Dombrowski, Robinson among 10 Greater Buffalo Hall inducees
Jim Dombrowski stood behind the podium at Wednesday's Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame news conference lamenting that his football teammates weren't there.
"I feel a little uncomfortable not having my teammates around here with me because they're as much a part of this as I am," said Dombrowski, who spoke on behalf of the class. "I would very much like for all my teammates to be here, but it's just not possible."
Dombrowski may have felt alone, but he really wasn't. On this day he picked up nine new teammates as members of the Hall's Class of 2009. The former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman and Williamsville South graduate was one of five inductees on hand at HSBC Arena in front of the Hall's permanent display.
The 2009 class will be enshrined in October at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. It's the 19th annual event since the Hall's inception in 1991 and brings total membership to 215.
Joining Dombrowski are: Cliff Robinson (basketball), Dan Bazzani (basketball coach and player), Jackie Brummer (gymnastics), Willie Evans (football), George Killian (athletic administrator, coach), Joe Merlo (multisport athlete/coach) and Lou Rosselli (wrestling).
In addition, two other athletes, former Buffalo Sabres goalie Roger Crozier and professional football quarterback Al Dekdebrun, will join the Pride of Western New York, which honors Buffalo-area sports immortals posthumously.
Dombrowski was an All-American at the University of Virginia and a first-round draft pick of the Saints in 1986. He started 11 years at guard and tackle.
Robinson, an All-Western New York basketball pick out of Riverside, played at the University of Connecticut and moved on to the NBA, where he made 17 appearances in the playoffs during his 18-year career. He finished with 19,951 points, good for 35th in NBA history.
Bazzani was a standout athlete at Niagara Falls High School, Niagara County Community College and the University at Buffalo. He then coached basketball at all three schools.
Brummer went to Sweet Home High School, then Arizona State University before touring professionally with the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics American Tour. She is the only Arizona State gymnast to win two NCAA titles in the same year.
Evans is considered one of the greatest running backs to play for UB. He starred on the 1958 Bulls team that won the prestigious Lambert Cup as the top small college team in the Northeast.
Killian laid the foundation for the success of Erie Community College's athletic program. During his tenure from 1954-1969, when the college was known as Erie County Technical Institute, he was director of athletics and coached basketball, baseball and track.
Merlo was the Yale Cup scoring champion in basketball, averaging 27 points per game, and an All-High shortstop at Lafayette. At Buffalo State he was the school's first 1,000-point scorer in basketball and a charter member of the school's Hall of Fame.
Rosselli won two state wrestling titles for Roy-Hart before earning All-American honors at Edinboro. He also was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
Crozier, an acrobatic goalie who challenged shooters, played six years for the Sabres.
Dekdebrun is a former quarterback for Burgard, Cornell University and the Buffalo Bisons of the All-American Football Conference.
In his remarks, Hall President Brian Cavanaugh paid his respects to three of the Hall's past inductees who have recently died: Lou Saban ('94) on March 29 at age 87, Jack Kemp ('92) on May 2 at age 73 and Randy Smith ('92) on June 4 at age 60.
"They were heroes to all of us," Cavanaugh said. "They played enormous roles in the lives of sports fans, not only here in Western New York, but across the United States. We'd like to take a moment and extend our condolences."
Tickets to the induction are $85 each and $750 for a table of 10. For additional information see www.gbshof.com.
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