Philly Sports Hall of Fame inducts Kobe Bryant, 16 others for class of 2020
PHILADELPHIA (BVM) — The 2020 Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (PSHOF) induction ceremony was held on Nov. 5, but in a way unlike in year’s past. Instead of the yearly sold-out event, the pandemic forced the PSHOF to release a video production instead for the first time. The event, “Inducting from a Distance”, honored 17 Philly-related athletes into this year’s hall of fame.
Lower Merion High School legend Kobe Bryant was honored at the start of the evening for several of his former accomplishments, including for being a national high school basketball player of the year, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, an 18-time all-star and five-time NBA champion.
“The Bryant family has informed The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame that they are not yet emotionally ready to participate in celebrations such as this at this time,” informed the PSHOF.
The rest of the evening included the induction and appearances by several others across men’s and women’s sports. Bo Ryan gave a speech and several others spoke as well.
Boxing promoter Russell Peltz went to the same high school as Kobe Bryant, and during the evening was acknowledged for several accomplishments including for being a director of boxing at The Spectrum. He also has over 50 years in the books as a promoter in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
“I went to college for journalism because I wanted to be a sports writer,” Peltz said in his acceptance speech. “I wanted to be the boxing writer at the paper, and the boxing writer kept getting extensions on his mandatory retirement and I thought to myself, ‘Do I want to stand around and wait for this man to die?’… So I told the sports editor I was leaving the paper and was going to become a boxing promoter.”
Goalkeeper Bob Rigby was recognized in part for being a two-time NASL all-star selection and for being a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team. He was also the first soccer player to ever be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“Growing up in Philadelphia I didn’t walk into goalkeeping until my senior year,” started Rigby in his speech. “Any success we have in life is always the people around us, my high school coach had the foresight to throw me into goalkeeping because I was getting my butt kicked playing football.”
Basketball player Ken Hamilton was awarded the Lifetime Commitment Award and was introduced with a special appearance by his friend, former Philadelphia 76ers player Wali Jones. Hamilton was praised for achievements including being the first African American to win the Public League Championship. Hamilton dedicated his speech to thanking others for his success.
Lacrosse player Cherie Greer Brown was acknowledged for being a member of the USA National Women’s Lacrosse Team, and for being a four-time U.S. World Cup team member and three-time champion.
“To my high school coach, thank you for introducing me to lacrosse. Initially, I ran track and field,” Brown said in her speech.
Herman Frazier was inducted because of a list of accomplishments that include once being named in Sports Illustrated as a top influential minority. He was also recognized for winning gold at the Montreal Olympics.
“Growing up in Philadelphia, I did not start learning track until I was a senior in high school,” Frazier said in his acceptance. “Then four years later, who would have thought, I was in the Olympics.”
Tennis player Lisa Raymond was recognized in part for once holding the No. 1 world record in doubles for a total of 137 weeks. She also won bronze at the Olympics in doubles.
“I think back with so many incredible memories growing up in the Philadelphia area and traveling to the tennis tournaments around the area,” Raymond said in her speech. “The Philly area is always going to be home.”
Fighter Tim Witherspoon was inducted and recognized for his career record of 55-13 with 1 draw. He later went on to train several other boxers including the UK’s light heavyweight champion Clinton Woods. He was also a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali.
“So many other boxers came out of Philly that made an impression on me,” Witherspoon said in his acceptance. “It is cool to get an award from the city that everyone all over the world respects. … I’m just humbled.”
Flyers’ hockey star Rick Tocchet was not present for a speech, but he was presented by the Flyers’ public address announcer, special guest Lou Nolan. Tocchet was recognized for several accomplishments including for his 18 years playing in the NHL and for being a three-time Stanley Cup champion.
The NFL’s Deron Cherry was recognized for being a five-time member of the All-NFL team and his other accomplishments that led him to be inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.
“My football coach once told me ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ I’ve always tried to live by that motto,” Cherry said in his speech. “A janitor in our high school gave us an opportunity to play in the gym and keep us off the streets, to those two people I say thank you.”
The NFL’s Jerry Sisemore was introduced by his former coach, Dick Vermeil for making 127 consecutive starts for the Eagles and for other accomplishments that led him to be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame.
“Everyone knows everything about every sport [in Philly],” said Sisemore in his acceptance. “It is wonderful but tough at the same time, because there are times when you go into the grocery store and then have a little old lady pushing her shopping cart into the back of ya and say, ‘you sir, stick!’ … you’re all in, in a sports town.”
Also inducted this year were a few others that passed, including Phillies baseball player Cy Williams, former part Phillies owner Dave Montgomery, former basketball referee Earl Strom, defensive lineman for the Eagles Vic Sears, and the 1910-13 Philadelphia Athletics was the evening’s team-induction. Some close relationships to the honorees spoke on their behalf.
