Gary Warman

VALENCIA — Primarily a blocking back offensively for the Mars High School football team, Gary Warman realized his athletic glory in other ways.

He played strong safety and graduated as the Planets' all-time leading tackler. He also broke loose for an 82-yard scoring run — the lone touchdown in Mars' 7-0 homecoming win over Western Beaver — and became a standout Golden Gloves boxer and Toughman competitor.

Now it's all added up to induction into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. Warman will be so honored at the organization's annual banquet at 6 p.m. April 23 at the Butler Days Inn.

“I'm very humbled by this,” Warman said. “I was never a great natural athlete. I got where I did by training like crazy.

“I weighed maybe 165 pounds in high school and I was blocking for 200-pound running backs in David Crummy and Oliver Norris. They were faster runners than me and wound up playing at Penn State and TCU.”

Warman went on to play middle linebacker at Geneva College, where he played for four years and was named all-conference for two seasons. His 133 tackles in the 1982 season rank fourth on the Golden Tornadoes' all-time list.

Warman had 429 tackles in his collegiate career, ranking No. 2 all-time at Geneva.

“My father had no problem with me playing football, but he insisted I run three miles a day and lift weights from 6 to 7:30 each night to prepare for it,” Warman said. “I've never stopped training my body that way.

“I still run a number of miles and lift every day.”

Warman signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1983, but was released after the Hall of Fame Game against the New Orleans Saints that year.

“I had a few nagging injuries that hurt me at the time,” Warman said. “I really wanted to take a shot at pro ball.”

Warman was a Golden Gloves boxer his senior year in high school and finished as state runner-up. He went on to win the Silver Belt open championship in 1980.

From 1994 to 2000, Warman participated in Toughman competitions in West Virginia and Kentucky and won 27 consecutive bouts.

“I still wanted to compete and that was something I could still do physically,” he said. “A bout was three one-minute rounds and they were physical.

“I eventually lost to the World Toughman champion. He was just better than me. When I lost my next fight to a guy I felt I should have beaten, I got out of it before I hurt myself.”

Warman attained a degree in psychology from college and worked as a counselor for a number of years. He now works as a prison guard.

“I learned a lot of things through sports, primarily work ethic and discipline,” he said.

Tickets for the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame banquet are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. They are available at bcshof.com, Parker's Appliance in Chicora, Saxonburg Drug, Moses Jewelers, Snack n' Pack and Bill's Beer Barn in Butler.