The Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will be holding its induction ceremonies this Saturday. Every day this week, biographies of those elected to the hall will appear in The News-Item.
Anthony Paskevich
Anthony "Tony" Paskevich began his athletic career as a football player for coach Walter Levine and his Mount Carmel High School Red Tornadoes in the fall of 1932.
Paskevich was part of the first team to ever play in the Silver Bowl in a 0-0 tie versus Porter Township. The Tornadoes then won their first game at their new stadium over Saint Clair by a 13-0 score. Paskevich played for three years, mostly as a center, completing his senior year for coach Albert Jones. He was described as having 'fight, grit, will, and determination.' He also played basketball for Jones during his junior and senior seasons.
Following graduation in 1935, Paskevich was originally slated to attend Gettysburg College, but somehow found himself at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. He then made his way to the Orangemen of Syracuse University. He became a three-year player and two-year letterman for coach Ossie Solem, who was assisted by the great Bud Wilkinson. Syracuse managed a 13-8-2 record during Paskevich's time there, including wins over Penn State and Maryland. One of Tony's teammates and friends was future Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty. Both Daugherty and Wilkinson have been inducted into the collegiate Hall of Fame. Paskevich was chosen to captain the '39 team at Syracuse, and also earned a varsity letter as a boxer and one with the track team.
He graduated in 1942 with a degree in electrical engineering, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as an Ensign in the Philippines during World War II.
After the war, Paskevich and his wife, Carolyn, returned to the area and settled in Hazleton, where he took a position with PPL. He then moved back to Syracuse and was the principal electrical engineer for Allied Chemical. After a short time in New Jersey, Paskevich retired in North Carolina, where he was an avid golfer and played almost daily. After returning to Syracuse, Paskevich died in 1999.
Tony joins his brother Joseph, a 1991 inductee into the Romance Chapter, as honorees of the organization. Joe played at Fordham with Vince Lombardi and Len Eshmont. Paskevich had three children, Tony Jr., Penny and Linda and eight grandchildren.
Willliam P. "Billy" O'Brien
During his high school career at Mount Carmel Catholic, O'Brien was recognized as one of the best basketball players to play in the area up to that time.
He starred for four years with the Rams, finishing his career with 1,068 points, and is believed to be the first local player to register 1,000 points in his career. Tom Vershinski did it at Mount Carmel in 1955, while Charlie Griscavage concluded his Catholic High career in 1957 surpassing the 1,000-point mark. O'Brien and Griscavage remain as the only two players to surpass the mark in Catholic High history, while both still reside in the top 20 of St. Ed's, Lourdes and Mount Carmel Catholic combined. Catholic High played in the tough Central Penn Catholic League at
that time, but O'Brien still managed to lead the league in scoring as a senior.
Following his graduation in 1954, O'Brien spent six years working for the Public Utility Commission in Harrisburg. During this time, he played basketball for the Locust Gap Apollos, a semi-pro team in the 50s and 60s. O'Brien spent two years with the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps.
In 1962, O'Brien was approached by John Barr, the head basketball coach at Susquehanna University, and was offered a full scholarship to play for the Crusaders. (Barr is an inductee in the inaugural class of the Ed Romance Chapter in 1978).
O'Brien lettered each of his four years with the Crusaders and was named a captain in both his junior and senior seasons. O'Brien ranked third in scoring for Susquehanna in each of his three years as a starter. He scored 892 points, averaging 12.8 points per game in his three years as a starter, leading his team in shooting 85 percent from the foul line and 52 percent from the field during the 1966 campaign. Two of his teammates, Rick Eppenheimer and Clark Mosier, still rank as the two highest scorers in SU history.
After graduating from Susquehanna in 1966, O'Brien was employed as an accountant for Weis Markets, Inc. in Sunbury. During his first two years at Weis, he served as the junior varsity coach at Susquehanna. O'Brien remained with Weis Markets for 34 years retiring as controller in March of 2000.
O'Brien married the former Mary Louise Todorowski in 1961. They currently reside in Lewisburg and are the parents of three sons: William Jr., James and Stephen.