Joe Bierly, Jr - Inducted 1998

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INDUCTED 1998

Joe Bierly Jr. began the athletic process at an early age in Glen Rock, first in the little and teener leagues, and by the time he was fifteen found himself as a starting pitcher on the Glen Rock town team. At Susquehannock High School Joe became the school's only four letter winner as a high jumper in track, a baseball pitcher, a center on the basketball team, and as a tight end in football.

His sterling work on the mound and on the basketball court drew the notice of Hen Bream who offered Joe a scholarship to Gettysburg College in 1952. A starting pitcher for his mentor, Joe also was the starting center in basketball. At the time Gettysburg played a number of Division I colleges in both sports. So, his record setting 1-0 eleven inning shutout of Penn State is still a Bullet standard.

Following graduation from Gettysburg College, Bierly signed with the Baltimore Orioles and was sent to Aberdeen in the Northern League. After one season in the minors, in 1957 he was drafted into the Army where he played baseball and basketball representing Fort Meade in the various military and amateur leagues.

His tour of duty completed, he decided to give coaching a try, joining the faculty at Southwestern High School in 1959. Joe was the first Mustang coach in both baseball and basketball, two slots he held for twelve seasons.

Leaving the coaching ranks in 1971, he elected to move onto another venue in athletics - officiating basketball. Under the guiding wing of Soapy Hart, Joe moved quickly through the high school varsity ranks to officiating at the college level. In 1984, now fifty, he retired from refereeing.

Now Joe had time to concentrate on his golf game with some outstanding results. He became the club champion on two pretty tough area tracks: The south Hills Golf Club in Hanover and the Honey Run Country Club near Dover. Just last year he added the Honey Run senior title to his trophy list, firing even par in the championship match.

In 1992 Joe closed out the last phase of his many professional careers, retiring from the Southwestern School District after thirty-three years in the classroom.

INDUCTED 1998

Barry DeBolt's remarkable athletic passage first drew notice at Carlisle High School where he earned nine varsity letters in three sports. As a quarterback, a pitcher, third baseman, and a power forward, Barry made the most of his leadership and athletic skills, starting on teams that won six league championships, including a District III championship in basketball. His senior season ('61-'62) he played on squads with a combined record of forty wins, four losses, two ties and garnered three league titles. Co-captain of both the Herd football and basketball teams, DeBolt was an All South Penn selection in both sports his junior and senior years.

In 1962 he accepted an appointment to West Point where he continued his superb work on the mound. He established Cadet records in wins, strike outs, and innings pitched, on both a seasonal and career level. With DeBolt as the pitching mainstay, Army won back-to-back Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League championships in 1965 and '66. Best of all Barry helped clinch the '66 crown with his third successive win over the Naval Academy. 

His senior year he pitched thirty-eight straight scoreless innings against the opposition, among them Yale, Penn, Harvard, and Princeton. That same year Barry lost a 1-0 four hitter in an exhibition game against the Yankees who had Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in the lineup that afternoon. His outstanding pitching brought him All League honors all three years of his eligibility.

Following graduation from the Military Academy, Barry, along with his official duties, played for the United States on the 1966 World Amateur Baseball Team, and he played on the American squad that won the gold in the 1967 Pan American Games. This was the first United States team to defeat the Cubans in either the Olympics or the Pan Am Games. 

His army responsibilities took him to Vietnam as a military intelligence officer. For his exceptional service in that war, his country awarded him the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star.

His military obligations met, Barry entered the Wharton School of Business, graduating in 1972 with an MBA. He found his way to Wall Street, toiling for several major investment houses, including Solomon Brothers. In 1981 he moved south to the financial scene in Atlanta where he is currently a portfolio manager for the Creative Financial Group. 

Barry and wife Patti reside in Dunwoody, Georgia, close enough to enjoy grandson Jake Thomas Batchelor, and to keep tabs on daughters Kris and Susan, also residents of the Atlanta area. Rumor has it that Barry has already ordered golf clubs for the youngster who turns two this February.

