BUTLER TWP — Jim Lokhaiser lived his dream. And the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame lives on.

The organization celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday night at the Butler Days Inn by inducting Jim Cooper, Joe O’Brien, Leann Burkholder, Annessa Schnur Steele, Dan Grindel, Dan Cunningham, the late Dave Hoffman and the 1963 Butler High football team.

Lokhaiser served as master of ceremonies at the fete for the 49th and final time. He was presented with an award of appreciation by the Hall to close the evening.

“I have lived my dream,” Lokhaiser said. “I’ve called the names of more than 330 inductees over those years.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be the fastest runner, best shooter, greatest passer ... But that can’t be all of us. That’s only for a select few and I’ve had then privilege of reading their names all this time.

“This Hall of Fame has been a wonderful experience for me,” Lokhaiser added.

It was a pretty good experience for the latest group of inductees as well, including Cunningham. The current BCSHOF president was inducted via the Lifetime Achievement Award.

A 1965 Karns City graduate, Cunningham has been an umpire in the area for 35 years and has guided the Saxonburg entrant in the Eagle County League to 449 wins and five league championships.

“I’m grateful to all of the family and friends who have helped me through this process,” Cunningham said. “There are so many people who have served athletics in this community long after their own kids were through playing. Dave Florie, Dess Schnur, Sonny Westerman and Gene Zawrotuk come to mind.

“Very soon, our Hall of Fame memorabilia, which has been dormant for the last four years, will have a new home in the corridor of the Butler County courthouse. I’m thankful to everyone who’s had a hand in that.”

Hoffman ended his dirt track racing career with 299 wins despite never owning his own race car. He became the fourth auto racer to be inducted into the BCSHOF, joining Don Martin, Bob Wearing Sr. and Harry Hein.

Hoffman’s daughter, Saundi, accepted the induction on his behalf.

“Dad always treated racing as a family sport and everyone in our family was involved in his career,” she said. “We all felt proud when he got to victory lane because we all felt we had a hand in it.

“He was a clean driver who took care of equipment. He’d come within an inch of you on the track, but he wouldn’t touch you. That’s how he was able to drive for so many different owners.”

Grindel was a PIAA championship diver for Butler who went on to win conference titles at West Virginia University and compete for the United States high diving team.

“I played football as a kid and always had aspirations of playing for Coach (Art) Bernardi,” Grindel said. “But swimming and football practice collided with each other and I had to make a decision.

“It’s not the travel and adventure of my diving career I remember, it’s the people and relationships. The lives you touch and who touch yours is what’s important.”

O’Brien described himself as “a good swimmer on a great swimming team.” He set seven high school swimming records at Butler.

“We won 36 meets in as row, undefeated for two seasons,” he said. “The older swimmers pushed the younger ones ... We all just wanted to be the best we could be.”

Schnur Steele was part of an undefeated run of her own. Butler never lost a dual meet in her track and field career, going 57-0 over four seasons.

She lauded Butler girls basketball coach Jonna Burke and track coach Mike Seybert as her mentors.

“Our basketball team was 4-20 my freshman year and we won the section my senior year,” Schnur Steele said. “We just wanted to win for Coach Burke. She was a role model for me on what it took to be a female athlete. She’s made a huge difference in my life.

“I remember Coach Seybert at my first Butler Invitational. I was getting ready to start the 100 meters and he was concerned about my hand placement in the blocks. I wound up face-planting coming off the start, bloodied my face and shoulder ... he yelled for me to get going. I wound up finishing third. He was always encouraging.”

Burkholder scored 993 points in Butler girls basketball, averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds per game her senior year. She wound up being a stellar high school coach as well.

“Basketball has been great to me, given me so many opportunities,” Burkholder said. “I played up until two years ago, when my joints started to hurt too much.

“I’m a financial advisor now and many of my clients, I met through basketball.”

Cooper was a defensive end for Butler in football and received a scholarship to Georgia. He was switched to wide receiver before a knee injury ended his career.

“Athletics aren’t about the trophies on the shelf,” Cooper said. “It’s about friendships and camaraderie that is formed through being part of a team.”

Butler’s 1963 football team enjoyed a 9-0 regular season before losing a 12-6 decision to West Mifflin North in the WPIAL championship game. Many players from that Golden Tornado squad went on to play Division I college football.

“What I remember is the support we had,” team member Tom McGrath said. “The school was behind us, the coaches were behind us, the families and fans were behind us.

“That championship game at Forbes Field, there were 20,000 people who showed up to watch a high school football game. That was amazing.”

Ed Codi, a defensive end on that Butler squad, recognized five teammates who are now deceased: Rich Saul, Tim Muirhead, Dennis Secunda, Ralph Beck and Eddie O’Donnell. Secunda was a defensive tackle who played college ball at Memphis.

“If we threw more than four passes in a game, there would have been reports of UFO’s flying over Pullman Park,” Codi said. “We had some great linemen on that team, unsung heroes, who never got the press and recognition.

“We ran the ball the way we did largely because of those guys.”

Butler’s 1963 football team has 11 players and three coaches enshrined in the BCSHOF as well, making it the most decorated team that way in the county.