BUTLER TWP — The Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame's membership swelled to 298 Saturday night.

The Hall's sense of pride swelled with it.

Eight more inductees — Rodger Hathaway, Bill Sepich, Bob Beatty, Dave Cavalero, Dave Zirnsak, Ken Bedford, Bill Cress and the late Harold "Bo"Voelker — joined the Hall during its 41st annual induction banquet at the Butler Days Inn.

"Sports really do generate community spirit,"Butler Mayor Maggie Stock said. "Whether it's Little League, high school teams or adults who play, we should applaud and celebrate."

There was plenty of applause to go around on this night.

An anticipated gathering of 200 ballooned to 275 by dinner time as extra tables were brought into the banquet room to accommodate the crowd.

"This is the type of problem we like to have,"Hall of Fame President Don Cavalero said.

Most of the acceptance speeches centered around gratitude — to the Hall of Fame itself and to coaches, teammates and family.

Hathaway was a standout running back and track athlete at Butler High School who scored a touchdown on the first play of three successive games his senior season.

"High school, college, Olympians, pro athletes. ... What an honor to have your name included in there,"Hathaway said.

"When I first got the phone call telling me I was being inducted, I couldn't speak. I just hung up and called back a couple of minutes later. It's great to be inducted into this family."

Hathaway became the sixth Thiel College athlete to be inducted, joining John Gazetos, Frank Herbenick, George Bistransin, LaVerne "Spike"Kline and Art Bernardi.

Sepich was a stellar basketball player at Winfield-Clinton High School and excelled in baseball and softball as well. He had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was invited to spring training in 1958.

"I had to be at Forbes Field every Saturday morning during that tryout period and my brother Joe took me to and from each time,"Sepich said. "I enjoyed playing ball with my brother Johnny so much. We're nothing without family.

"I've had a lot of great things happen to me in athletics. This tops it all."

Beatty earned nine varsity letters at Slippery Rock High School as a football, baseball and basketball player. He went on to become a four-year starter at quarterback for Clarion University, winning two PSACchampionships.

His father, James Beatty, was inducted in 1978.

"Dad used to take me hunting when I was a kid,"Bob Beatty said. "I remember walking behind him in the snow, walking in his giant footsteps.

"He was my first hero. I always wondered if I'd measure up to those footsteps. This means a lot to me.

"I've made three major decisions in my life and they were good ones. Going to Clarion University and setting a goal to start in my first year was one. The second one was deciding to go into coaching and teaching. It's the best profession in the world.

"The third was marrying someone who is smarter than me,"he added.

Aveteran basebnall coach at Red Lion High School near York, Beatty played football against eventual NFLlinebacker and head coach Jim Haslett while the latter was playing for Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

"He sacked me seven times in one game,"Beatty said. "That guy's made millions of dollars. He should give some of it to me."

Cavalero was a stellar quarterback at Butler High School, McCook Junior College and the Pittsburgh Ironmen.

"The support I got from my family all those years, taking me to all those games, all those practices. Without them, I wouldn't be anything," Cavalero said.

Zirnsak became a gymnast prior to his senior year at Butler High School and wound up getting a scholarship to Georgia Southern University.

He joined fellow Butler gymnasts John Gracik, Mel and Dave Collins at Georgia Southern.

"My high school coach, Dave McKinnis, saw something in me I didn't think I had,"Zirnsak said. "He pushed me, he taught me, he gave me goals to achieve.

"Setting goals, realizing goals, commitment, teamwork — I've benefited from that all my life."

Bedford won WPIALchampionships and national titles at Clarion University in diving. He has been the diving coach at Butler High School since 2000.

"There's two men who deserve to be standing up here more me,"Bedford said. "Mickey Haley (former Butler diving coach) belongs in this Hall of Fame. Dave Hrovat (Clarion diving coach)may have been the greatest coach in the country.

"Those guys made me who I am. And I can't forget Pump McLaughlin, one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth, who started diving at Butler."

Cress set numerous basketball individual and team scoring and rebounding records at Mars, many of which stand today. He graduated in 1970.

"A truly good player makes the rest of his teammates better,"Cress said. "I played with a group of guys who pushed each other and kept each other going.

"The team records we set should last for a long time."

As for the Hall of Fame, Cress said it "gives a last run of glory to a lot of us old-timers."

Hall of Fame member Mike Kelly accepted on behalf of Voelker, a former semi-pro football player and longtime Butler coach.

Voelker has no family in the area. His Hall of Fame plaque will be sent to his son Steve, who lives in Dallas, Texas.

Notes:The Hall of Fame is comprised of 167 living members, 131 deceased and 14 women. ... Hall of Fame committee member Rene Keck is celebrating his 91st birthday. ... Retired Butler Eagle sports editor Mike Surkalo, now living in Greensburg, attended Saturday's banquet and received a standing ovation.