INDUCTED 1999

At Cohoes High School, just outside Albany, New York, Joe Ducharme played the end position in football and was a sprinter on the track team. During World War II he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, and following his honorable discharge, completed his academic work with a Bachelor of Science degree from Ithaca College and a master's degree from NYU. He then accepted a teaching position at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA that included a myriad of coaching tasks.

After four years at Wyoming, Ducharme arrived at Dickinson College during the summer of 1955 to teach physical education and to coach basketball, track and field, and to assist in football. Joe headed up the basketball program at Dickinson for nine seasons before turning his full attention to track and field and bringing back men's cross country as a varsity sport. He coached the thin clads in both sports for twenty-eight years, years that saw his teams establish school records that still stand. 

For example, his track teams recorded fifteen consecutive winning seasons from 1957 to 1971. The 1959 squad was undefeated in dual and tri-meets with nine wins. Three of his teams were undefeated in dual meets, running off a string of twelve straight from 1958 to 1960. Before he stepped aside after the 1983 year, one of Joe's charges either held outright or shared the college record in every event except the long jump, a record set in 1909 by Frank Mt. Pleasant at 23'3". And, during the same time frame, his cross country teams acquitted themselves well by securing a winning record of 156 victories to 136 losses.

Joe had a ton of other duties at the college. Away from the competitive arena, in addition to his teaching schedule, he served several terms as the Department Chairman of Physical Education, and he toiled a number of years as the Director of Athletics at Dickinson. On the national and regional stage, he put in several tours on the NCAA National Committee for Track and Field. For several years, Joe chaired the Middle Atlantic Conference Track and Field Committee.

Joe was the recipient of many awards and honors from organizations and institutions he so loyally served. Among them the Schoenfield Sportsmanship Trophy presented in 1963 by the basketball

officials of New York City. And more recently, his college inducted him posthumously into the Dickinson College Sports Hall of Fame.

Proud of his college and his work there, Joe was prouder still as his wife Dottie and all the kids - Kathy, Jim, Karen, and Mike - each earned degrees from Dickinson College.

INDUCTED 1999

An exceptional all-purpose athlete, John Gastley played for Delone Catholic from 1955 to graduation day in 1959. He earned nine varsity letters: four in baseball, three in football, and two in basketball. He started in the backfield for the Squires, scored thirty-five career touchdowns, and gained a total of 2,300 yards, averaging a superb 7.1 yards a carry. In 1957, as the top scorer, John was selected for the All Central Penn Catholic League team. The following year he made the Big 33 Honor Roll, was a high school Honorable Mention All American in the Sporting news, as well as Honorable Mention All State for Pennsylvania.

He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Maryland where he played freshman ball. Then John transferred to Villanova, rejoining forces with his high school coach Alex Bell, who had taken over the football reins for the Wildcats. John played on Villanova squads that in 1961 appeared in the Sun Bowl and on the 1962 team that played in the Liberty Bowl.

His academic chores completed at Villanova, Gastley returned to Delone Catholic in 1964 to teach business education and to assist in football, basketball, and baseball. By 1966 John had taken on the head coach duties in football, a post he held until 1978. During his reign, the Squire football machine devised some pretty impressive numbers. At one stretch they went nineteen games without a loss. Three of John's teams went undefeated in 1968, 1970, and 1972. The squires record in his first seven years was 57-8-2, and Delone won south Central League Championships in '70, '72, and '73.

John has received a number of awards for his efforts in athletics. He is the recipient of the Delone Booster Club's "Man of the Year" award for his contributions to Delone athletics. He was selected as "Pennsylvania High School Coach of the Year," by the National Football Clinic in association with Bell and Howell. He was cited by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1973 for his academic and athletic achievements. And he was invited to Join the staff of the Big 33 in 197 4, the year that Pennsylvania, with Joe Montana's help, defeated the Ohio team.

Now retired after 28 years in Business Education at Delone, John and Betty Jo still reside in Hanover. Active in the business community, they have owned and operated the Goalpost Tavern in Hampton for over 20 years.

