Butler High selects inaugural Hall of Fame class
BUTLER TWP — Butler High's future will be introduced to Butler High's past.
The inaugural class of the Butler High School Athletic Hall of Fame, along with two coaches, will be introduced before the Golden Tornado's football game Sept. 24 at Art Bernardi Stadium.
The 10 inductees, who will be represented on the field that evening, were selected after a series of meetings by an extensive Hall of Fame committee.
"The committee did a thorough job of reviewing our nominees and came up with an outstanding list of people," said Butler High assistant principal and committee chairman Brian Slamecka.
The coaches being inducted are Paul Uram and Art Bernardi. Uram was a strength and conditioning coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1973 to 1981 and a stellar gymnastics coach at Butler.
Bernardi was 179-64-7 as head football coach from 1961 to 1985, leading his teams to five WPIAL championship games.
The inaugural 10 inductees include:• Matt Clement, who won 87 games as a major league pitcher with the Padres, Marlins, Cubs and Red Sox, and was a standout basketball and baseball player at Butler.• Bill, Rich and Ron Saul, who combined to spend 32 years in the NFL. Bill Saul was the first NFL player to wear a microphone during a game.• Eric Namesnik, a swimmer who won an Olympic silver medal.• David Pichler, a top-10 performer in the 10-meter diving event at multiple Olympic Games.• Terry Hanratty, a Heisman Trophy runner-up as a record-setting quarterback at Notre Dame who went on to play for the Steelers.• John Stuper, longtime baseball coach at Yale University who won 32 games in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals, including a World Series victory.<br></br>
• Leatha Dudek Baker, Butler's all-time girls basketball scoring leader with 1,630 points.• Annessa Schnur, one of three athletes to score 800 team points in track and field for Butler, who went on to a solid career at the University of Michigan."We're one of the last big schools to form a Hall of Fame," Bernardi said. "It's been a dream of mine for a long time."Clement is entering his second Hall of Fame this year, having been inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in April. He is coming off his first season as Butler's boys basketball coach."It's a great idea," Clement said about the new Hall of Fame. "Butler's certainly had its share of tremendous athletes over the years."Olympic swimmers, Super Bowl players, all-time leading scorers — this is an incredible group," he added.<br></br>
A major league pitcher like Clement, Stuper said he was "completely surprised" upon being notified of his induction."It's been so long since I played there," Stuper said. "To be remembered and honored like this — it's hard to put into words."Schnur still owns Butler County records in the 400 meters and long jump. She also ran a leg on the county's fastest 3,200-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams and ranks among the county's all-time top 10 in eight events."It's a shock to me, going in as young as I am," Schnur said. "This is the highest honor your school can give you."This (Hall of Fame) is something that needed to be done because there's been so many great athletes to come through Butler over the years."Pichler, who now lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was ecstatic upon learning of his induction."It's an awesome honor and I plan on being there to accept it," he said.More inductees will be added to the Butler High School Athletic Hall of Fame annually. Nominations can be sent to the high school athletic office.
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