Athletic Hall of Fame will honor Lockport High stars
Ten former Lions will be honored Sept. 19 and 20
LOCKPORT — The call for a hall to honor the best athletes to wear the colors of Lockport High School has been answered at long last, and the school district’s new Athletic Hall of Fame includes stars from more than one generation.
Ten former Lions will be honored Sept. 19 and 20 during the district’s first Hall of Fame weekend. They will be inducted during a dinner at 7 p. m. Sept. 19 at the Holiday Inn and also will be honored the following afternoon during halftime of Lockport High School’s football game against Section VI Class AA North rival North Tonawanda at Max D. Lederer Field.
“Over time, as people pass away in your community, you lose a great deal of history, and people take the history with them and the stories they tell. I think it was time to start honoring our athletes who had great careers,” said Lockport Athletics Director Pat Burke.
This, Burke said, is what fueled the Hall of Fame.
“I think we have such a rich history of athletics in our district and it’s just the perfect way to connect the past with the present,” Burke said.
The first class does that quite well. It includes two members (Lou Corriere, Class of 1940, and Vic Cleri, ’41) who graduated during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, along with another pair (Class of ’ 95 alums Lucy Kelley and Kelly Stevens) who graduated during Bill Clinton’s first term in office.
The other inductees fall in between.
They are Tom Hicks (Class of 1962), John Furlong (1956), Donald “Chip” Case (1965), Phil Rosenberg (1975), Lori Pasceri Asher (1989) and Randy Smith (1991).
“It’s certainly humbling more than anything to be among the first class of inductees,” said Case, a former basketball standout who played at the University of Virginia and was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in 1970.
The process began last year, with Burke sending out information to potential committee members. The 13-member panel, which includes current and former school district coaches, had its first meeting in January and met biweekly ever since.
Former and current district coaches submitted 200 names for nomination. The committee trimmed first to 75, then 30, until reaching a consensus top 10.
“I think probably it was a very daunting task for the selection committee to look over the history of Lockport athletics and narrow the selection process down,” Case said. “I think if I would have been faced with that task, I would’ve said we don’t need a hall of fame. It’s 70 years of history. I think it’s a tribute to them that they were able to go through this process.”
Case led Lockport to the Section VI Class AAA basketball title as a senior en route to earning High School All-America honors. The former Lockport High Athlete of the Year was Virginia’s captain during the 1969-70 season. He played in 10 exhibition games with the Braves before being released before the start of the National Basketball Association season.
Perhaps the most intriguing inductee is Hicks, who fought for the world light heavyweight championship in 1971 during the peak of his professional boxing career. But the former State Golden Gloves champion first left his athletic marks on the football field and wrestling mat in high school before even stepping into a boxing ring.
Hicks is the first Lions football player to earn a spot on the Buffalo News’ All-Western New York Team, and his ability as a linebacker and center helped him earn a scholarship to Ithaca College. A serious shoulder injury ended his collegiate football career as a sophomore but he picked up boxing while visiting home on Christmas break where he worked out with friends at a local gym.
While Cleri coached Hicks, the old ball coach is being honored for his exploits as an athlete as the selection committee opted to make coaches ineligible for the first class. Cleri earned three varsity letters in football and two in basketball, and captained both teams before continuing his athletic career at the University at Buffalo.
Corriere, who died in May 2007, has long been regarded as one of Lockport High’s finest scholar athletes — excelling in hoops and on the gridiron. He led the Niagara Frontier League in scoring twice during his basketball career.
Furlong served as captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams during his junior and senior years, earning first-team all-league honors in basketball and baseball and second- team all-league honors in football before continuing both sports at Cornell. He later became an officer in the Army as well as a U. S. attorney.
Rosenberg, a retired firefighter, was the first basketball player in Lions history to surpass the 1,000-career points mark. He earned All-Western New York honors in hoops and baseball, pitching a perfect game as a senior. He is a former school Athlete of the Year selection.
Asher helped redefine the girls sports programs at Lockport as a soccer and basketball standout. A five-time letter winner in soccer, she earned All- WNY twice in basketball while helping the Lions win three sectional titles. She earned a full scholarship to Canisius.
Smith is perhaps the most versatile athlete to come out of Lockport. He earned seven varsity letters (three in football, two in basketball, one each in track and baseball), but his ability to carry the rock on the football field was his greatest athletic gift. He rushed for 3,425 yards and 45 touchdowns, and finished with 4,316 total yards, along with eight interceptions. The former All-WNY selection also won the Connelly Cup as the area’s best player before moving on to Youngstown State, where he helped the Penguins win three Division I-AA national championships as a defensive back and kick returner. He’s a member of the Youngstown Hall of Fame.
Kelley is one of the best female athletes to have walked the halls of LHS. She holds the school record for most tennis victories, but she really reigned supreme on the basketball court. The former Western New York Player of the Year helped the Lions win the state title in 1994 — earning tournament MVP honors in the process.
Stevens also had a hand in the state title triumph by the Lockport girls’ basketball team in 1994 but was truly dominant on the soccer field and running track. She holds the school record for goals (113) and holds the school mark in the 200-meter dash. She played college soccer at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned All-Ivy League soccer honors.
Tickets for the event cost $30 and must be purchased in advance either at the Lockport High School main office, the YMCA, Sullivan’s Hair Design or by calling Burke at 478-4473.
“The 10 people that we will induct . . . are a special group that have accomplished great things while wearing a Lockport athletic uniform,” Burke said. “Sept. 19 will be a special night, not just for the 10 honorees and their families but the community as a whole.”
