastic wrestling coach in state history with a 665-171-4 record in 49 years at Ridley High. His teams have won 18 Central League and five District 1 titles. He also has competed in the Boston Marathon and is a masters swimmer.

Gerald Snyder

Gerald Snyder, a Reading native who graduated from West Chester State College in 1965, was involved in swimming in Berks County for nearly 40 decades.

He was the head boys and girls coach at Muhlenberg from 1969-77 and held the same posts at Gov. Mifflin from '78-02.

He had 300 career wins in dual meets and won three Central Penn titles. He coached 25 District 3 champions and 55 all-state and 20 All-America swimmers.

Snyder, who died in March 2009, also held many positions in swimming associations and was a certified water safety instructor.

Mike Stopper

Mike Stopper played football, basketball and baseball at Central Catholic, where he led Berks County in scoring and was named all-state in football in 1975 and '76.

He also was named to the Catholic High School All-America team as a senior and played in the 1977 Big 33 game.

He went on to Duke University, where he was a two-year starter in football and played three years on the baseball team.