7 from WPIAL nominated for National High School Football Hall of Fame
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Tuesday, September 10, 2024 | 6:27 PM
Fifty-four players, seven coaches and three teams have been nominated for the third class of the National High School Football Hall of Fame.
Once again, the WPIAL will have representation.
Longtime Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render, former quarterbacks Dan Marino (Central Catholic), Joe Namath (Beaver Falls), Charlie Batch (Steel Valley) and Dante Wiley (Jeannette), and running backs Zack Washington (Jeannette) and Tony Dorsett (Hopewell) are nominated.
Render won 406 games, five WPIAL titles, two PIAA titles and 23 conference titles in 49 seasons.
Marino, Namath, Batch and Dorsett went on to NFL careers, with Marino and Dorsett leaving their mark at Pitt. Marino threw for almost 1,600 yards in 1978 when teams mostly ran the ball, before he threw for over 61,000 yards and 420 touchdowns in 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
Namath led Beaver Falls to a 9-0 record and a WPIAL championship as a senior. After a college career at Alabama, he played professionally for 13 years, mainly suiting up for the New York Jets.
Batch was a backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers and won two Super Bowl rings (XL, XLIII).
Wiley helped Jeannette win WPIAL titles in 1981 and ‘83 and earned all-state and Parade All-American honors. He went on to play linebacker at Nebraska.
Washington was an all-conference rusher in the mid 1970s.
Those people are in good company. Among the other nominees are former NFL stars Deion Sanders, Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, Jerome Bettis, Ray Lewis, Randy Moss and others.
NBA star LeBron James also made the list. He was a star wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Ohio.
The list of nominees will be trimmed to 15 finalists on Dec. 3. Enshrinement weekend is set for June 12-14 in Canton, Ohio.
The inaugural class in 2023 included Jeannette’s John “Showboat” Crowell, as well as Jim Brown, Peyton Manning, Marcus Dupree and more.
Three other Jeannette legends made the 2024 class in coach Joe Mucci, Dick Hoak and Terrelle Pryor, joining Eric Dickerson, Dick Butkus, Reggie White, Eddie George and others.
This year’s nominees are
Players
Troy Aikman, Henryetta, Okla.
Steve Atwater, Lutheran North, Mo.
Charlie Batch, Steel Valley
Jerome Bettis, Mackenzie, Mich.
Henry Butler, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Earl Campbell, Tyler, Texas
Cris Carter, Middletown, Ohio
Ed Collins, Cass Tech, Mich.
Tom Cosineau, St. Edwards, Ohio
Tim Couch, Leslie County, Ky.
Richard Dent, J.C. Murphy, Ga.
Hanford Dixon, Theodore, Ala.
Tony Dorsett, Hopewell
John Elway, Granada Hills, Calif.
Luke Fickell, St. Francis DeSales, Ohio
Antonio Hall, Canton McKinley, Ohio
James Harris, Carroll, La.
Mark Ingram, Jr, Flint Southwestern, Mich.
Allen Iverson, Bethel, Va.
Bo Jackson, McAdory, Ala.
LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Ohio
Jerry Jones, North Little Rock, Ark.
Jason Kelce, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
LeRoy Kelly, Gratz, Pa.
Ray Lewis, Kathleen, Fla.
Dan Marino, Central Catholic
Clay Matthews, Jr., New Trier, Calif.
Frank Minnifield, Clay, Ky.
Warren Moon, Hamilton, Calif.
Randy Moss, Dupont, W.Va.
Joe Namath, Beaver Falls
Cam Newton, Westlake, Ga.
Julius Peppers, Southern Nash, N.C.
Barry Sanders, Wichita North, Kan.
Deion Sanders, North Fort, Fla.
Bob Sebo, Salem, Ohio
Shannon Sharpe, Glennville, Ga.
Sterling Sharpe, Glennville, Ga.
Emmitt Smith, Escambia, Fla.
Don Shula, Harvey, Ohio
Andre Smith, John F. Kennedy, Ohio
Emmitt Smith, Escambia, Fla.
Troy Smith, Glenville, Ohio
Percy Snow, McKinley, Ohio
Lawrence Taylor, Lafayette, Va.
Tim Tebow, Nease, Fla.
Donnell Thompson, Lumberton, N.C.
Mike Vrabel, Walsh Jesuit, Ohio
Herschel Walker, Johnson County, Ga.
Virgil Walker, East Tech, Ohio
Zack Washington, Jeannette
Tyrone Wheatley Sr., Hamilton J. Robichaud, Mich.
Dante Wiley, Jeannette
Antoine Winfield Sr., Garfield, Ohio
Vince Young, Madison, Texas
Coaches/contributors
John T, Curtis, Jr., New Orleans, La.
Frank Lenti, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
John McKissick, South Carolina
Gary Rankin, Alcoa, Tenn.
Jim Render, Upper St. Clair
Mickey Sullivan, Fork Union Military Academy, Va.
Lee Tressler, Massillon, Ohio
Gov. Tim Walz, Neb.
Teams
Mckinley, Ohio
Valdosta, Ga.
Washington Massillon, Ohio
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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