INDUCTED 1998

As a student at New Oxford High School, Gloria lettered in basketball, the only girls sport available then. Her senior year, 1949, New Oxford won the girls Adams County League championship. Gloria entered West Chester University, Majoring in health and physical education. She lettered in basketball and field hockey, and while still an undergrad, she earned her license to officiate basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and softball.

She began her classroom work at Fairfield High, spending most of her teaching career in York and Adams counties. Simultaneous with her teaching, Gloria pursued two other vocations - officiating sports and serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. Her first connection with the Marines happened in 1952 as she completed a WOTC assignment while a student at West Chester. By 1956 she had entered the Marine Corps Reserve, rising through the ranks to become the first woman reservist to receive an appointment to warrant officer. In 1981, retired from teaching, she volunteered for active duty in the Corps and rose to the rank of chief warrant officer before mandatory retirement in 1991.

Somehow Gloria found time to compete, plunging into the area amateur sports scene. She played for the Keystone Field Hockey club from 1954 to 1969. A perennial choice for the Central Penn and Eastern Regional teams, she was selected to play for the United States Field Hockey Association team in 1956. She played shortstop in the York Area fastpitch softball league for fifteen years, and she played basketball in the York County League for several teams including the Aero Oil Jets who from 1957 through 1960 went 59-4, playing all over the MidAtlantic region. In tennis, she and various doubles partners reigned as the York County Ladies Doubles Champions from 1966 to 1970.

Fast forward to 1991 when Gloria turns her attention to senior sports. She played shortstop for the Golden Girls of Northern Virginia when they won the gold medal in softball in the Senior Olympics at Syracuse. Later that year she joined the Pennsylvania Hot Shots, a 3-on-3 basketball team that won gold medals in the '93 and '94 Senior Olympics in Baton Rouge, LA. Next cycling and track and field caught her interest. After winning a host of events in these competitions at the state level in Pennsylvania and Florida, Gloria moved on to the nationals. 

In the Senior Olympics, held in Tucson, Arizona, in May of '97, Gloria won the shot put event in her age class with a toss of eight meters. The following November in the World Senior Games, conducted in St. George, Utah, Gloria took the gold medal in the javelin, and captured silver medals in the shot and discus.

Gloria and husband Richard, a retired Air Force officer, now reside in Melbourne, Florida, normally a retirement community, but obviously not in the Bortell household.

INDUCTED 1998

Robert Leisher's athletic career blossomed during his senior year at Chambersburg High School as he played a leading role on two championship teams in the south Penn Conference. An All-conference selection at center, Bob was co-captain of the 1948 football squad that won the conference title. He then donned his basketball shoes, starting at guard on a Trojan club that captured the South Penn crown in 1949 before seeing the season end in the District III finals.

Shortly after graduating from high school, Bob entered the Armed Forces where he continued his outstanding play in basketball. A starting guard on the Hickam Field team in Hawaii, he played there in 1952 and ‘53 on a club that won the Hawaii Military League Championship, and one that was good enough to garner an invitation to play in the 1953 National AAU Tournament in Denver. 

Following his service discharge in 1953, Bob entered the University of Hawaii, quickly earning a starting berth on a team solid enough to beat the University of Southern California, a club that went to the NCAA Final Four that year. He transferred to Penn State in 1955, taking over the backcourt duties for the Lions. He was elected team captain for the 1957 team, a team that went 15-10 with big wins over a number of major Eastern powers such as Temple, West Virginia, and the University of Pittsburgh. While he was at it, Leisher established a Penn State record for free throw accuracy, 83%, a standard that held for ten more seasons.

He graduated first in his class at the Penn State University College of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. That ranking, along with his exceptional performance in basketball for the Nittany Lions, earned him the Paul Smith Award as the outstanding scholar-athlete at Penn State.

Leisher pursued his profession to Summit, New Jersey, where he served that community for thirty-four years as the Director of Recreation. He was elected President of the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association, and in recognition of his leadership, he was granted an honorary life membership in that organization.

INDUCTED 1998

Leonard Plantz's documented successes in athletics are probably the least of why he is being inducted into our Hall of Fame. His 41 years of service at Mercersburg Academy are notable for all his achievements as an innovative basketball coach, as a visionary athletic director, and as an inspiring professor of English and history. The location did not matter since he taught the enduring lessons of life to all his charges, athlete and student alike.

