Rodger Hathaway got in on the ground floor of greatness.

The 1953 Butler High School graduate was a sophomore on the 1950 Golden Tornado football squad that finished the season undefeated and is considered by many to be the greatest team in the program's history.

"We weren't as big as the boys are today,"Hathaway said. "But that team jelled together, was coached well and had the desire to win.

"Being underclassmen, we looked up to those guys. We learned how to win from them. We learned what it takes."

Hathaway learned his lesson well.

He was the Golden Tornado's prime running back by his senior season, when he carried the ball 71 times for 695 yards, a whopping nine yards per carry.

Butler finished 7-3 that season and Hathaway said things should have gone better.

"We had some injuries that hindered us,"he said. "Injuries stopped us from going the whole way that year."

The Tornado had an explosive offense that was led by Hathaway. In the team's first three games, he took possession of the ball on Butler's first offensive play of the game and scored on each occasion.

"Back then, we always had winning seasons,"Hathaway said. "We had a little speed, our line was tough and it was good.

"There was no one reason why we won. It was just everybody doing his job."

Hathaway did the job in track and field as well. He was one of the first freshmen to letter in the sport at Butler, running the 100-yard and 220-yard dashes.

He also teamed with Laverne "Spike"Kline, Al Griffin, and Gary Sybert to run the fastest quarter-mile relay time in the WPIALthat season.

"Our freshman football coach was also the track coach,"Hathaway recalled. "He knew what kind of talent we had and wanted to make use of it."

Hathaway went on to play running back for three years at Thiel College. A knee injury prevented him from playing his senior year in college and he was drafted by the Army.

Hathaway went on to a lengthy career in store management.

"One thing my coaches and fellow players instilled in me is the desire to succeed and want to get ahead on and off the field," he said.

Hathaway lived in Arizona and California for 30 years before returning to Butler.

"I was on the road doing consulting work and spending a lot of time back east," he said. "I stopped in Butler every once in a while, saw a lot of people I knew were still here and I decided to come back."

Now his name will be enshrined in the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame.

"I'm ecstatic about this," Hathaway said. "I grew up with a lot of great athletes in this area. It's nice just seeing my name placed among them."

Highlights of 2006 Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee Rodger Hathaway's sports career at Butler High:• Was a sophomore on the undefeated Butler High School football team of 1950.• Carried the ball 71 times and averaged nine yards per carry his senior year.• Scored a touchdown on Butler's first play from scrimmage three times during his senior season.• Was one of the first freshmen to compete and letter in track at Butler.• Ran a leg of the quarter-mile relay team that recorded the fastest time in the WPIAL that season.<i>The annual Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame Banquet is April 29 at the Butler Days Inn. Ticket information will be announced.</i>