Gateway Sports Hall of Fame set to induct Class of 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 8, 2017 | 11:25 PM

The Gateway Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017 began in the late 1960s with a founding father of Gateway's football success and continued to a trio of athletes who set a standard of excellence just over a decade ago.

The group of five athletes, one coach and one team is woven into the fabric of a Gateway athletic history that is about to turn 60.

The newest class, the 16th to be enshrined since the hall of fame began in 1999, will be celebrated Saturday evening at the Doubletree in Monroeville. The ceremony is a part of Gateway's homecoming weekend.

The Class of 2017 is: Justin King (Class of 2005), Mortty Ivy (2004), Conor Simpson (2005), Mark Campbell (1970), Ryan Hankey (1995), Pitcairn and Gateway coach John Glagaza (posthumously) and the 1976 ice hockey team.

“It is another really nice class,” said hall of fame chairman Tony Petrocelli. “They all made Gateway proud with their talents on and off the field.”

From 1999 to 2013, the hall of fame inducted a group each year. After 2013, the committee decided to hold inductions every two years.

No class was enshrined in 2015, but Petrocelli said he is glad the tradition continues this year.

Petrocelli said, as of late last week, 15 members of the 1976 hockey team will reunite Saturday to celebrate a season that saw it win 20 games and capture the WPIHL championship.

Gateway won three WPIHL playoff games, including the championship over Fox Chapel, before falling to Abington, 4-3, in double overtime in the state-title game at Civic Arena.

Campbell was an integral cog for the Gators football team during its 1969 WPIAL championship run.

In the title game against Altoona, he tallied 86 yards on 13 carries and was stout at outside linebacker in the 22-15 victory. Campbell finished his senior season with 1,328 yards and 14 touchdowns and 1,848 yards and 22 touchdowns for his career.

Hankey excelled in soccer and baseball. He earned numerous media all-star honors as well as recognition from his teammates and the coaches of the Gators' opponents.

His love of athletics, particularly soccer, led him to the coaching ranks. Today, he is the boys soccer coach at Penn Hills.

Ivy and King were core members of the Gateway football resurgence in the early to mid 2000s.

They set records at Gateway, continued their careers in college — Ivy at West Virginia and King at Penn State — and earned opportunities in the NFL.

King will join family members Terry Smith and Harvey Smith as an inductee into the hall of fame.

Ivy, like Hankey, has come full circle and is giving back as a coach at the varsity level. He serves as the defensive coordinator for his high school alma mater and will be on the sidelines Friday as the Gators battle conference foe Kiski Area at Antimarino Stadium.

Simpson, like King, is a Gateway hall-of-fame legacy. His uncle, Ken, and father, Craig, also are inductees.

The swimmer set school records, won titles and earned numerous medals at WPIALs and was a fixture at the PIAA meet.

His success continued in college at Westminster where he was a four-year letterman, a multi-time conference champion, a Division III national competitor and an All-American.

Galagaza began teaching and coaching basketball at Pitcairn High School in 1951 and continued at Gateway in 1958 until his death at age 37 in 1962.

Because of his commitment to the academics and athletics of the students he mentored, his Gateway colleagues created the John Galagaza Memorial Scholarship. It still is awarded each spring.

Tickets for Saturday's dinner and induction ceremony are $50 each and will be available through Wednesday by calling Randy Rovesti in the Gateway athletic office at 412-373-5750 or Petrocelli at 412-855-3905.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Gateway