As a sixth grader Leonard was stricken with osteomyelitis. It took three years in hospitals and at home to recover. Still, self-schooled, he kept pace with his classmates, rejoining them in the ninth grade.  Despite the impairment left by the illness, Plantz, before he graduated in 1937, earned varsity letters in basketball and baseball at Mancos High in Colorado. At Fort Lewis College a knee injury kept him off the basketball court, but he again won a varsity letter in baseball. He finished his degree work in 1441, graduating from Colorado State University with academic honors.

Leonard arrived in Mercersburg in 1943, hired to coach basketball and to teach history and English. From the outset his credo was to win, but, as he put it, "only in the right way." He held to this principle as a coach and later as the athletic director who built an atmosphere at Mercersburg enjoyed equally by opponents, alumni, officials and his players. His basketball teams established an enviable record at Mercersburg Academy. Although the schedule was liberally dosed with college freshman teams, the Academy had fourteen winning seasons during his tenure from 1943 to 1962, racking up 147 victories. An innovative coach, he employed the present day "motion offense" long before it attained its current popularity. He also was among the first in this area to teach the onehanded push shot that evolved into today's jump shot.

In 1984 after forty-one years as a teacher of history, economics, and English; and after twenty years as the head basketball coach; and after twenty-five years as the athletic director, Leonard Plantz retired. To salute his career, Mercersburg Academy named its basketball courts in his honor. The inscription reads: Named in honor of Leonard A. Plantz whose gentle manner and distinguished service epitomized Mercersburg's commitment to "hard work, clean life, and fair play" and served as an outstanding example to his students, his players, and his colleagues on the faculty.

INDUCTED 1999

A 1953 graduate of Chambersburg High School, Bob Thomas played four years of basketball and baseball for the Trojans. His performance on the diamond brought him a professional contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Bob played a year in the minors before opting for a career in coaching and teaching. 

He attended Penn State from 1954 until graduation in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Health. He received his first opportunity to coach at Penn State when Coach Joe Bedenk invited Bob and Bill Spieth, another student ineligible because of professional experience, to coach the Nittany Lion freshman team. They coached the frosh club all four of their undergraduate years.

By 1960 Thomas had completed his master's work at Penn State, Joined the Chambersburg faculty at J. Frank Faust and served on Bob Kinderman's football staff for three seasons. He moved to the senior high school in 1964 as the varsity baseball coach and assistant coach in basketball under Sal Russo. A decade later Bob, besides directing the baseball program, took over the head basketball reins at Chambersburg, a position he held for six seasons.

If the arithmetic is correct, Bob just completed his 35th year as the Trojan baseball coach, and the numbers his teams have posted are simply tremendous. In compiling a log of 570 victories against 168 losses, the Chambersburg High School team collected a host of Championships. For example, since Joining the Mid Penn League in 1983, the Trojans, beginning in 1984, won eleven league championships. And, from 1984 through 1999, Thomas watched his teams capture seven District III crowns. The Trojans made it to the final four in the AAA category of the State Tournament nine times. The 1979 squad was state runners-up. Chambersburg won its first AAA crown in '84, and this past spring won its second AAA state title with a glorious 27-2 run.

Thomas, besides his high school coaching achievements, from 1969 to 1973 directed the fortunes of Chambersburg in the American legion baseball program. During his tenure the Chambersburg Legion team established an 117-22 record, won the county title five straight years, the District Championship four of those years, and in 1969 and 1972 Thomas' teams placed second in the State Legion Championship Tournament.

Bob has been recognized for his efforts in his sport. He is a member of the Pennsylvania American Legion Sports Hall of Fame. In 1997 he was the National High School District III Coach of the Year. In '86 and '97 he was the Middle Atlantic Major League Scouts Association Coach of the Year, and he has won The Public Opinion Coach of the Year honors on numerous occasions. Bob's biggest satisfaction, however, is when his players sign professionally or commit to a major college. Some of them made it to the big leagues, including our own Hall of Famer, Tom Brookens.