High School Inducts Sports Hall of Fame Members

Memory Lane Form

Inaugural Class Celebrated

Amityville Memorial High School (AMHS) inducted the inaugural class of its Sports Hall of Fame on October 14 as part of the school’s Homecoming Weekend Celebration.

The AMHS Hall of Fame’s first class is comprised of several outstanding alumni athletes–many of whom advanced to and excelled at the collegiate and professional levels. Also honored were some highly successful coaches and dedicated contributors who have left their positive mark on Amityville athletics for past, current, and future generations to honor and cherish. Those inducted were:

Athletes:
Frank “Babe” Burch (Class of ’29: Basketball and Football)
Jason Fraser (Class of ’02: Basketball)
Patricia Galloway Knappe (Class of ’57: Basketball, Softball, Bowling, Field Hockey)
Randy Jenelle Givens Ellis (Class of ’80: Track and Field)
Shelton Jones (Class of ’84: Basketball)
William Kretz, Sr. (Class of ’42: Football, Basketball, Track)
Peter Pappas (Class of ’36: Football, Wrestling)

Coaches:
Sally Brubaker (Basketball, Volleyball)
Patricia Burns (Field Hockey, Softball)
Claude Byer (Girls Basketball)
Ralph Forman (Soccer, Wrestling Asst.)
Louis Howard (Football)
Henry “Lonnie” Kittle (Wrestling)
Jack Schmitt (Basketball, Football, Tennis, Soccer Asst.)
Fred Williams (Basketball, Track and Field)

Contributors:
Elizabeth “Liz” Berning
Robert and Tish Chester

More than 300 people attended the Hall of Fame dinner, held in the AMHS gymnasium, in honor of these inductees. Teacher Melissa Asbell sang the National Anthem and the Reverend Dwayne Meadows gave the invocation and blessing for the dinner. During the dinner, each inductee was presented with a plaque, an Amityville jacket, and a warm tribute of words delivered by a close friend or family member. Living inductees were also invited onto the football field for a celebration prior to the Amityville Warriors Homecoming Varsity Football game vs. John Glenn.

The AMHS Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors has also launched an effort to build a “Memory Lane” near the entrance to the AMHS track to honor athletes, musicians, artists and other notable Amityville High School alumni and students. Each person honored would have his/her name engraved in a brick to be placed on the walkway. For more information about this effort, please call 631-565-6133 or 631-804-8294. Forms can be found on the Amityville High School webpage.

The Board of Directors is comprised of Reynolds Hawkins (Chairman), Jessica Bernius (Secretary), Jerry Pollack (Treasurer), Claude Byer, and Bruce Pescitelli. Mr. Pescitelli served as the Master of Ceremonies for the induction dinner. The Board would like to thank all of the Hall’s supporters for their help in launching this endeavor.