About Us

ABOUT US

The Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1963 by Joe Zerilla, Tut Melman and Frank Gustine and became immediately affiliated with the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, which was founded one year earlier in 1962. The Western Chapter is a non-profit 501-3C organization run entirely by volunteer board members who consider their work a labor of love.

The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame was established to perpetuate the memories of athletes and other sports notables, male and female, who have brought lasting fame and recognition to our state through their athletic achievements. The PA Sports HOF is currently comprised of four geographic regions with twenty nine local chapters divided among them. The first state ceremonial banquet was held in Philadelphia in 1963 and the second in 1964 at the Pittsburgh William Penn Hotel, hosted by the Western Chapter. The first Western Chapter honorees inducted into the PA Sports HOF were Stan Musial, Arnold Palmer and Harold “Pie” Traynor.

The earliest Western Chapter meetings were held at Gustine’s Restaurant in Oakland and the first chapter induction banquet was held at the East Pittsburgh Moose Club in 1971. Between 1972-1981 our annual induction banquets were held at the Greentree Holiday Inn, between 1982-1996 at the Sheraton Station Square and between 1997-2014 at the Four Points Sheraton in Warrendale. We are pleased to announce that in the Spring of 2015, we moved our annual banquet back to the Sheraton Station Square, along with our treasured exhibit of inductee plaques, special awards and other memorabilia, which will be proudly displayed in the spacious and dedicated Western Chapter PA Sports HOF Conference Room on the second floor of the Sheraton Station Square, our permanent new home. There have been 727 athletes and contributors inducted into the Western Chapter, Of these, 155 have been inducted into the PA Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2016 the chapter name was changed to the Robert “Tick” Cloherty – Western Chapter as a token of appreciation for the his 30-years of loyal and faithful service during his term as President.

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