BUTLER TWP — Enshrinement doesn’t come easy.

But it was certainly appreciated by the nine inductees into the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night.

Football linemen Jeff McAnallen, Bill McElroy and Mike Kelly, baseball pitchers Eric Hohn and Curt Schnur, gymnast Mickey Uram, gymnastics coach Steve Heasley, tennis standout Peter Steenbergen and swimmer Tom Turner comprised the Hall’s third induction class.

Hohn and Schnur both pitched in the minor leagues after successful Butler High School and college careers at Penn State and Delaware, respectively.

“I had a chance to pitch against some of the best teams in our section as a freshman and I thank Coach (Don) Dombart for that,” Hohn said. “We played 60 games a year at Penn State and I enjoyed every minute of that, too.

“The last 14 years, I’ve coached my kids’ T-Ball, farm league, Little League, Pony and softball teams ... It’s been even more enjoyable watching them.”

Schnur recalled Butler’s baseball team winning 18 consecutive games and thanked his father, Dess Schnur, and older brother Des “for showing me the example of work ethic and challenging me to get better.

“My father provided me with so many opportunities in life. High school served as a foundation for me and helped me make decisions for later in life.”

Schnur is good friends with former Butler teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Scott Milanovich and recently returned from Canada after a trip to watch Milanovich’s Toronto Argonauts in Canadian Football League action.

“Scott was already going Division I in football, yet gave it all in baseball as well,” Schnur said. “That’s how tight we all were. I went to see him play football at Maryland, he came to see me play baseball at Delaware.”

Kelly arrived in time to be honored on the football field Friday, but his head coach at Butler, Art Bernardi, accepted the induction on Kelly’s behalf during the pre-game reception.

Kelly was an all-state offensive lineman who played for Butler from 1963-65. He went on to play football at Notre Dame before seeing his grid career curtailed by knee injuries.

“He has been such a giving person thoughout his lifetime,” Bernardi said of Kelly. “On the football field, at 235 pounds, Mike had great speed and quickness up front.”

Bernardi said Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian discovered Kelly as a potential recruit after seeing him on the same film as Butler High teammate and quarterback Terry Hanratty.

“Coach Parseghian called me a few days after he viewed that film and asked me why I didn’t tell him about No. 71?,” Bernardi said.

McAnallen was an offensive lineman at Butler from 1987-89 and was an all-WPIAL player who went on to play at the University of Tulsa. Curt Schnur is one of his cousins.

“We have 21 cousins and we all went to Butler,” McAnallen said. “I was the biggest one in the family, so I got to go to college for free.

“I owe a lot to (former Butler line coach) Mark Farabee. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got to high school. All I knew was to put my hand on the ground and hit the guy in front of me. He taught me technique.

“In seven years of playing football, I never touched the ball once. But we had a lot of fun and we were all so committed ... Seeing all of downtown decorated before a playoff game is something I’ll never forget,” McAnallen added.

McElroy played at Butler from 1990-92 and went on to play at West Virginia University.

“We were like a brotherhood in high school,” McElroy recalled. “And my dad was up at 1 a.m. grading papers for his class because he was out in the yard playing ball with me all night. He was the best role model a kid could have had.

“All if my family came to all of my games in college. My grandma had a broken kneecap and still got to the top row of the Carrier Dome (in Syracuse) to watch me play. I’ll never forget that.”

Steenbergen played tennis at Butler from 1970-73 and reached the WPIAL finals in singles. He went on to a successful career at Haverford College.

“I had the good fortune to be raised in a loving, supportive family,” he said. “And I had a great coach and mentor in Dave Barnes.

“My two brothers graduated number 1 and 2 in their class. I couldn’t compete with them academically, so I had to catch up athletically.”

Turner was a swimmer at Butler from 1970-74, a WPIAL champion who went on to a stellar career at Syracuse.

“We lived on McKean Street and practiced at 6 a.m. at the YMCA, which was where the Cubs Hall is now,” Turner said. “Pump McLaughlin and/or Pat Madden were there every morning coaching us.

“Practice in the morning, practice in the afternoon, then find time to study. That’s the way it was, but it was all worth it.”

Uram was a WPIAL and state champion gymnast who went on to make the All-Big Ten team at Michigan State.

“We had so many great gymnasts on that Butler team ... We pushed each other in high school to win and that’s what we did,” Uram said.

Uram recognized the contributions of his coach and uncle, Paul Uram, to his athletic and personal success.

“He taught me determination, character, work ethic, to never quit and never give up,” Uram said. “He told me I could do it and I believed him.

“Our whole team, we didn’t want to disappoint him. We wanted to win for that gentleman. I love and respect that man more than I could ever say.

“I wish every kid, at some point, could be coached by Paul Uram,” he added.

Heasley, who coached Butler’s girls gymnastics team to a 54-2 record from 1977-82 and was a standout gymnast himself at Butler from 1966-69, echoed those sentiments.

He added a few more of his own.

“By honoring me, you honor my coaches and my family,” Heasley said. “Coach Uram, Dave McKinnis ... the best gymnastics technician I ever met ... Bud Williams, my first coach in junior high, everybody.

“I’ve been around so many talented, motivated athletes. My coaches shaped me and made me able to coach them. To be inducted tonight with pro athletes and coaches ... It’s a humbling experience.”