Butler football gave Robert Conklin, DuWayne Cunningham, Art Monteleone and Dennis Tilko an opportunity.

They repaid the favor by giving back to the community.

That quartet, along with the late Greg Brown, will be the 2008 recipients of the Butler Football Hometown Hero award.

They will be presented on the field before the Golden Tornado's home opener Sept. 12 against Penn Hills. A golf outing and dinner will be held in their honor Sept. 13.

"I've been inducted into Halls of Fame before, but this is the best award a person can get: one from his own community,"Tilko said.

Tilko joins Conklin, Cunningham and Monteleone as former Tornado football standouts. Brown's name long will remembered by the Butler Area Midget Football League, where he served as a player and coach. He was also a board member for 25 years until his death in 2005.

When Brown took over as secretary of the BAMFL in the early 1980s, the league was in financial ruin. Using his banking background, Brown set up the league's first financial budget and funds were built to a point that it was able to buy $20,000 in new equipment in 2004.

"My father's legacy to sports in Butler is his unwavering commitment to the Butler Area Midget Football League,"said Brown's son, Travis, in a written statement.

Since Brown's death in 2005, the Greg Brown Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a Golden Tornado senior football player, and the Greg Brown Memorial Golf Outing have been established to honor his name.

Travis Brown will be on hand to accept the Hometown Hero award on his father's behalf.

Conklin and Monteleone are 1962 Butler graduates and players on coach Art Bernardi's first team. Conklin went on to become an assistant coach on Bernardi's last team at Butler.

After football, Conklin became a BAMFLhead coach for 15 years with East Butler and Penn Street, and was an assistant coach under Bernardi, Tim Nunes, Sam Albert and Mark Farabee at the high school level.

"I played for Art, Red Uram — I had some great coaches,"Conklin said. "One of the reasons I went into coaching was to pass on some of the stuff I learned from them."

Conklin, a defensive back in his playing days, coached at Moniteau for three years before becoming an assistant at Butler.

Monteleone was the first Butler football player to play monster linebacker in Bernardi's defensive scheme and was head coach of Institute Hill for 17 years in the BAMFL.

"When I was a senior in high school, Harry Leyland came up to the practice field and asked Red Uram if any players were interested in helping the little kids,"Monteleone said. "I began coaching with Harry at South Side. That's how I got started."

Monteleone still isn't finished. He remains active as a PIAAfootball and basketball official after 37 years, served as recreation director of the Butler Cubs for 10 years, started a Butler recreational basketball league, a city golf tournament and an adult summer basketball league in the community.

"I love working with kids,"Monteleone said. "I got into officiating because we didn't have enough officials to work the midget league games. Everyone agreed that I could work games that my team wasn't playing in.

"We (league officials)didn't get paid or anything. We did it to help out and I just stayed with it."

Cunningham is a 1968 Butler graduate who started at center in the Big 33 Game. He went on to play at the University of Texas-El Paso and was considered a pro prospect until a head injury ended his playing career.

"I was 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, and went to UTEPbecause they ran a pro-style offense at the time,"Cunningham said. "I thought that would prepare me for the next level."

While the injury curtailed his playing career, Cunningham stayed involved in football, serving as president of the BAMFLand as a longtime member of the Golden Tornado Foundation.

He helped construct the current press box and field house at Art Bernardi Stadium.

"Things I learned through football helped me in my business life,"Cunningham said. "Hopefully, what I've done has helped other young men proceed the same way.

"It's all about opening opportunities and hoping kids use them in the right way."

Tilko is a 1971 Butler graduate and was an all-state offensive tackle who also played in the Big 33 Game. He lined up against eventual Penn State great and Chicago Bears defensive lineman Mike Hartenstine "and we scored two touchdowns right over top of him."

Tilko played on three state championship teams at Slippery Rock University, where his teams lost two games in four years. He tried out for the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League.

"I strained some ligaments in my knee a week before the tryout and went anyway,"Tilko said. "If I was healthy, I know I would have made that team."

Once his playing career ended, Tilko became an assistant coach with Penn Street of the BAMFL, helping that team win three championships in four years.

He currently works for Rahal Mercedes-Benz in Wexford and has been salesman of the year repeatedly.

"Absolutely, football has helped me in the business world. I'll always be grateful for that,"Tilko said. "It made me more competitive. It gave me the attitude that if you want something, you go get it."

Openings are available for the Hometown Hero golf outing at Lake Arthur Country Club, as are tee sponsorships and prize donations for the event. Tickets are available for the induction dinner the night of Sept. 13 at St. Michael's Hall in Butler.

Call Kevin or Joni Vogel at 724-282-2543 for details.